Who Killed Carolyn Polhemus in Apple TV+'s 'Presumed Innocent'?

By Dustin Rowles | TV | July 3, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | July 3, 2024 |

Though not everyone agrees, so far I find David E. Kelley’s Apple TV+ adaptation of Presumed Innocent preferable to Scott Turow’s novel. There are a few choices that I strongly prefer. Obviously, rereading the novel in 2024 — in light of the casting on the Apple TV+ series — is striking in terms of the diversity. In 1987, almost all the characters were white and women were either wives or victims, straight-up.

A few other choices that I have preferred in the series are turning Raymond Horgan (Bill Camp), Rusty Sabich’s boss — who lost the election for district attorney — into Rusty’s lawyer instead of a witness against him (as in the book); significantly beefing up the role of Peter Sarsgaard’s Tommy Molto; giving Rusty two teenage children who can actually interact with the story; and keeping Rusty’s wife, Barbara (Ruth Negga) at the forefront of the story.

As someone who loves a good mystery, I also appreciate that David Kelley is spreading the suspicion around instead — as Turow did — of mostly making it about whether Rusty killed his ex-lover, Carolyn, or not. It opens up a number of possibilities about who the actual killer could be. Let’s examine them?

Note: I don’t watch advanced screeners. In this case, Apple TV+ has not screened the last episode for critics anyway. There are, however, book spoilers aplenty.

Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal) — Honestly, this would be an interesting call. The evidence certainly suggests that Sabich murdered his ex-girlfriend, far more so in fact than in the novel. The novel had Sabich’s fingerprints on a glass at Carolyn’s house and a blood sample that had a one-in-ten shot of matching Rusty. Carolyn wasn’t pregnant with Rusty’s child; there wasn’t a long history of backsliding; and there weren’t a whole lot of text messages suggesting that Rusty was completely obsessed, nor a number of fantasy sequences in which Rusty imagined himself as the murderer, as in the series. That ending would be anticlimactic, perhaps, but also more true to life: It’s always the boyfriend, and just because this one is played by Gyllenhaal doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be here, too. (Odds: 6-1)

Barbara Sabich (Ruth Negga) — Barbara was the killer in the novel, which actually leads me to believe that she will not be in the series because Kelley is likely to shake things up. The character here is much more different, as are the circumstances. In the novel, Barbara framed Rusty by planting his fingerprints and blood at the scene. She was also largely a background character for much of the novel. She’s at the forefront here, and it’s not like she can frame Rusty by planting a pregnancy inside of Carolyn. That said, I don’t recall her having an alibi, and she would have the same motive: Jealous that her dumbass husband not only cheated on her, but fell in love with another woman. (Odds: 5-1)

Raymond Horgan (Bill Camp) — Horgan was never much of a suspect in the novel, but in my mind, he should have been: He was not only the key witness against Rusty, but he dated Carolyn after Rusty. I doubt he’s the murderer here, either, because there’s no suggestion (yet) that he was romantically involved with Carolyn. But wow: It would be a neat David Kelley trick if the best friend and lawyer of the defendant were the actual killer. Being the defendant’s lawyer, after all, is a pretty good way to control the investigation and keep yourself out of it. (Odds: 10-1)

Tommy Molto (Peter Sarsgaard) — The same could probably be said of the prosecutor, too, and if there was one sort-of red herring in the novel, it was Molto, who did not kill Carolyn but pulled some shady shit in an effort to convict Rusty. Here, he’s played by Sarsgaard at his most delightfully sleazy, and I think that the series really wants us to believe that it’s him. He’s like an arrogant little incel. I hate him so much (in a good way). My favorite line in the series, in fact, came at the end of this week’s episode after Molto gave his opening statement and Rusty whispered, “Fuck,” under his breath after realizing how formidable an attorney he is. (Odds: 7-1)

Kyle or Jaden Sabich (Kingston Rumi Southwick, Chase Infiniti) — There’s no way it’s Kyle — Rusty’s son — who has already been made a red herring. He knew about his Dad’s affairs and had ridden his bicycle around Carolyn’s house. That makes him almost the least likely suspect. It could, however, be drawing suspicions away from his sister, Jaden, although I don’t see it being her, either. (Odds: 20-1, 15-1)

Brian Ratzer (Marco Rodríguez) — The guy associated with the guy in prison who killed another woman using a similar m.o.? Red herring. 100 percent. Complete and total filler. (Odds: 25-1)

Nico Della Guardia (O-T Fagbenle) — I have a weirdly strong hunch that Nico is the murderer. I don’t have any real evidence — it’s all vibes — but I had wanted him to be the murderer in the novel, and here, I want it even more. I have a strong suspicion that Nico also had an affair with Carolyn, that Carolyn had information that could have derailed his campaign for district attorney, and that he killed her to prevent her from revealing it. I don’t even think he meant to cast suspicion on Rusty; he meant to frame the guy in prison, Liam Reynolds, but when the evidence began to point toward Rusty, he ran with it. He is the perfect combination of charming and unlikable, and hidden just enough behind Tommy Molto so that he’s not an obvious suspect. (Odds: 4-1)