Double suicide of well-known adversaries puts an end to perplexing rivalry.

In a shocking conclusion to what has come to be known as “The Crime of the Century,” London’s beloved amateur detective, Sherlock Holmes, and alleged criminal mastermind, James Moriarty, were both found dead earlier today. The coroner has definitively ruled both deaths suicide. Police are baffled as they try to work out what unfolded on the rooftop of St. Bartholomew Hospital that led to the deaths of these two nemeses.

Boffin Holmes, of 221B Baker Street, was, perhaps, best known for his numerous and often heavily publicized consultations with Scotland Yard. His consultations often led to the solving of high-profile cases such as the recent recovery of Joseph Mallord William Turner’s classic painting “Reichenbach Falls”. Until recently, the public Holmes has held in high regard as a brilliant and valuable detective whose insights, expertise and deductions were crucial to our city’s police force.

Little was known about the second man on the roof, Jim Moriarty until his recent trial for attempted burglary of the Crown Jewels at The Tower of London. When the police arrived at the scene, they found him seated in the throne and wearing the Crown Jewels. One detective reported his demeanor as nonplused. He was accredited with two further remote break-ins on that same day, the first at the Bank of London and the second at Pentoville Prison. Holmes was called as an expert witness in his trial where he described Moriarty’s character as “a consulting criminal” and “a spider… at the center of a criminal web”. Though Moriarty provided no defense, the jury acquitted him of all charges against the Judge’s advisement.

The rivalry became increasingly interesting when an expose written by up-and-coming journalist, Kitty Riley, shed light on the more menacing and less virtuous side of Sherlock Holmes. In the article published by The Sun, Riley exposed Sherlock Holmes as a fraud. According to Riley and her sources, Moriarty was a manifestation of Holmes himself. She writes that Holmes deliberately devised elaborate crimes, of the nature which only he could solve, in order to create the illusion that he was extraordinarily gifted and possessed unparalleled intelligence. Even his most notorious cases were falsified as is evidenced by the testimony of the late Richard Brook, an actor hired to play the fictional Jim Moriarty. Brook, an out of work actor, had agreed to play the part of psychopath Moriarty, the villain counterpart Holmes craved for his complex deception. Tragically, it would be Brook’s last role, one that would claim his life.

Holmes’ last words were spoken to his longtime friend and colleague, confirmed bachelor Doctor John Watson, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. Doctor Watson witnessed Sherlock jump while speaking to each other on a mobile phone. Sherlock’s body was identified by Molly Hooper, an employee of St. Bartholomew Hospital and once friend of the deceased.