Content Warning: This article contains discussions of sexual violence and suicide
ABC drama How To Get Away With Murder might have ended but the endless string of murders remain fresh in the memory of viewers. Most of the murders in the series were committed in a brutal manner by both evil characters and ordinary characters who didn't look like they could hurt a fly at first.
Updated on May 9th, 2021 by Matthew Rudoy: In a story filled with revenge, extramarital affairs, blackmail, and political corruption, there was never any shortage of dead bodies. While fans remember some of the show's biggest deaths, there are other characters whose ends are less well-remembered. Whether it was an accident, a moment of uncontrolled rage, or a premeditated act that was part of a larger scheme, many characters met bitter endings that are worth revisiting, especially in the case of the characters who were unjustly and brutally murdered. A character who was in every season of the show could have a death that was just as impactful as the death of a character who had only appeared in a handful of episodes.
Wallace Mahoney
Shortly after Wes approached Wallace Mahoney on the streets of New York City, Wallace was shot in the head and killed. It was later revealed that Frank was the one who gunned him down.
Wallace's death was violent, but it was also swift, as the gunshots immediately killed him. His end was traumatizing for Wes. At the time, Wes thought Wallace was his biological father and before Wes could find out for sure, Wallace was killed and his blood was spattered all over Wes.
Dominick Flores
Dominick was the one who murdered Wes at the behest of Jorge Castillo. When Frank kidnapped Dominick and tortured him for information, Frank's anger got the best of him and he snapped Dominick's neck and killed him.
While Dominick's actual death was quick, he suffered for a while beforehand with the torture that Frank put him through. It was a savage end for his character and did nothing to avenge Wes's death or provide much-needed answers.
Rebecca Sutter
Bonnie believed that Rebecca killed Lila and Bonnie was determined to protect Annalise at all costs. These factors led Bonnie to duct tape Rebecca's mouth and put a plastic bag over her head, suffocating her to death.
The drawn-out nature of Rebecca's death made it particularly brutal as Rebecca knew what was happening and was powerless to stop it. She knew she was being killed for the wrong reasons, yet there was nothing she could do.
Lila Stangard
Lila's death was the tragic mystery that fueled much of the plot in How To Get Away With Murder's first season. She had been having an affair with Sam Keating and was pregnant with his child.
At Sam's command, Frank strangled Lila to death. Only seconds earlier, she had believed that she and Sam were going to have a life together, and then the next moment, she was staring up into the eyes of a man she didn't know as he strangled her to death.
Nathaniel Lahey Sr.
After being mistreated by the criminal justice system for many years, Nate Lahey Sr. finally got some justice when he became the "face case" for Annalise's class-action lawsuit that went to the Supreme Court. Annalise won the Supreme Court case and she won Nate Lahey Sr.'s appeal. He was finally going to get treatment for his mental health.
While being transferred to a mental health facility, he was shot in the head by prison guards. His death was orchestrated by Governor Lynne Birkhead and Xavier Castillo as a way to get back at Annalise. Nate Lahey Sr.'s death was brutal not just because of the way he was killed, but because it happened unjustly and when he was finally going to get the help he needed.
Helena Hapstall
Helena wasn't exactly a good person. She had an incestuous relationship with her brother Grant. The affair even led to the birth of a baby that she gave out for adoption to keep everything a secret.
When Grant and his wife were murdered, Helena accused Caleb and Catherine. Annalise took the case and Helena agreed to testify. Unfortunately, Helena was found in a car with her throat slit. It is later revealed that Caleb was the one who murdered her to prevent her from testifying against him and his sister.
Jorge Castillo
The big baddie of the series had the pleasure of living until the series finale before he met the reaper. But his death wasn't a pleasant one. It was the typical prison drama setup where an inmate gets stabbed several times and no one is held accountable.
After learning that her father Jorge had betrayed her, Laurel ordered a hit on him in order to protect herself and her loved ones. She paid Tegan to arrange a prison stabbing. Shortly after the trial in which he went against the advice of his lawyers and testified against Annalise, Jorge was attacked by two inmates.
Asher Millstone
In the final season of the series, Asher betrayed his team and began giving information to the FBI to help them build their case against Annalise. Soon after that, someone him Asher to death using a fire poker. Gabriel was the first suspect but it turned out he was just a witness to the crime.
It was later revealed that Asher's FBI handler, Agent Pollock was the person who had struck him to death. She was secretly working for the Castillo family. Pollock had been instructed to kill Asher in order to set up a chain of events that would lead to Annalise being pinned for murder.
Xavier Castillo
In season 6, Frank and Bonnie were holding Xavier captive. They were also trying to get Nate on their side. They wrongly believed that allowing him to talk to Xavier would give him so closure and also provide him with information about his father's death.
Nate did indeed manage to get a confession out of him, including the fact that Governor Birkhead had a hand in the murder. However, he had other plans too. Wanting Jorge Castillo to feel the pain he felt when his father died, he snapped Xavier's neck and framed the governor for the murder.
Frank Delfino
Frank wasn't exactly the nicest person but viewers were glad when he shot Governor Birkhead right outside the courthouse. The villainous politician had been responsible for several murders throughout the series run.
After learning that Hannah and Sam Keating were not his real parents, Sam decided to murder the governor at Annalise's trial. He shot at the governor but in return, the governor's security detail made bullets rain on him like he was an outlaw. Sadly, Bonnie was shot dead too shortly after witnessing Frank's final moments.
Ron Miller
Miller seemed like a gentleman before new information linked him to the death of Nate Sr. Without wasting a second. Nate confronted Miller at Connor and Oliver’s wedding and beat him with his fists until he was unconscious.
Despite the call coming from Governor Birkhead, Miller had facilitated the murder by using a payphone. Unfortunately for him, he was caught on a security camera. When Bonnie showed up and found Miler struggling for breath, she strangled him to end his misery. Bonnie and Nate then disposed of the body.
Emily Sinclair
Emily was a polarizing character. She was likable when she was the prosecutor in the Hapstall case. But when handling Nate's case, she got on some nerves. In an effort to make Asher testify against Annalise she began pressuring his family, which led to Asher's father's suicide.
Angered by the tragedy, Asher took matters into his own hand and ran Emily over with his car. As if that was enough, he carried her body to the Hapstall's mansion and dropped it from the roof to give the impression that she had been pushed down by someone. By doing that, the Hapstall kids would be held responsible.
Wes Gibbins
The early episodes of Season 3 revolved around an inferno that left Annalise's house damaged and one of her students dead. It turned out the student was none other than Wes. But he hadn't really died from the fire.
The villainous Jorge Castillo had ordered his henchman Dominick to kill Wes in order to keep the details about Sam's death a secret. If Wes had come forward about what he knew, Laurel and the Castillo family at large would have been in trouble. So, Dominick stabbed Wes then set the house on fire with his body inside.
Robert Winterbottom
After it was revealed that Frank was tied to the death of Annalise's child, he was banished from the group. Frank was desperate to get Bonnie to forgive him, so he set out to do anything to make that happen.
He went out of his way to murder her ailing father Robert at his hospital bed. Apparently, Robert had sexually assaulted Bonnie on many occasions when she was a child. But instead of simply pressing a pillow over the victim's head as most screen characters do, Frank swapped his oxygen tank with one containing hydrogen sulfide. As a result, his lungs were liquefied.
Sam Keating
In the ninth episode of Season 1 titled "Kill Me, Kill Me, Kill Me," Sam met his end after the Keating 5 were informed that he was involved in Lila's death and hid the information from the group. Things took a violent turn when they tried to get evidence from Sam's laptop. He wouldn't allow them and so a scuffle ensued.
When Sam tackled Rebecca and tried to strangled her, Wes hit him in the head with Annalise's Lady Justice trophy. The group then burned his body in the woods. His ashes were discovered a month later at the Nayatt landfill site.