Shelly de Killer

"Miles Edgeworth"

- A special investigation team has existed for a number of years, but few know of it. [...] Their task is to find the "owner" of this card... A man called Shelly de Killer. And just as his name states, he is a "killer", an assassin. The best, at that.

Shelly de Killer is an assassin who was called to testify as a witness - through a radio transceiver - to the murder of Juan Corrida.

Origin of the "de Killers"
Shelly de Killer comes from a line of assassins that first became known in the early 20th century. He is the third heir to this line.

Involvement in Corrida's murder

 * Main article: Farewell, My Turnabout

One day, Matt Engarde hired de Killer to kill Juan Corrida and retrieve Celeste Inpax's suicide note, which was hidden in a foreign bear toy. Engarde was accused of the murder; this was the first time this had actually happened to one of de Killer's clients. De Killer kidnapped Maya Fey to force Phoenix Wright to defend Engarde in court. He kept Fey locked up in Engarde Mansion and posed as Engarde's butler, John Doe. During Wright's investigation, however, he found that Engarde had videotaped the murder of Juan for the purpose of control and blackmail. Wright informed de Killer of this in court, and a furious de Killer broke his contract with Engarde and swore bloody vengeance on him.

Personality
Although a hired assassin, de Killer is no bloodthirsty manic. He holds a strictly professional view of his work and carries it out with precision. He strongly values the bond of trust that he has with his clients; he considers betrayal a horrible crime deserving death. Claims to be a man of his word.

Whenever he commits a murder for a client, de Killer leaves a calling card with a seashell design on it at the crime scene. The card confirms that he had committed the murder, and it serves as insurance against any charges the client may face.



Name

 * "De Killer" is a reference to his occupation.


 * "Shelly" references his calling card, a card with a picture of a conch shell.


 * Although unintentional, Shelly de Killer is effectively "the killer with the conches".


 * The name "John Doe" is used when a subject's true identity is unknown or withheld for legal reasons. It is also used for a male corpse or hospital patient if their identity is unknown.


 * "Koroshiya" literally means "assassin" in Japanese.


 * "Sazaemon" comes from the word "sazae" which means "a seashell", a reference to his calling card.


 * "Tanaka Tarou" is a generic, plain name in Japanese, the English equivalent would be "John Smith".


 * His French alias comes from "Allons au bistro" which means "Let's go to the pub".

Development

 * The transceiver used by de Killer to testify bears a resemblance to the assassin himself. The line down the middle of the transceiver resembles de Killer's stitches and the dial resembles his monocle. This similarity is bolstered by the fact that the groove on the dial looks a lot like his constantly closed eyes and that it rotates according to his emotions.