Also known as Did it?, I did it, I killed him, Tell me all about it, how you did it.
Smerdyakov's confession is the last interview in which Smerdyakov tells Ivan that he killed Fyodor Pavlovitch and stole the three thousand roubles. He describes shamming the first fit, waiting for Dmitri's visit to create the opportunity, luring Fyodor Pavlovitch with the secret signal, and arranging the envelope to point toward Dmitri. He also insists that Ivan's departure and ideas made Ivan the true moral author of the crime.
XII-V. A Sudden Catastrophe
Ivan tries to bring the confession into court by producing the money and naming Smerdyakov, but his feverish collapse makes the evidence appear unstable.
XII-VIII. A Treatise On Smerdyakov
The prosecutor answers the confession indirectly by arguing that Smerdyakov's suicide note contains no admission and that Ivan's money could have come from his own funds.
XII-XII. And There Was No Murder Either
The defense uses Smerdyakov's character, his death, and Ivan's statement to keep open the possibility that the official explanation has missed the real murderer.
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