NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Only Murders in the Building season 3.
Charles, (Steve Martin), Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Oliver (Martin Short) are back on the case, as Only Murders in the Building season 3 is underway. The mystery they are trying to solve: who killed Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd), Hollywood A-lister and star of Oliver's new Broadway play?
After Only Murders in the Building season 2 ended with Ben collapsing on stage, season 3 episode 1 revealed Ben didn't officially kick the bucket on stage, but he didn't last much longer, falling down the Arconia elevator shaft to his death. With Ben officially having died in the building, our beloved podcasters begin the hunt for his killer in earnest.
We're going to keep a running list of who may have killed Ben Glenroy throughout the season, updating our prime suspects, people of interest and who has been proven innocent. Check out our initial lineup after the first three episodes.
Prime Suspects
Donna
We have a new No. 1 prime suspect, and honestly, we feel pretty good about this one. Donna's (Linda Emond) biggest goal throughout the season has been trying to help her son Cliff have a successful first show as a Broadway producer. As she tells Loretta (Meryl Streep) in the bathroom in episode 8, a mother will do anything to help their child. Including murder?
Perhaps fearing what could happen in the show's first iteration, Donna poisoned Ben in the hopes his death would shut down the show. When that didn't work, she could have shoved him down the elevator at the Arconia. However, we don't rule out the possibility that Donna poisoned Ben and someone else shoved him down the elevator. But she is our lead suspect one way or another.
Dickie
If the two killer theory proves correct, Dickie still remains the most obvious second killer. The police take a keen interest in Dickie in episode 8, as does Mabel. In addition to his previous established motive of always being in Ben's shadow, Dickie admits he was relieved when Ben was first poisoned and then disheartened when he survived. So perhaps he had had enough and killed Ben to free himself.
Dickie is also still a possibility if it's just one killer, as he had access to Ben's food so could have easily slipped in some poison.
Tobert
Donna and Dickie are the primary suspects, but we can't rule out Tobert yet. Though he has been working with Mabel throughout the season, she says it herself: a killer may insert themselves into the case to try and divert attention. We also still don’t know where Tobert was during the party when Ben reappeared, perhaps he was the person who called Ben (possibly blackmail). Something has felt a little off about Tobert all season, so a final twist is definitely in the realm of possibility.
Persons of Interest
Loretta
Loretta (Meryl Streep_ confessed to killing Ben in episode 8, but that appears to be to protect Dickie, the son she gave up when she was young to pursue her Broadway dream. The fact a confession came in episode 8 and not 9 or 10 makes us pretty confident that Loretta is not the killer, but she does lay out a pretty logical sequence of events for both the poisoning and murder at the Arconia, so there could be some truth to it all.
Bobo and Ty
We see both Bobo (Don Darryl Rivera) and Ty (Gerald Caesar) get interviewed by Detective Williams in episode 8, and with nothing yet to clear them, they are still possibilities. Which leads to one new theory we have.
Really grasping at straws here, but when Charles, Mabel and Oliver have their moment of reconnection in episode 8 it occurs outside Bobo's dressing room. Could that be the OMITB team giving us a sign? Probably not, but there are still two episodes to reveal a major twist like that.
Howard
Howard seemingly cleared himself when he revealed that his feeling of guilt over Ben was because he didn't do what he thought he needed to rid the theater of its ghost, but a comment from Jonathan keeps Howard on our list of possible surprise murderers; mainly that Howard was the one who wanted Jonathan to become the leading man in the play.
KT
I debated if what we learned from KT in episode 6 was enough to say she was proven innocent and I'm just not sure. She says she never locks her office door, but can we take her on her word? She has an intimate knowledge of the theater, which would potentially allow her to maneuver around and hide her schemes. But still think it's a bit of a long shot.
Cliff
Cliff is back at work trying to help get Death Rattle Dazzle to the stage. His earnestness in producing the play makes him seem an unlikely candidate, but we can't say he's proven his innocence just yet.
Proven Innocent
Jonathan
Mabel and Tobert confront Jonathan in the theater about Dr. C. Jonathan reveals that he got the doctor to give him the "leading man cocktail" of pills to help ease his nerves on taking over Ben's role. Becoming the leading man is not what he wanted. So with that motive gone, I'm ready to say Jonathan is innocent.
Joy
Joy admitted that she did a touch up on Ben before he was killed, which barring a massive surprise, pretty much rules her out of his murder.
Kimber
Kimber was counting on Ben to support her anti-aging cream, which is just vaseline and soda (not poison) and her admitting that she sold the hankie on eBay, pretty much removes her from the suspect list barring a major late-season twist.
Greg
While Greg is guilty of kidnapping Charles and Mabel, he is not guilty of Ben's murder, as the overzealous fan desperately wants to catch Ben's killer.
