This post contains spoilers from Only Murders in the Building season 5 episode 9 from this point forward.
We're one episode away from the Only Murders in the Building season 5 finale, and the podcast crew are finally getting answers about the murders that have overtaken the Arconia this time around. In last week's episode, ladies' night at the Velvet Room brought forth some startling discoveries, including the fact that the new doorman, Randall, was at the scene of Lester's death.
Not to mention, Lester's storied elevator crank was found and believed to be the murder weapon. Armed with these clues, the group prepares to close up their case just as the Arconia looks to close up shop for good thanks to Camila White purchasing the building to turn into a casino. But they're forced to turn to an unlikely source for the answers to their questions: LESTR.
As a flashback reveals, Lester received the robot doorman prior to his death but opted out of utilizing the robot and kept it in the basement. But that doesn't mean LESTR wasn't recording the goings on at the Arconia for that whole time. He's smarter than we realize and holds some of the season's darkest secrets. Ahead of the finale, Only Murders reveals Nicky's killer and teases Lester's possible killer.
Who killed Nicky in Only Murders in the Building?
Assuming that Randall killed Lester, the podcast group confronts him in the lobby, but Randall denies all wrongdoing before running away from them. While having a drink with Williams in the gaming parlor, Mabel discovers a trap door leading to a tunnel that connects to the dry cleaners. Mabel also finds a painting that looks like Randall's photo background. He didn't actually run away to Cuba, he's still in the building. However, he did not kill either Nicky or Lester.
When they track down Randall at long last, he stops running to plead his case. He admits that Lester told him to not say anything about that night in the courtyard. LESTR holds all of the answers from the original robot's recordings. The robot shows the group video footage from the night of Lester's death. He's holding the bloody elevator crank. It's revealed that Lester killed Nicky in order to protect the Arconia. He confided in Randall to keep his secret.
After delivering the shrimp to Oliver's apartment as Lester instructed, Randall returned downstairs and found Lester already dead. He picked up the elevator crank to cover up Lester killing Nicky. But now Charles, Oliver, and Mabel worry that they have missed their window of opportunity to solve the full case. They already failed to save the building, but on their last night in the Arconia, the group teams with more friends from the building to help crack Lester's killer.
The Caccimelios are involved in Lester's murder
In the midst of everything, Mabel mulls over going on a yacht trip to the Maldives with Jay. He shows up at her door, but she turns him down. While looking at the murder board, Howard recognizes the scuff mark in Charles' kitchen as from the wheelchair of Nicky's mother. A clip shows the old woman stealing the finger from Charles' fridge with the help of two of Nicky and Sofia's sons. They confront the sons and the motor wheelchair-bound woman, who basically confirms she did it.
So, as for who killed Lester? The leading suspects are currently Nicky's mother and sons acting on revenge for Lester killing Nicky. Still, it's curious to think that Nicky's family would have had to have known right away that Lester killed Nicky in order to get their revenge on the same night. Only Murders tends to always do something of a bait and switch with its killer reveals, which means the revelation at the end of the penultimate episode about the Caccimelio family isn't over yet.
There's still one loose thread in the mix that hasn't been resolved: Sofia Caccimelio. She's been too suspicious all season to not somehow be involved. Maybe she ordered her sons and their grandmother to do some of her bidding after she killed Lester. Right now, we're simply going with the assumption that the Caccimelios are responsible for Lester's death, but which one? The season 5 finale will tie up all the loose ends and confirm who killed Lester.
Watch the Only Murders in the Building season 5 finale on Tuesday, Oct. 28 on Hulu.