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Grand Theft Auto V

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Dead Man Walking, Federal Investigation Bureau/Dave Norton
Mission 22

Dead Man Walking

Federal Investigation Bureau/Dave Norton

5 gold medals
Mission giver
Federal Investigation Bureau/Dave Norton
Playable
Michael De Santa
Location
Galileo Observatory, Vinewood Hills, Los Santos County Coroner Office, Strawberry, Murrieta Oil Field, El Burro Heights
Target
Confirm Ferdinand Kerimov's death by sneaking into the morgue as a dead person and investigate the corpses for Kerimov's name while dealing with guards and cops
Unlocked by
Fame or Shame
Unlocks
Three's Company, Did Somebody Say Yoga?

Player notes

Michael meets Dave Norton at Galileo Observatory in Vinewood Hills. He admits robbing Vangelico with Franklin and tells Dave that Trevor is back, then challenges the FIB agent to arrest him. Dave declines. The IAA has declared its informant, Ferdinand Kerimov, dead, but the FIB suspects that he is being held for questioning instead. Dave needs proof from the Los Santos County Coroner Office in Strawberry, which is under IAA security. He knocks Michael unconscious and has him delivered there as a corpse.

Michael wakes inside a body bag as two medical examiners prepare to begin an autopsy. He incapacitates one examiner while the other flees, then silently deals with a guard in the morgue. Searching the bodies, Michael finds Ferdinand Kerimov's toe tag attached to the corpse of a Black woman. He calls Dave with the result. Dave orders him out as guards close in and the lower levels are locked down.

Michael fights through the coroner's office and reaches an upper floor, where he recovers his clothes and weapons. He shoots out a window, climbs through it and lands in a dumpster outside. After losing the police, he calls Franklin and arranges to meet at the oil derricks in El Burro Heights. Michael warns Franklin to leave Los Santos before the FIB draws him in. Franklin refuses, saying Michael helped him and that he will return the favor. Franklin leaves the oil field.

Objectives

7 steps

In the order the game gives them. The unnumbered steps only appear if you go off script.

  1. 1Search the morgue for the body.
  2. 2Escape from the building.
  3. 3Escape through the window.
  4. 4Shoot out the window and escape.
  5. 5Climb out of the window.
  6. 6Lose the Cops.
  7. 7Go to the oil derricks.

Gold medal

5 requirements

Every one of these in a single run earns the medal. Replaying the mission later counts.

  • Accuracy

    Finish with a shooting accuracy of at least 70%.

  • Headshots

    Kill 14 enemies with a headshot.

  • Time

    Complete within 09:30.

  • Focused Killer

    Kill 4 enemies using Michael's special ability.

  • Unmarked

    Complete with minimal damage to health and armor.

Mission failed if

Any of these fails the mission and sends you back to the last checkpoint.

  • ร—Wasted
  • ร—Busted
  • ร—Michael died. (if he fails to wake up before the doctors cut him open)
  • ร—Too much heat to carry out the job. (visiting Franklin while a wanted level is active)
  • ร—Franklin died.

Trivia

  • โ—†"Dead man walking!" is a phrase that originated in American prisons to announce that an execution is about to take place.
  • โ—†In Max Payne 2 and Max Payne 3, there are arcade modes also called Dead Man Walking and Dead Men Walking respectively.
  • โ—†Shawn Fonteno, Franklin's voice actor, stated in his book Game Changer that following his end of mission scene with Ned Luke, Michael's voice actor, Ned started crying and everyone in the room began to clap for them both. When Fonteno questioned Luke about what was going on, he responded "Damn, Solo, you nailed that. You've come a long way. Your words hurt. They hit my heart". Fonteno went on to say this was because everyone knew about the difficult journey he had been on to reach this point, as he had no formal acting training and was completely self-taught.
  • โ—†One of the alarms that can be heard during the escape is the same as the one used in The Lost and Damned mission Off Route, when Johnny Klebitz steals a Prison Bus.
  • โ—†Dave uses a unique truncheon to knock Michael out during the initial cutscene, which is not seen outside of it and cannot be obtained by the player.
  • โ—†In the end cutscene of the mission Fame or Shame, Dave tells Michael to go to the Observatory as soon as he can. However, the dialogue in the opening cutscene refers to Michael and Trevor's reunion in Fame or Shame taking place a "couple days ago".
  • โ—†If Michael does not "wake up" when the doctors are examining him, they will eventually cut him open with a bonesaw, killing him and failing the mission. During this time, moving the camera around will result in some unique dialogue between the doctors about how his corpse is "reanimating".
  • โ—†Only the thud sound effect is heard when the Mission Failed prompt appears in this failure situation, unlike other instances of failing missions.
  • โ—†A possible plot hole exists during the initial cutscene of this mission. Dave knocks Michael out and after doing this, tells Michael to call him when he gets to the morgue. However, Michael would be near-unconscious by this point and would not have been able to hear Dave's instructions. It is possible that Michael could have either heard Dave as he was slipping into unconsciousness, or he assumed that ending up in the morgue was part of Dave's plan, though he expresses surprise when he phones Dave later in the mission.
  • โ—†There is an inconsistency with the two medical staff - Michael incapacitates the African-American and the other one escapes, while the post-mission Bleet is from Pete, who is the African-American one.
  • โ—†Pete's Bleeter handle, LSMorticianPete, may be a reference to the song "Butcher Pete", by African-American blues musician Roy Brown, whom he resembles somewhat with his thin mustache shown in his profile picture. Both morticians and butchers have jobs that involve cutting up dead bodies.
  • โ—†The guard that searches for Michael wears the same outfit as Steve Haines.
  • โ—†If Michael injures one of the medics inside the coroner's office, but does not kill him, the medic may pull out a Pistol and die shortly afterwards.
  • โ—†If the IAA agents with the Pump Shotguns and SMGs are shot and injured, they will pull out standard Pistols. The ones with the Combat Pistols will still hold them when injured.
  • โ—†Regardless of which vehicle Michael uses to escape from the police, once his wanted level is cleared, the radio will automatically tune into Los Santos Rock Radio and "Radio Ga Ga" by Queen will always play.
  • โ—†Franklin can be seen at the oil derricks talking on his phone when Michael calls him.
View on GTA Wiki โ†’

Mission data from GTA Wiki, CC BY-SA. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games.

Last verified September 14, 2026