Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 3.
A new theory postulates that podcast host Cinda Canning may have killed board president Bunny Folger and framed the Only Murders in the Building hosts for the crime. While this might seem unlikely on the surface, given Canning’s status as a supporting player in the series story so far, she is also one of the few suspects to fit all of the clues tied to the murder of the head of the Arconia’s homeowner’s association. It would also explain several mysteries from the Only Murders in the Building season 1 finale if Canning were the killer.
Played by Mean Girls producer and 30 Rock star Tina Fey, Cinda Canning was introduced into Only Murders in the Building season 1 as a successful podcast producer. Her true-crime series “All Is Not OK in Oklahoma” helped form a friendship between aspiring artist Mabel Mora, out-of-work actor Charles-Haden Savage, and musical producer Oliver Putnam and inspired the trio to develop their own podcast titled “Only Murders in the Building.” She also offered some advice to the amateur detectives when they first started investigating the mysterious death of one of their neighbors, but a flashforward in Only Murders in the Building season 1, episode 4, “The Sting,” revealed that Cinda Canning later set up a new podcast centered around Mora, Savage, and Putnam titled “Only Murderers in the Building.”
The meaning of the flashforward did not become apparent until Only Murders in the Building season 2 started. After Mora, Savage and Putnam were accused of killing Bunny Folger; Canning started “Only Murderers in the Building” to capitalize upon the trio’s fame following their successful solving of two murders and exposing a jewelry smuggling ring. It was made clear during Only Murders in the Building season 1 that Canning was a scheming opportunist who exploited her assistants to build her brand. However, there is evidence that Canning may have gone beyond being a bad boss and set up the perfect crime to eliminate a competitor and increase her audience.
What We Know About Bunny’s Death In Only Murders in the Building
The violent death of Bunny Folger in the Only Murders in the Building season 1 finale acted as a bookend to the murder of Tim Kono that started the series. On the surface, the case seemed open and shut, as Bunny was found in Mabel Mora’s apartment, stabbed with one of Mabel’s knitting needles, and wearing one of the “Only Murders In The Building” sweatshirts Oliver Putnam had begun selling to promote the show. This seemed odd as Bunny was not a fan of the trio and had actively spent most of Only Murders in the Building season 1 hampering their investigation and trying to evict them from the Arconia.
This mystery was explained in Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 3, “The Last Day of Bunny Folger,” which revealed how just before Bunny was murdered, she had been given the sweatshirt following an awkward attempt to befriend the mystery-solving trio. The episode also revealed that Bunny had been attacked in her apartment and recognized her killer. How she got into Mabel’s apartment just before dying and getting her blood on her was not explained, but it was later determined that Bunny died from a combination of wounds inflicted by a knitting needle and an unidentified knife.
How The Killer Tried To Frame Only Murders’ Heroes
Shortly after the trio were released from police custody but still identified as persons of interest in Bunny’s murder, Charles-Haden Savage discovered a strange painting hung up in his apartment. The painting was later identified as a replica of a valuable Rose Cooper painting that had gone missing from Bunny’s apartment following her death. The trio presumed that the killer had stolen the painting and planted it in Savage’s apartment as an additional means of throwing suspicion on the trio, though the location of the real painting is still unknown.
Cinda Was At The Scene Of The Crime In OMITB
Curiously, Cinda Canning was at the scene of the crime on the night that Bunny Folger was murdered in the Only Murders in the Building season 1 finale. As the police were escorting Mora, Savage, and Putnam from the building, Canning was already recording the first episode of a new podcast with the help of her assistant, Poppy White. Indeed, it was Poppy who suggested the name “Only Murderers in the Building,” which Canning was quick to claim ownership of, threatening to fire Poppy if she dared deny her credit for the name.
Based on the timeline of events shown in the Only Murders in the Building season 2 premiere and “The Last Day of Bunny Folger,” it seems clear that the killer contacted the police in a bid to set up Mabel Mora for the crime. This begs the question of how Cinda Canning and Poppy White could have been at the Arconia in time to catch the trio being arrested and escorted from the building. While it is possible they may have been tipped off by contacts in the police department or may have gotten wind of the raid through a police scanner; they still seemed incredibly well-prepared for their recording session. This suggests that Canning, if not the actual murderer, is probably the mastermind behind the murder of Bunny Folger.
The only hole in this theory is that Bunny clearly knew her murderer, and Cinda Canning, while famous, is not a resident of the Arconia and not as likely a suspect as incoming board president Nina Lin. However, this discrepancy can be explained by a clue from Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 2, in which building manager Ursula warned Oliver Putnam that “one of those podcast girls was sniffing around about you” and that they had bought 10 cases of Gut Milk trying to win her over. When Oliver asked for a description, Ursula recalled her being a nosy White woman with glasses, which is an apt description of Cinda Canning. Given how closely Bunny watched the Arconia and how Cinda Canning was producing her podcasts, it seems likely that she might have interviewed Bunny as well and that Bunny would have recognized her.
Cinda’s Assistant Tried To Warn Charles and Oliver
Another major mystery from the Only Murders in the Building season 1 ender is the identity of the mysterious figure who texted both Charles-Haden Savage and Oliver Putnam and warned them to “Get out of the building now!!!” The two elected to find Mabel rather than leave her behind and found her over Bunny’s body just before the police arrived to arrest them all. It is clear that someone working with the killer had tried to tip them off, and the most likely suspect in this instance is Cinda’s assistant Poppy, who had ethics enough to try and thwart the frame attempt but was still dependent on Cinda Canning’s scheme succeeding somewhat for the sake of her career. Why she couldn’t just report the scheme to the police is unclear, but very little in Only Murders in the Building to date has been straightforward or easily explained.
Only Murders in the Building releases Tuesdays on Hulu.
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