|Frank Sahwit||Image Gallery||Sprite Gallery|
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|Occupation||"Newspaper salesman" (cover) ( - Aug. 3, 2016) |
Burglar ( - Aug. 3, 2016)
Prisoner (August 2016 - )
|Names in other languages|
|Japanese* (romanization written with the given name first)||山野星雄 (Hoshio Yamano)|
|French||Frank Khavu* (equivalent of Frank Sahwit)|
|Designated birth year(s) (this is for age comparison purposes, and so may look odd; click on the question mark for details)?||1972-1973* (1980 for the GBA, DS, and Wii versions of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney; see development section)|
|Age||44* (36 in the GBA, DS, and Wii versions of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney; see development section)* (The First Turnabout (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy HD))- 47* (The Imprisoned Turnabout)|
|Status* (last known)||Alive (incarcerated)|
|Hair color||Brown, but balding; wears brown toupée|
|Height* (from official guidebooks)||5'5"; 166 cm|
|Affiliates||Phoenix Wright (responsible for his incarceration) |
Marī Miwa (prison warden and accomplice)
Ryōken Hōinbō (fellow prisoner)
Shūji Orinaka (fellow prisoner)
|Film* (romanization written with the given name first)||Ayumu Saitô|
|Anime* (romanization written with the given name first)||Shinya Takahashi|
|Debut episode||The First Turnabout|
|Leitmotif||"Strange People"* (in Gyakuten Kenji 2)|
|Y-you with your "objections", and your "evidence"... Just who do you think you are!?|
Frank Sahwit was the sole witness to the murder of Cindy Stone, the first case of defense attorney Phoenix Wright. He was a common burglar who pretended to sell newspapers as a front for learning when people left their homes.
Murder of StoneEdit
- Main article: The First Turnabout
During one of his burglaries, Sahwit was caught in the act by the owner of the apartment, Cindy Stone. He picked up the nearest thing he could find, a clock-statue of "The Thinker", and hit her over the head with it. The 12-hour clock then spoke the time - 1:00 - which Sahwit believed was the real time. Stone died of blood loss, and Sahwit decided to frame her ex-boyfriend Larry Butz, who had visited her apartment on the day of the murder.
During Butz's subsequent trial, Sahwit was called as the sole witness to the murder. While acting in a very sycophantic way throughout, he claimed that he had found Stone at 1:00 p.m. However, the autopsy report contradicted this by placing the time of death as 4:00 p.m. Sahwit tried to explain why he had been so sure of the time, without revealing the truth, but his testimony was full of holes that he eventually ended up giving testimony that contradicted his earlier statements. Butz's rookie defense attorney, Phoenix Wright, exploited these flaws and, upon confirming that the clock-statue was three hours behind, soon accused Sahwit of the murder.
In response, Sahwit threw his toupée at Wright and revealed his real, rage-filled nature. He claimed that Wright could not prove that the clock was three hours slow at the time of the murder. However, Wright - with the aid of his mentor, Mia Fey - explained that the victim had gone to France the day before the murder, meaning that the clock was actually nine hours ahead. At this, Sahwit hyperventilated and collapsed on the stand. Butz was subsequently declared not guilty, Wright's career took off, and Sahwit was convicted and imprisoned.
- Main article: The Imprisoned Turnabout
For the next few years, Sahwit lived as a model prisoner and began training as an animal groomer for the therapy animals living in the prison, hoping that this would help get his sentence reduced. One day, he fell and broke his electronic prison bracelet, which would send an electric shock to prisoners who tried to enter certain rooms unattended. Because of this, he was secretly able to move about the prison as he liked. Prison warden Marī Miwa eventually found out, but instead of punishing him or replacing the bracelet, she decided to use him to further her own ends. On a weekly basis, Sahwit would access the circuit breaker and cut the power, then return later on to restore the power. In exchange, he would be able to keep his little secret, and Miwa would give him special treatment.
One day, in Workroom B, Sahwit was putting a mudpack on Shūji Orinaka's pet polar bear cub Mark when the cub escaped from him and ran away. While following the animal, Sahwit peeked into the neighboring Workroom A, only to see the imprisoned assassin Ryōken Hōinbō's large black dog Kuro biting into the neck of Manosuke Naitō's corpse. After the dog left, Sahwit sneaked into the room to see if there was anything of value on the corpse, but had to leave before he could take anything due to an imminent prison roll-call. Afterward, he returned to Workroom B and let out a scream to make it seem that he had only just found the body.
Unfortunately for Sahwit, the cosy set-up he had with the warden was ruined with the arrival of Miles Edgeworth, who used his calm interrogation methods to reveal what Sahwit knew about the murder. As before with Wright, Sahwit eventually became so enraged at being backed into a corner that he threw his toupée at Edgeworth. Nonetheless, he was forced to admit that his bracelet was broken, leading Edgeworth to confiscate it and order the prison guards to give him a working replacement. Edgeworth's investigation eventually revealed that Miwa had killed Naitō. For his role as an accomplice to Miwa, Sahwit's prison sentence was extended, much to his fury.
|Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Shutupshutupshutup! I hate you! I-it was him, I tell you! I saw him! H-he killed her and he should burn! Burn! Give him death!|
Sahwit is smarmy, sycophantic, and nosy, but hides a deep anger problem. He also has a habit of telling fairly transparent lies, then getting angry when he is challenged. His words often betray his excellent poker face, thereby giving away his true nature. All of his efforts as a model prisoner are just a front to ensure that his prison sentence is reduced. When his sentence was extended due to his actions as Miwa's accomplice, he flew into a rage and admitted that he did not actually care about animal grooming.
- His Japanese name, "Yamano Hoshio" (山野星雄), may be a play on the phrase "yama no hoshi", which literally means "star of the mountain". This may be because, during the trial, he states that, "We climb mountains because they are there", in reference to him being compelled to "peek" at Stone's crime scene. "Yama" and "hoshi" are also both Japanese police slang for a likely perpetrator, similar to the English term "perp".
- "Frank Sahwit" literally reads as "frank saw it". Ironically, he is not really a frank person, seeing as he lies a lot, and although he actually committed the crime, he didn't "see it" properly, leading to his hole-filled testimony. Wright made a joke out of the name, calling Sahwit "Mr. Did It" after he had proven that Sahwit had killed Stone.
- "Frank Khavu" comes from the French phrase "frank qu'a vu", meaning "frank who saw it".
- The mole on his forehead was apparently added as a mark of guilt.
- The developers added him to The Imprisoned Turnabout as a way of celebrating the Ace Attorney series' 10th anniversary, noting that any long-time player would associate him with the series.
- The animal design on Sahwit's apron in The Imprisoned Turnabout is the same as that of Delicy Scone's apron in The Inherited Turnabout.
- His appearance in The Imprisoned Turnabout suggests that, contrary to what the judge implies in The Stolen Turnabout, not everyone convicted of homicide in the Ace Attorney series is given a life sentence or the death penalty, as it's indicated that he would have been eligible for parole shortly after the case if not for him being Miwa's accomplice. This is consistent with real-life, where murders committed in the spur of the moment (second-degree murder) are generally punished less severely than those that are premeditated (first-degree murder). In fact, given the relatively short amount of time that Sahwit served (around 2 years, 9 months) before his near-parole, it's possible that he was convicted of a lesser crime such as voluntary manslaughter, as the first game does not indicate that he actively intended to kill Cindy Stone.
- His mugshot in The Imprisoned Turnabout is almost the same as the one used in his previous appearance. The only differences are his attire and that his head is a little smaller.
- In earlier versions of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, his age was stated as 36. However, in Gyakuten Kenji 2, his age was changed to 47. This retcon carried over into Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy HD and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy, which list his age as 44.