A Ranking Of Every Suspect In Only Murders Season 3

The Arconia is full of more famous faces than ever in Season 3 of Only Murder in the Building... except, one of those stars is already dead. As Charles, Oliver, and Mabel try to once again solve a particularly tricky murder mystery, fans may already be one step ahead of the podcasting trio. The first two episodes seemed to drop several clue about who killed Ben, and who didn’t. So, let’s go over all the suspects and try to suss out the killer based on everything we know.

The Season 3 premiere of OMITB does an excellent job of presenting a whole new cast of suspicious maybe-killers, who all have an ax to grind with the pompous star of Oliver’s play, Ben Glenroy. In the first couple of episodes, there are only a few real clues to go off of. The big one is the cause of death. There was a murder attempt on Ben just moments before he stepped out on stage on the opening night of Death Rattle. It seemed like he may have been poisoned, but as Mabel noted, there was no foaming in his mouth, so it could have been something else. When Ben turned up alive at the afterparty, everyone in the room had suspicious responses to him. Later that night, Ben was killed, likely by someone pushing him down the Arconia’s elevator shaft.

The smoking bullet is the handkerchief on top of Ben’s corpse, the gift that he had given to everyone in the Death Rattle cast and crew. Since Ben’s own handkerchief was stolen earlier that night, this one must have been dropped by the killer. Basically, everyone’s a suspect, but some characters make a lot more sense as the killer than others.

1. Cliff & Donna

The mother and son producing duo is at the very top of the suspect list for a few reasons. For one, it would make sense for Donna to want to fake Ben’s death on opening night to drum up buzz for the show. Notably, she immediately pointed out how Ben’s apparent resurrection would be great promotion. So then, why would she actually kill her star right after that? She didn’t. But her son might have.

As Ben was listing all the terrible things he’d done to the cast and crew, it was clear Cliff was still the most upset with Ben, who constantly forgets his name and simply refers to him as “boy.” The play’s premise is about a baby being accused of murder, and as we all know, art imitates life. Maybe Cliff got so sick of being treated like a baby that he took matters into his own hands.

2. Dickie

Dickie only had a very presence in the first couple episodes, which is what makes him so incredibly sus. Not only does Ben constantly put his brother/assistant down, but Dickie’s also the person with the most consistent access to Ben. The biggest clue came when Ben arrived at the afterparty and said his near-death experience must have been something he ate. Who’s the person in charge of Ben’s diet? That’s right: Dickie.

3. Joy

This one’s a bit of a stretch, since Joy wasn’t part of the production and therefore never got a handkerchief, but that might be just the misdirect she was going for. We still don’t know much about Charles’ new girlfriend — and it should be said that he doesn’t exactly have a knack for picking non-murderous love interests. When everyone thought Ben had died, Joy actually seemed happy about it, saying that it would allow her and Charles to spend more time together. Could her love for Charles be so strong that it led to murder? She probably also picked up some tips from Charles’ podcast, and knew to leave someone else’s handkerchief on Ben’s body to shift suspicion away from her.

4. Kimber, Ty, or Jonathan

Most of the other Death Rattle actors are grouped together because they all have similar motives, and also because it’s possible they worked together to kill their leading man. Ben seemed to insinuate he had a messy fling with Kimber, he and Ty fought over a trainer, and Jonathan being Ben’s understudy is motive in and of itself. Obviously, we’ll learn more about these three as the season continues, but it could be a nice twist if the season ended with not tjust one killer, but three who worked together to end the toxic environment Ben had created backstage.

5. KT

Could the hard-working, overlooked stage manager be the killer? It’s certainly a route OMITB has taken before, and one moment at the afterparty put some suspicion on her. She’s one of the only people confirmed to have brought her handkerchief to the Arconia that night, as Howard points out how she used it to dry her tears. Why include a scene making it very obvious that KT had her handkerchief, if not to imply she could be the killer?

6. Howard

Like KT, Howard also had his handkerchief at the afterparty, plus he has even more motive to ruin Oliver’s play, after Oliver disrespected him by making him an assistant rather than cast him. But, in all reality, he’s lower on the suspect list since he’s been on the show for three seasons now. The killer will almost definitely be one of the new characters, not an Arconia regular.

7. Loretta

The show would want you to think Loretta is the obvious prime suspect — she clearly hated Ben, and wanted the show to end so she could date Oliver, who has a rule against dating his actors. But... she’s way too obvious of a killer. Obviously, Meryl Streep’s role is going to be a juicy one, but it’s hard to believe she’ll end up the killer with how much the show loves a good twist.

8. Tobert

There’s really nothing to say about the documentarian Tobert yet. He didn’t seem to be at the afterparty, and it’s not even clear if Ben gave him a handkerchief since he technically wasn’t part of the play. Of course, more will be revealed about him soon enough, but for now, he’s too much of a mystery to even speculate about.

9. Bobo

C’mon, it can’t be Bobo! Unless this season is willing to pull of a really wild twist with its silent, comic relief character (which would probably feel pretty random and unsatisfying), then Bobo is safe, for now.

10. Mabel

Obviously, it’s far-fetched to include any of the main characters on the suspect list — the show’s not going to actually make one of its stars a murderer! But, Mabel has some motives that can’t be totally ignored in Season 3. She constantly brings up how the trio needs another murder to cover on their podcast, and is resentful of Oliver’s play for how much time Oliver and Charles spend together without her. Clearly, she was desperate for one last murder mystery before having to leave the Arconia. Maybe she didn’t kill Ben herself (she is his biggest fan), but found him dead and moved his body into the Arconia so that it would be eligible for her, Charles, and Oliver to cover on their podcast. It is called Only Murders in the Building, after all!

New episodes of Only Murders in the Building drop Tuesdays on Hulu.