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 prosecutor 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 though fans of the book or movie may think they have the ending of the Apple TV+ series all figured out, with some major changes already introduced in the first three episodes, it’s clear that creator that David E. Kelley and executive producer J.J. Abrams aren’t afraid to switch things up. 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 don’t know who’s responsible for Carolyn Polhemus’ (Renate Reinsve) death. What I do know is that Carolyn likely knew her killer based on the team’s findings. So we’re here to assemble the suspects of the Apple TV+ series three episodes in and will update the list as the series progresses.

Curious who killed Carolyn Polhemus on Presumed Innocent the Apple TV+ series? Let’s meet the suspects so far. (FYI: If you haven’t seen Presumed Innocent the movie, spoilers do lie ahead at the very end. Be warned, but don’t be mad at us, because — again! — it came out in 1990!)

• Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal)

  Though we want to believe that Rusty is innocent of murder (especially because he repeatedly denies it!) we do need to consider him a suspect because that’s what this story is all about. His fingerprints and DNA were all over Carolyn’s apartment! The two were romantically involved! She was pregnant with his baby! He was admittedly “obsessed with” and “basically stalking” her! He was even at her house on the night of the murder! So yeah, it doesn’t look great! We know Rusty was guilty of cheating on his wife and lying to his family and colleagues, but his seemingly organic reaction to the news of Carolyn’s death (and the major developments that have followed), plus his insistence on searching for the truth, makes us believe — at least for now — that he’s innocent of murder. If that’s the case, then who else is there to consider?

• Liam Reynolds (Mark Harelik)

  As shown in Presumed Innocent’s early episodes, Liam Reynolds is also a suspect because of his history with Carolyn and involvement with the Bunny Davis murder. Flashbacks showed Carolyn arguing against Liam in Bunny Davis’s trial before he was sent to prison for first-degree murder. Plus, both Bunny and Carolyn were tied up the same way, and Liam himself admitted, “Two things I never forget: faces and being fucked over!” When Rusty visited Liam in prison to ask if he hired someone on the outside to seek revenge on Carolyn, Liam said, “Sounds like something I’d do/enjoy” and confirmed that Carolyn ruined his life with Rusty’s help. The motive — to get back at the people who put him in jail — is certainly there. However, when Rusty looked back at the Bunny Davis files, he noticed there was sperm from an unknown party (aside from Liam) present on the scene of the crime, which led him to believe that another mystery man — who may have helped Liam get away with Bunny Davis’ murder — could have played a role in Carolyn’s death. Reynolds may be too obvious of 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 list of suspects? Carolyn’s ex-husband Dalton and her son Michael. Carolyn and Dalton divorced over nine years ago and he claims they haven’t kept in touch because her life was her work. He told Rusty he didn’t kill her, but since Michael was “angry at the world and his mother,” Rusty couldn’t rule him out yet. Plus, Carolyn never told him she had a son, which seemed a little fishy. After Rusty received anonymous texts from someone claiming he saw him at Carolyn’s house the night of the murder, he agreed to meet up with 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 — yet again — that Rusty wasn’t the killer. We also don’t think Michael or his dad committed the crime at the moment, but it is worth noting 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 proof that Kyle was also outside Carolyn’s house the night she was murdered, so he is officially in the suspect mix now. Did he know about his father’s affair for a while and simply not let on? Did he find out that night when he followed his dad? Don’t leave us hanging like that, Presumed Innocent!

• Tommy Molto (Peter Sarsgaard)

  If you believe Rusty is innocent of murder, then you could also entertain the idea that he’s been framed. A motive for framing him for murder be intense hatred, and who on this show appears to hate Rusty more than anyone? (Aside from Liam, who’s still behind bars.) His colleague Tommy Molto, who’s on his way to rip him to shreds in court and is barely hiding his excitement! Rusty revealed that Tommy hates him and is gunning for his job early in the series, and even O-T Fagbenle’s Nico Della Guardia called Tommy out for being a bit too over-eager to nail Rusty, reminding him, “As delicious as the prospect that he may be culpable is, our job is not to get Rusty Savage, our job is to get it right. Let your evidence be the guide, not your fucking feelings.” As for why Tommy would resort to murder or want to take the life of his colleague Carolyn to take Rusty down, however, we don’t know. We’ll need more to back this one up, as is the case with our final suspect…

• Barbara Sabich (Ruth Negga)

  We said we’re entertaining all possible suspects in the series, and although 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 early episodes, Barbara was incredibly supportive of her husband — even after finding out he restarted the affair and Carolyn was pregnant with his child. So is she just that even-tempered and understanding? Or is she capable of making it seem like 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 did reveal Barbara murdered Carolyn in the end, so will Apple TV+ take the same route? Tune in and find out.

  New episodes of Presumed Innocent premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV+. Be sure to check out Decider’s Presumed Innocent episode guide for more detailed information about the season.