Acro


 * "Ken" redirects here. You may be looking for Kane Bullard, whose name in the French localization is "Ken Bullard".

"Acro"

- I mainly perform on the tightrope or the flying trapeze. But nowadays... All I perform in is my wheelchair.

Ken "Acro" Dingling was an acrobat whose legs were paralyzed during an accident six months prior to the murder of Russell Berry and the trial of Max Galactica, in which Acro was called as a witness.

Early life
At the age of nine, Ken Dingling and his younger brother Sean were abandoned by their parents who fled after numerous failed business attempts. Russell Berry, the ringmaster of the Berry Big Circus, was the only one willing to take them in and later employed them as acrobats. They became known as Acro and Bat, respectively, and often performed on the tightrope and flying trapeze. Acro also developed a strong affinity with the animals, especially with Money, the circus monkey. Money shared Acro's room with the acrobat and, having somewhat of a "magpie complex", would often bring various (sometimes quite heavy) shiny things he had found back to the room.

Accident
In 2017, Bat developed a crush on the ringmaster's daughter Regina Berry and the two often played pranks on one another. He finally made a bet with her that if he could put his head into a lion's mouth, then she would go out with him. Unfortunately, due to a liberal dousing of pepper on Bat's scarf by Regina as a joke to make the acrobat sneeze, the lion sneezed and closed his jaws on the young man's head, sending him into a coma. Acro tried to save Bat from the big cat, but the ensuing struggle paralyzed his legs and confined him to a wheelchair. Russell Berry shot the lion and covered the accident up.

The nerve damage was so great that he could not stand or even leave his room on the third floor of the staff lodging house by himself, but he was told by the doctors that with rehabilitation he could walk again some day. Although the incident had been entirely accidental, Regina never seemed to grasp the seriousness of what had happened and moved on. Acro never forgave Regina for this and his resentment towards her grew until he eventually resolved to kill her.

Murder plot

 * Main article: Turnabout Big Top

"Acro"

- But... I just couldn't forgive her! No matter what.

Six months later, Acro planted a note into Regina's pocket, anonymously telling "the murderer" that he had conclusive evidence of what had taken place and that she should be at the lodging house plaza at 10:00 p.m. that night. He placed a large wooden box containing a bottle of pepper (the "evidence" from the incident) in the courtyard and waited for the sound of Regina trying to lift the box so that he could drop a bust of Max Galactica out of his window onto her head, killing her. He would reel the bust back in using a rope tied around it.

However, Regina had no idea what the note was about and had instead posted it on the cafeteria's bulletin board. Although other staff members saw it, only Russell seemed to know what it meant. He went to the courtyard in her stead, disguised in Galactica's trademark hat and cloak. Since Acro could not see very far down outside his window due to his confinement to a wheelchair, he had no idea who it was outside the window. When the bust hit the ringmaster, Galactica's cape snagged onto it as Acro pulled it back up.

When Acro saw the cloak on the bust, he didn't know how it got there. However, since it was valuable evidence, he burnt it and threw the ashes away. The bust, on the other hand, could not be disposed of so easily. He therefore put it in the safest place he could think of: his own wheelchair. Moe, the circus's clown, witnessed the bust with the cape in the darkness, and believed it was Max Galactica. Thus, the magician was arrested for the murder. Acro was then questioned by the police before heading to the hospital for rehabilitation for the rest of the day.

After a close battle in court, the prosecutor, Franziska von Karma, paid the acrobat a visit in order to prepare him as a witness against Galactica in court the following day. Detective Dick Gumshoe warned Acro that Phoenix Wright, Galactica's defense attorney, would make an appearance eventually. Surely enough, Wright appeared in Acro's room (having visited it the previous day due to Money stealing his attorney's badge) and asked him about the murder. Acro told them that he had seen Galactica flying up past his window. When Wright's assistant Maya Fey asked about the circumstances behind Acro's wheelchair, he replied merely that it was from an accident during practice six months ago. During their talk, Acro also made a couple of remarks that hinted at his grudge towards Regina. When Wright showed him a note that they had found in the cafeteria, Acro suddenly became incredibly serious, since he recognized it as the note he had given to Regina. He told them to go to the source for answers, namely Regina.

Wright eventually found out about the Léon incident and confronted Acro about it. Acro then sadly told the entire story to the lawyer and gave away his grudge towards Regina.

Conviction
During the investigation into Russell's death, Dick Gumshoe asked Miles Edgeworth, who was abroad at the time, for advice as to how to catch the real criminal. Edgeworth told him to order a surprise search of Acro's room; this forced Acro to hide the bust under his wheelchair's blanket. In the courtroom, Max Galactica's defense attorney, Phoenix Wright, figured out that the murder weapon was under the blanket. Finally being found out, Acro confessed to the crime and openly wept for murdering the man who had become like a father to him.

It may have been that Acro was not given the death penalty, as Miles Edgeworth told Detective Gumshoe in a phone conversation to "go easy on him".

Personality
"Phoenix Wright"

- (This guy is really different from the other members of the circus...)

Acro was polite, pleasant and optimistic, despite his handicap. He was also quite intelligent and calm, knowing how to keep his cool in any sort of situation. He liked animals as well; a monkey named Money boarded with him in his room, and he was often accompanied by birds perched on his shoulder or wheelchair. The birds even showed a defensiveness of their friend by pecking Phoenix Wright at various points during Acro's testimony in the courtroom, and they even moved in more closely to him when he was sad. Acro admitted at one point that he wasn't great with the ladies, but seemed to be pretty popular with the animals.

Unlike his colleagues in the circus, Acro could see the "diamond shining in [Galactica's] soul", namely his pride as a performer, and he felt that this was something lacking from the others until the magician showed up. He did admit to still having some issues with him, however. Acro also felt sometimes that, although the ringmaster was a good man, he could be too kind. In particular, he felt that Regina had been spoiled and raised with a fantastical view of the world that was completely at odds with reality. To him, her naïve way of looking at death and Bat's coma was infuriating and "cruel". This caused his resentment towards her that culminated in an attempt on her life.

Although he did try and cover up his crime, Acro was often noted to have a look of sorrow and profound pain in his eyes when the murder was brought up, despite his seemingly calm exterior. When finally admitting his crime, he openly wept, showing his deep remorse for killing the ringmaster, who had been like a father to him.

Name

 * Acro and Bat's names combine to form "acrobat".


 * "Dingling" is likely a combination of the "Ringling Bros Circus" and "dangling", a reference to his job as an acrobat.


 * "Kinoshita" likely comes from the "Kinoshita Dai Circus", a famous Japanese circus.


 * His French surname "Loche" is likely a play on "cloche", meaning "bell" in French. This may be a reference to the English surname "Dingling".

Development

 * Acro is so far the only character to have a full-body large sprite. Other large sprites are cut off at the waist, where the witness stand or the bottom of the screen would obscure the location of their legs.


 * Both he and his brother have a Native American theme to their costumes.


 * His friendship with Money and the birds that constantly flock around him show his affinity with animals. This was done to show that he is a good person really.


 * Acro is the only murderer in the Ace Attorney games to date to openly show regret for his crime. He is also the only character who intends to kill someone, but accidentally kills someone else instead.