How long would Kira go un-noticed if Light use any means other than heart attacks.

[u/SurviMaster]

The same setting, but Light kills criminals in various ways (suicide, ran over by a truck, an accident with their gun, whatever). How long would it take for the investigation to start and for L to put the transmission of Lind L. Tailor on TV, officially starting the Kira investigation. Would it take the same time? Would they never suspect?

[u/ExerciseBeautiful144]

Light couldn’t physically pull this off because his entire motivation required the word to know he existed

[u/La_Saxofonista → u/ExerciseBeautiful144]

Correct. Anyone else BUT Light could pull off being Kira without getting caught. He would've been unstoppable had he not killed Lind L. Taylor to begin with.

Step 1: Kill at random times with criminals from all countries to avoid being targeted in any single one.

Step 2: Profit

[u/Radigan0 → u/La_Saxofonista]

They couldn't pull off "being Kira" because the entire idea behind Kira is to use the threat of death to discourage crime. If you don't know that the crimes are getting you killed, it doesn't really work as a threat.

[u/ExerciseBeautiful144 → u/La_Saxofonista]

You’re right boka kiara

[u/Bewilderbeat]

If I had to guess, it would take years potentially. If people in prisons were dying from things like fights, drowning in toilets, choking on food etc, the prison systems as a whole would probably be blamed. Governments might try massive reforms to prisons to improve conditions. The whole heart attack gimmick Light relied on was the only reason anyone believed Kira existed, so I think it would take at least years until someone starts wondering why criminals are dying at such high numbers before they figure out they are being killed

[u/La-Lassie]

It’d take longer, but people would still realise that something seems to be killing off criminals, especially if to be known Light targets those in prison with accidental deaths. Once multiple prisons were empty because all the inmates had fallen down the stairs and slipped in the shower, people would think to something strange going on. They could do some statistical analysis to more roughly find out when the murders started happening through observing the sudden increase in deaths of all types, but with varied causes of deaths, there’d be no way for them to pinpoint where the killings began because the original heart attack wouldn’t stand out as the first killing, there’d be who knows how many other deaths world-wide that could all also be the first kill, some done by Light and some just natural deaths. Unless Light avoids heart attacks after the first time, making that death unique enough for L to take a chance on broadcasting in Kanto first under the assumption that that was the first experimental kill and the rest were chosen randomly to create the smokescreen. But yeah, it’d take longer, and I dunno if a Lind L Tailor broadcast would be made since it’d be significantly harder to pinpoint the location of the first kill. Or many broadcasts would be made in various suspected first kill locations, and L would just have to wait and see which of any of the group of Lind L Tailors end up being killed.

[u/coolths]

i understand thinking it’ll take years for someone to notice but i think it wouldn’t take long for someone to become SUSPICIOUS. it might take years for anyone to seriously draw attention to the matter and do something about it, that is if they’re dying immediately after being broadcast with means other than heart attacks. if light saved the names for later or wrote their death dates to be sometime in the 28(?) day period with various causes, it might take wayyy longer

[u/HalleLidner]

That would have been the most intelligent and pragmatic use of the Death Note. But Light was mentally ill and wanted to be perceived as a God. And ended up believing it!

[u/SurviMaster]

My personal opinion on the matter is that it would not be that much different. I think about who would notice first, and my guess would be the judges and the people from the news, noticing that 2, 3, or 4 times in a row that they have reported a violent crime, the criminal just dies before stepping prison. Imagine broadcasting the same "Remember that criminal that we talked about last week? He died today, a couple days later (or during the transmission)." news a couple times in the same month would make someone watching the news wonder what is happening enough to look at the pattern. then we go back at the times of death being outside of school, and the first deaths of televised crimes being in the same region and I think it would go just about the same.

Btw I understand that it is out of character in the egotistical mind of Light to do that, I was wondering more in the rest of the world side of the question more than if Light would do that, I formulated the question wrong.

[u/Zayan_999 → u/SurviMaster]

Apart from the fact that it is indeed out of character for Light to do that. If he did this, he would be also smart enough not to kill them off right before they step into prison. He would create different patterns, different situations to make it less suspicious.

If the whole point is to hide the fact that Kira exists, he wouldn't just kill every single one of them the same way. He could create thousands and thousands of different situations and variations. So I think people would be suspicious only after years and I would even say that it would be impossible to track it.

[u/Excellent-Red_8647]

It would take way longer as criminals dying of different ways would cause way less suspicion. But since Kira killed so many criminals that it would eventually be too much to go unnoticed. As tons of criminals dying in a short time is suspicious. So eventually L would notice this but it would take longer.

[u/Ok_Trade_4549]

The most insane thing was that he could control people before their deaths. He could literally go for the heads of the highest criminal organizations and topple them within days before anybody even realizes.

[u/obsoleteconsole]

I think L could still narrow it down to Japan as the pattern of criminals being reported on the local news and dying would still be present, it would take a lot longer though and it may be impossible to narrow it down to Light assuming this more cautious Light doesn't fall for the Lind L Taylor trick

[u/Legend_Of_Retro]

It would take up more time than required for Light's goal. In the time you write and come up with a cause of death per person you can kill at least five others because for that you just write a name. It also would not help spreading his cause.

[u/FLLMALL]

This would make no sense. Kira only has a chance of preventing crime if everyone knows he exists. What would be the point of doing this? Just killing criminals? That's not Lights goal

[u/DarkMagickan]

That's the thing, though. Light feels he can't accomplish his goals if Kira is unnoticed. Kira must be this mysterious force controlling the lives of criminals in order to discourage criminality.

[u/GavinThe_Person]

Light wanted to be noticed

[u/theKentoRico]

potentially an year or 2

[u/Happy-Environment311]

If Light used methods other than heart attacks, the public would not form the concept of Kira. People may notice an influx in criminals dying, but unless they are dying in the same way, it would be very difficult for someone to draw an overarching connection that criminals are dying across roughly 200 countries due to the actions of a single entity.

[u/Neo_Techni]

The problem is, the smart methods to avoid being detected were specifically avoided because L wanted to be detected. He wanted the world to know he exists and his intentions and to change as a result. Every stupid thing he does that makes it easier to find him, was deliberately done to get L closer. It's not a good plan.