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'Presumed Innocent' on Apple TV+: Who killed Carolyn Polhemus? Baffling link thickens the plot

Apple TV+'s latest legal drama, 'Presumed Innocent' is based on the novel of the same name by Scott Turow

Contains spoilers for 'Presumed Innocent'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Viewers are thrust headfirst into a complex murder case of Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve), the prosecutor and Rusty Sabich's (Jake Gyllenhaal) secret lover, in Apple TV+'s latest legal drama series, 'Presumed Innocent.'

The show, based on Scott Turow's novel of the same name, opens with the chilling discovery of Carolyn's murder. She was found murdered by a bludgeoning and painstakingly bound technique that bore striking similarities to Bunny Davis's murder case.

This made Rusty wonder if the murder was carried out by the same person who killed Bunny.

Why does Rusty Sabich believe there is a link between Carolyn Polhemus and Bunny Davis' murder?

The Bunny Davis case, on which Rusty and Carolyn collaborated, resulted in the conviction and life sentence of Liam Reynolds (Mark Harelik). It was revealed that Reynolds forcibly kept Bunny in his motel room and kept her high on cocaine.

Furthermore, he used Narcan to resuscitate Bunny three times, and when he ran out of the drug, he hog-tied her for three days and put a rope around her neck, suffocating and dragging her.

His terrifying techniques bore a remarkable similarity to Carolyn's murder scene, as she was likewise hog-bound and bludgeoned to death, in a manner hauntingly similar to Bunny Davis'.

In addition, after his sentence, Reynolds threatened to get vengeance on Carolyn, leading Rusty to assume that Reynolds may have coordinated a revenge plot from behind bars.

Is Liam Reynolds the mastermind behind Carolyn Polhemus' brutal murder?

While Reynolds is incarcerated, Rusty's suspicion that he was behind the murder case seems increasingly unlikely.

While Reynolds may harbor resentment against Carolyn for her involvement in his conviction, this doesn't necessarily translate into motivation for murder.

The episode depicts him behind bars, serving a life sentence, making it practically impossible for him to have killed Carolyn.

Furthermore, the lack of tangible evidence, such as his fingerprints on the murder scene, suggests that he was not responsible for Carolyn's murder.

On the other hand, Rusty speculated that Reynolds may have paid someone to kill Carolyn, although that possibility is also doubtful given Reynolds' life sentence and maximum security jail, making it very unlikely that he was capable of arranging such a heinous murder.

While Rusty's suspicions about Liam Reynolds are based on circumstantial evidence and their shared past, it's premature to conclude that Reynolds was the mastermind behind Carolyn's brutal murder.

'Presumed Innocent' trailer