In the premiere of Presumed Innocent, Carolyn Polemus is found dead in her apartment.

 The murder weapon is missing and the assailant managed to leave without a trace.

 In fact, the only fingerprints detected on the scene are from Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal)—Carolyn’s colleague whom she was having an affair with.

If you’ve been following along with our coverage of the Apple TV+ show, you probably have a few questions: Why is Jake Gyllenhaal in everything lately?

 Is this show about to become Apple TV+’s next weird-but-I-like-it series, à la Severance and Hijack? And did Rusty kill Carolyn?

 Well, we can’t solve all of the world’s issues in a day, so let’s focus on that.

Presumed Innocent is based on Scott Turow’s 1986 novel of the same name, which also led to a 1990 film adaptation starring Harrison Ford. 

Fans of the original may already know who the assailant is, but that doesn’t mean Apple TV+ will stick to the script. 

Wouldn’t that be more interesting, anyway? 

So far, the streamer has kept the big reveal under lock and key. Until the finale, we’ll have to investigate each episode for new clues. So grab yourself a pen and paper because it’s time to do some sleuthing.

Rusty seems like a likely suspect. He admitted to being obsessed with Carolyn —but does that make him a killer? It’s hard to say. There are currently two suspects in her case, though I have a theory about two more. Let’s look into the potential killers and their motives.

Who: Tommy Molto is Carolyn and Rusty’s coworker. He’s currently working on Carolyn’s case.

Motive: Tommy hasn’t been accused of killing Carolyn, but he’s increasingly feeling like a suspect to my eye. In episode 3 of Presumed Innocent, Tommy has a revealing conversation with his boss, Nico Della Guardia. Nico accuses Tommy of being too invested in Rusty’s downfall to handle Carolyn’s murder case properly. He even insinuates that Tommy cares more about his ego than ethics. “Do you remember what you said when I made you Chief Deputy Prosecutor?” Tommy asks. “The first thing you said was, ‘The girls are sure gonna like me now.’” Could Tommy have killed Carolyn and framed Rusty? Possibly. Carolyn was their coworker and a highly talented prosecutor. Maybe he saw her as competition and figured he could kill two birds with one stone by hurting Carolyn and blaming Rusty, too.

Alibi: Tommy was presumably at home during the murder. His fingerprints were not found at the crime scene.

Who: Rusty Sabich is Carolyn’s colleague and lover. Their affair began more than a year ago when they were paired together on a high-profile case. Given that Rusty has a wife and kids, they broke things off—but the split was temporary. In episode 2, we learn that he and Carolyn had rekindled their relationship just a few days before her death. According to her autopsy, Carolyn was pregnant with Rusty’s child.

Motive: There are a few options here. Rusty’s biggest motive is protecting his reputation. He’s a successful lawyer and a well-respected family man. Perhaps he was concerned that Carolyn would tell everyone about their affair, so he killed her in a fit of fear-induced rage. Or maybe he knew she was pregnant and couldn’t handle the responsibility of a second family. Despite his clear link to the murder (the fingerprints!), Rusty insists that he was not involved. I suppose that could be true. If he really loved her, he wouldn’t kill her…right?

Alibi: We don’t know exactly when Carolyn died, which means Rusty could have been at home during the murder. Even if he did stop by that night, he ended the evening with his family. Rusty’s wife and kids can vouch for his presence. As far as they know, he never left.

Who: Michael Caldwell is Carolyn’s secret son. According to Rusty, she never spoke about him. He didn’t even know Michael existed! I don’t mean to parent shame, but that seems odd. Don’t most coworkers talk to each other about their kids? Rusty and Carolyn’s boss, Raymond, didn’t know about Michael, either.

Motive: My only reason for including Michael on this list is that he has the vibe of a scorned teenager. The thing is, I’m not quite sure what he’s mad about it. Is his constant sulking due to a guilty conscience, or is he just another pissed-off kid? Perhaps it’s gauche to level allegations at a victim’s child, but for now, I’m keeping my eyes on Michael. That boy knows something.

Alibi: Michael was presumably at home with his dad when Carolyn died. The police ticked his father off their suspect list, but that doesn’t mean Michael was cleared, too.

Who: Liam Reynolds is an enemy of Carolyn and Rusty. Prior to the events of the show, he was convicted of killing Bunny Davis—a young woman who was found bludgeoned and tied up…just like Carolyn. Carolyn was one of the lawyers responsible for putting Liam behind bars.

Motive: Liam could have had Carolyn killed for revenge. When Rusty visits him in prison, Liam practically laughs at the news of her death. “Carolyn Polhemus ruined my life,” he says. In a flashback scene, we see that Liam threatened Carolyn after his trial. He believes that he was wrongfully convicted—and now that Rusty’s looked at his case, it seems like Liam could be right. If Carolyn did set him up, maybe he hired someone to settle the score.

Alibi: Liam’s alibi is the strongest of the bunch. Since he’s serving a life sentence, he couldn’t have killed Carolyn himself—though he may have had some help. Prison does have phones, after all.

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Source: Los Angeles Times