I’m just a super chill girl in general, so I’m not too fussed about finding out who killed Carolyn Polhemus of Presumed Innocent — who? Like, it would be nice to know Rusty actually murdered her and is the world’s biggest gaslighter and whether he’ll pay for his crimes, but you know, no biggie, no worries, no stress. Okay, but really, someone has got to tell me who murdered Carolyn because I am losing my mind about it. Will the show follow the book’s surprise reveal? Did the last episode set us up for a different turn of events? Have we got a child murderer on our hands? Season 2 of Presumed Innocent has been announced ahead of the big reveal. SO TELL ME. But yeah, super chill, no biggie. Let’s go over all the Presumed Innocent finale theories out there.
Presumed Innocent Finale Theories
Did Rusty kill Carolyn or not?
As much as I love to blame murder on Jake Gyllenhaal, it just seems too obvious! All throughout the season, we’ve had plenty of reasons to suspect Rusty of Carolyn’s murder. He was obsessed with her, he was the father of her unborn child, and he wasn’t taking well to the end of the affair. He demonstrated a proclivity to violence when he beat up Ratzer. He knew the Bunny Davis case intimately, so he could’ve recreated it to frame Reynolds. His skin cells were found under her fingernails, suggesting a struggle or some hot hot sex.
Tommy! Was it you?
Over the last few episodes, Tommy has dug his hole deeper and deeper. I got bad vibes about him from the get-go (I guess I’m like an empath, smirk), and the characters are finally catching up to my superior judgement.
Flashbacks revealed Tommy always had a thing for Carolyn, and I can’t blame him, as she is smoking. Did you see her in The Worst Person in the World? You’re so welcome! Carolyn majorly had the ick from Tommy, and would avoid him and his creepy attempts to hug her. It is also confirmed that she reported him to HR, and that was probably who she referred to as the uncomfortable coworker in the conversation with her son. Did the rejection drive him to kill her? We saw some of his anger when he ripped down her paper on the bulletin board.
Or was he trying to frame Rusty this whole time? He might have been jealous that she wanted to shag Rusty and not him. He could’ve had the same info about the previous case regarding tying her up and used this to frame his rival.
HOWEVER, as much as I hate Tommy Boy, I must say that episode seven’s ending makes this unlikely. Tommy returned home to find his home wrecked, his cat terrified, and the fire poker murder weapon sitting there with a note reading, “Go fuck yourself.” If we assume this came from the killer, why would he wreck his own house? Or is this a warning from someone who knows Tommy did it? But then they likely wouldn’t return the murder weapon as this is EVIDENCE — yes, I’ve watched a lot of law shows, I know these things.
Plot twist: Was it the medical examiner?
Herbert Kumagai’s the name, but is murder the game? I actually never suspected Herb the Medical Examiner until now. He and Rusty have had serious [sexual] tension since episode one, including some light choking, angry words, and taking the stand as a witness. But episode seven is leading us to think again.
Kumagai would know precisely how Bunny Davis was tied up as he worked on the case, as revealed by Rusty asking him about the second DNA sample. Secondly, Kumagai clearly knows how to cover things up or conveniently reveal them. He SUDDENLY found Rusty’s DNA under Carolyn’s nails right after Rusty confronted him about the Bunny Davis case. I initially thought this was Tommy’s doing, but what if it wasn’t?
Okay, circumstantial, right? WELL, the note left in Tommy’s apartment said, “Go fuck yourself,” which is exactly what Kumagai said to Rusty in an early episode of the show. Mysterious!!! This was right after Tommy pointed out Kumagai’s negligence and oversight in court to paint Rusty as a violent man. Did he kill Carolyn to frame Rusty? Or because she knew about the hidden evidence in Bunny’s case and would reveal it? If he hid evidence once, who’s to say he hadn’t made a habit of it…
Jealousy, jealousy, was it Eugenia?
Until now, just about everyone wanted to fuck Carolyn, but what about the person who clearly had the hots for Rusty? I can’t explain her taste, but Eugenia clearly lusted after him. As a colleague of both Carolyn and Rusty, she was called as a witness and did her best not to further incriminate him. She was also clearly aware of the affair and urged Rusty to end it, worrying how it was changing him. Perhaps she decided to take matters into her own hands. She definitely would know enough about the Bunny murder to recreate it.
Did Barbara or one of the kids kill her?
SPOILEEEEEEEER!!!!
In the book, we discover that Barbara did the deed and killed Carolyn after discovering the affair. But in the series, Barbara already knew about the affair, though she did think it had already ended. The book has Rusty figuring it out, and Barbz eventually confesses to clear his name.
I don’t think the series will do the same, as we’ve had no hints of her involvement! I do think we’ll see her take the stand in the finale, as Raymond requested a while ago, but I don’t know. I think Apple TV+ wants to punk us a la Ashton Kutcher.
Did Raymond or his wifey kill Carolyn?
Perhaps it was Raymond, lawyer and bestie of Rusty. The book also has a big reveal that Raymond and Carolyn had an affair — how did the woman balance this all on top of a high-powered career? No wonder she had no time for her kid. It’s unclear if this will be the case in the series, but it gives a hella of a good motive for Raymond or his wife, Lorraine. Wifey was always so quick to hate on Rusty and hope he goes down for it, maybe to cover her tracks?
Raymond also kept asking Rusty not to consider other suspects in the first episodes, as if he feared Rusty would find the truth!! Raymond knew details about Carolyn that even Rusty, her lovah, did not. Such as the son she had abandoned lol.
Raymond also notably went down in episode six, suggesting he was under way too much stress. While it could be the stress of defending his bestie, it could also be the stress of making sure he didn’t get caught. Raymond also might have blamed Carolyn or Rusty for his election loss, as they caused a distraction. Or Raymond could have feared that Carolyn would go public with the second DNA sample in the Bunny killing, which means Reynolds might not be guilty. That’s a bad look for a state attorney, I’ll tell you that. I think I cracked the case???
Why defend Rusty then? Guilt over what he’s put everyone through, or to cover his own ass and guide the case – You be the judge!! We’ll find out soon enough, but not soon enough at all.
