Who killed Carolyn in “Presumed Innocent” 2024? Meet the suspects from the Apple TV+ series

Presumed innocent may be a new legal thriller on Apple TV+, but the story of Chief Deputy District Attorney Rusty Sabich being investigated for the murder of his colleague and mistress Carolyn Polhemus is decades old.

The limited series starring and executive produced by Jake Gyllenhaal is the latest adaptation of Scott Turow’s bestselling 1987 novel of the same name. In 1990, the text inspired a film starring Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Bonnie Bedelia and Greta Scacchi. And while fans of the book or movie may think they’ve figured out how the Apple TV+ series ends, with major changes already introduced in the first three episodes, it’s clear that creator David E. Kelley and executive producer JJ Abrams are I’m not afraid to change things. So who’s to say the ending or the killer can’t change?

Critics have yet to see the finale of the eight-episode limited series, so even I I don’t know who is responsible for the death of Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve). What I do know is that Carolyn probably knew her killer based on the team’s findings. So we are here to round up the suspects from the three episodes of the Apple TV+ series and will update the list as the series progresses.

Curious who killed Carolyn Polhemus Presumed innocent the Apple TV+ series? Let’s meet the suspects so far. (For information: if you have not seen Presumed innocent the film, spoilers await us at the very end. Be warned, but don’t be mad at us, because — again! — it came out in 1990!)

• Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal)

  As much as we want to believe that Rusty is innocent of murder (especially because he repeatedly denies it!), we have to view him as a suspect because that’s what this story is about. His fingerprints and DNA were all over Carolyn’s apartment! The two men had a romantic relationship! She was pregnant with his baby! He was certainly “obsessed with” and “essentially stalked”! He was even at her house the night of the murder! So yeah, that doesn’t sound great! We know that Rusty was guilty of cheating on his wife and lying to his family and co-workers, but his seemingly organic reaction to the news of Carolyn’s death (and the major developments that followed), as well as his insistence on seeking the truth makes us believe – at least for now – that he is innocent of murder. If so, who else should we consider?

• Liam Reynolds (Mark Harelik)

  As shown on the Presumed innocentIn the early episodes of , Liam Reynolds is also a suspect due to his history with Carolyn and his involvement in the murder of Bunny Davis. Flashbacks showed Carolyn arguing against Liam during Bunny Davis’ trial before he was sent to prison for first-degree murder. Plus, Bunny and Carolyn were tied up the same way, and Liam himself admitted, “Two things I never forget: faces and getting fucked!” » When Rusty visited Liam in prison to ask if he had hired anyone from the outside to get back at Carolyn, Liam replied, “That sounds like something I would do/enjoy” and confirmed that Carolyn ruined her life with Rusty’s help. The motive – revenge on those who put him in prison – is certainly there. However, when Rusty reviewed Bunny Davis’ files, he noticed that there was semen from a stranger (apart from Liam) present at the crime scene, leading him to believe that Another mysterious man – who might have helped Liam get away with the murder of Bunny Davis – might have played a role in Carolyn’s death. Reynolds may be too obvious a suspect, but we’ll have to wait and see if he was working with an accomplice.

• Dalton or Michael Caldwell (Matthew Alan and Tate Birchmore)

  Also on Rusty’s suspect list? Carolyn’s ex-husband Dalton and son Michael. Carolyn and Dalton divorced more than nine years ago and he claims they didn’t stay in touch because his life was his work. He told Rusty that he didn’t kill her, but since Michael was “angry at the world and his mother,” Rusty couldn’t rule it out yet. Plus, Carolyn never told him she had a son, which seemed a little fishy. After Rusty received anonymous text messages from someone claiming to have seen him at Carolyn’s house the night of the murder, he agreed to meet the mystery person and learned it was Michael. Rusty told Michael he wanted to find out who killed his mother as much as he did, which led us to believe — again — that Rusty wasn’t the killer. We also don’t believe Michael or his father committed the crime at this time, but East It should be noted that Michael was also at his mother’s house the night she was killed.

• Kyle Sabich (Kingston Rumi Southwick)

  Do we think Kyle Sabich, Rusty’s son, killed Carolyn? Not really! But episode 3 ended with photographic evidence that Kyle was also outside Carolyn’s house the night she was murdered, so he’s officially on the suspect list. Had he known about his father’s affair for a while and just not let on? Did he find out that night while following his father? Don’t leave us hanging like this, Presumed innocent!

• Tommy Molto (Peter Sarsgaard)

  If you think Rusty is innocent of murder, you might also think he was framed. A motive to charge him with murder is intense hatred, and who in this series seems to hate Rusty more than anyone else? (Apart from Liam, who is still behind bars.) His colleague Tommy Molto, who is about to tear him to shreds in court and barely hides his enthusiasm! Rusty revealed that Tommy hated him and was after his job early in the series, and even OT Fagbenle’s Nico Della Guardia called out Tommy for being a little too eager to nail Rusty, reminding him: “As delicious as the prospect that he may be guilty is that our job is not to get Rusty Savage, our job is to get it right Let your evidence be your guide, not your fucking feelings As to why Tommy would resort to. murder or would like to kill his colleague Carolyn to eliminate Rusty, we don’t know. We will need more to substantiate this one, as is the case with our last suspect…

• Barbara Sabich (Ruth Negga)

  We said we were having fun all possible suspects on the show, and while Barbara hasn’t given us any reason to believe she committed this horrific crime, you have to admit: she has the perfect motive. Her husband cheated on her with Carolyn and she admitted their marriage “barely survived” the affair. In the first few episodes, Barbara was incredibly supportive of her husband – even after finding out he had taken over the business and Carolyn was pregnant with his child. So, is she just even-tempered and understanding? Or is she capable of giving the impression that she’s playing it cool, when in fact she’s capable of killing? Only time will tell, but it’s worth noting that the 1990 film revealed that Barbara ultimately murdered Carolyn, so will Apple TV+ go the same route? Join us and find out!

  New episodes of Presumed innocent premieres Wednesday on Apple TV+. Don’t forget to check out Decider’s Presumed innocent episode guide for more detailed information about the season.