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Martin Short as Oliver, Steve Martin as Charles, and Selena Gomez as Mabel in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 5.Credit: Disney/Patrick Harbron
In the blink of an eye, Only Murders in the Building season 5 has come to an end. The Emmy-winning series delivered a shocking season finale on Tuesday, Oct. 28, finally revealing who killed Lester (Teddy Coluca), the beloved doorman of the Arconia.
From the moment Lester’s body was found in a fountain in the season premiere, our favorite true crime lovers, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez), have been working to solve the mystery of who was responsible.
If you’re ready to learn the killer’s identity, stick around because Entertainment Weekly has all the answers you’re looking for.
Who is the killer in Only Murders in the Building season 5?
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Teddy Coluca as Lester in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 5.Disney/Patrick Harbron
In the season 5 finale, viewers learn that Mayor Beau Tillman (Keegan-Michael Key) killed Lester. He admits his role to Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, and even recounts how the crime is linked to the death of mobster Nicky Caccimelio (Bobby Cannavale).
It turns out Nicky’s wife, Sofia Caccimelio (Téa Leoni), was having an affair with Beau. On the night he and Lester were killed, Nicky was in the casino room with the three billionaires — Camila White (Renée Zellweger), Sebastian “Bash” Steed (Christoph Waltz), Jay Pflug (Logan Lerman) — and Beau himself.
Nicky then saw photos of Beau and Sofia kissing, and he lashed out, slicing off Beau’s pointer finger with a cleaver (the same finger Oliver found earlier in a shrimp cocktail). He chased Beau with the cleaver, but Lester, also in the casino room, stabbed Nicky in the back. The mobster collapsed onto Lester and accidentally drove the cleaver into his own chest.
Lester fled, but Beau followed him, demanding the missing finger because without it, his corrupt past could come to light. Lester said he didn’t have it (he really didn’t; Jay did).
The doorman also refused to be intimidated and told Beau that if he wanted to stop him, he would have to kill him in front of the building’s security cameras. Beau pointed out that Bash disabled them, and any footage could be altered to appear accidental.
Desperate, Lester then grabbed his bird whistle and dashed to the Arconia courtyard fountain. He picked up his phone to text his wife, “It’s Beau Tillman,” but autocorrect changed it to “It’s Beautiful.”
Beau caught up and pushed Lester against the fountain, killing him. In his last moments, Lester used his bird whistle to turn on the Byrdee camera, hoping it would capture his killer.
What happens to Mayor Tillman?
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Keegan-Michael Key as Mayor Beau Tillman in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 5.Disney/Patrick Harbron
After his confession, Beau traps Charles, Oliver, and Mabel in a hidden room, hoping to bury them when the Arconia is demolished to make room for a casino. But the podcasters manage to escape and head back to the casino room, where they reveal to reporters that Beau is the one who killed Lester.
Of course, Beau denies it, but the trio presents their evidence. Hidden inside the roulette table was a secret recorder, which captured everything. The mayor is immediately arrested, along with his billionaire buddies.
It turns out the billionaires were working with Beau the entire time. They covered up Nicky’s death and helped dispose of his body. Bash even stored him in his cryochamber for a week, which explains the freezer burn on Nicky’s ear.
In the aftermath, Jay tells Mabel admitted everything to the police, which puts an end to Camila’s casino plans and saves the Arconia from certain doom.
What happens at the end of Only Murders in the Building season 5?
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Martin Short as Oliver, Selena Gomez as Mabel, and Steve Martin as Charles in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 5.Disney/Patrick Harbron
Like every Only Murders in the Building finale, season 5 goes out with one last murder. Three months later, Mabel, Oliver, and Charles tune in to Cinda Canning’s (Tina Fey) true crime podcast. In the latest episode, Cinda reveals her latest obsession is a British case dubbed “The Girl with the Curls,” a tabloid-fueled mystery about a redheaded woman accused of killing a royal descendant.
“A story about a young woman with curls as red as blood, steeped amid the London fog, the prime suspect in the murder of a royal descendant,” Cinda says. “The public has turned against her, and, fueled by the British tabloids, there have been threats against her life. But I believe this girl with the curls is innocent, and I feel a strong need to protect her, to send her to America, which may be the only place she can be safe.”
The scene then cuts to a woman with striking red curls stumbling toward the Arconia, leaving a bloody handprint behind before collapsing just outside the gates. Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) and the trio argue over whether the death technically counts as “in the building” until the woman’s hand slips past the gate, deciding for them.
When the woman turns over, the trio realizes that it’s Cinda, setting up what’s sure to be another twist-filled mystery for season 6.