Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Only Murders in the Building season 2.A genius theory that the murder of Bunny Folger in Only Murders in the Building was planned by Cinda Canning was confirmed by new evidence and clues. Ironically, this stunning revelation came about because of Canning's connection to a corrupt police detective and not because of the subtle hints dropped throughout the season. Yet the evidence of Canning's crime was there for clever viewers to deduce on their own.
Played by Saturday Night Live alumni and 30 Rock star Tina Fey, Cinda Canning was a minor but influential figure in Only Murders in the Building season 1. Promoted as "the Queen of Murder Podcasts," it was Canning's true-crime series, "All Is Not OK in Oklahoma," that sparked a friendship between actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), producer Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and artist Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) and inspired them to launch their own podcast investigating the murder of their neighbor, Tim Kono. Canning met with the amateur detectives once and mentored them somewhat, but was also quick to exploit her relationship with them, with a flash-forward revealing that Canning started a new podcast centered around the trio titled "Only Murderers in the Building."
This flash-forward set up the central mystery of Only Murders in the Building season 2, as Mora, Savage, and Putnam found themselves accused of murder and facing an incredibly elaborate frame-up. This changed the nature of the series' story, as the detectives had to dispose of planted evidence that pointed the finger of suspicion at them while trying to find the identity of the real killer. This was complicated by the revelation that Bunny's killer was a large man when all the most likely suspects until that point were women. This did not eliminate the possibility that somebody planned out the killing while leaving the actual murder to an accomplice, which was revealed to be the case in the penultimate episode of Only Murders in the Building season 2.
The Murder Of Bunny Folger
The murder of Bunny Folger in Only Murders in the Building season 1 finale seemed to be an open and shut case. The president of the Aronica apartment building's residents board had a largely antagonistic relationship with the Only Murders podcasters long before her body was found in Mabel Mora's apartment, apparently stabbed to death with one of Mabel's knitting needles and a knife that was later found in Oliver's kitchen. A valuable Rose Cooper painting was also stolen from Bunny's apartment and was planted in Charles' home, implicating him in the crime, although the painting was later determined to be a forgery and unrelated to the crime apart from the effort to frame him. All of these clues pointed to the killer being incredibly intelligent, familiar with the trio's habits, and skilled in burglary, but this did nothing to directly indicate Cinda Canning's involvement.
Cinda Was At The Scene Of The Crime
The first clue that Cinda Canning was involved in Bunny Folger's murder came in the Only Murders in the Building season 1 finale. Canning was at the scene of the crime with her intern, Poppy White (Adina Verson), recording audio for the first episode of "Only Murderers in the Building" as the police were in the process of arresting Mora, Savage, and Putnam for Bunny Folger's murder. This raised the question of how Canning and White could have been at the scene of the crime so quickly. The most obvious explanation is that they were already aware that a crime had occurred, suggesting either they had been tipped off by the police or were involved in the murder.
Was Poppy White The Mystery Texter?
Another clue from the Only Murders in the Building season 1 finale centered around the identity of the mystery texter, who messaged both Charles and Oliver just before the police raided the Arconia, warning them to "Get out of the building now!!!" The clear implication was that somebody that was working with the killer knew about the upcoming frame but wanted to protect Charles and Oliver, delivering the mysterious warning in Only Murders in the Building season 1 finale. The most obvious suspect to fill this role is Cinda Canning's beleaguered intern, Poppy White, who reached out to Mabel in Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 6, "Performance Review," offering her help while warning Mabel that Cinda was "a liar" and would "do anything to tell a good story." Given that, it made sense that Poppy might have tried to save Oliver and Charles, but it did raise the question of why she didn't just go to the police if Cinda Canning was setting up crimes to fuel her career.
How Detective Kreps Connects To Cinda Canning
This mystery was answered in Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 8, "Hello Darkness," when Mabel determined that the "Glitter Guy" the trio had tagged with a glitter bomb attached to some faked evidence was the lead investigator on Bunny Folger's murder case, Detective Kreps (Michael Rapaport). Kreps had previously tried to scare the trio off of investigating the murder, seemingly to keep amateurs from getting in the way of his own efforts, though he strangely seemed to harbor a particular hatred for Mabel above everyone else. This was confirmed when Mabel confronted Detective Kreps in Only Murders in the Building season 2, episode 9, "Sparring Partners," and he confessed to hating "stupid amateur bullshit podcasts" and being a fan of "All Is Not OK in Oklahoma." This, coupled with his bragging about landing "the smartest woman on the planet," set up the reveal that Kreps was dating Cinda Canning and had been helping her plant falsified evidence ever since they met.
How OMITB Set Up Cinda Canning's Motive For Killing Bunny
Beginning with Cinda Canning's flash-forward podcast in Only Murders in the Building season 1, it became clear that the podcasting diva was far more sinister than her public persona indicated. She was shown to be abusive to her employees, stealing their work for herself. However, there was nothing to indicate that she might have gone so far as to begin orchestrating crimes to build her brand until Only Murders in the Building season 2's penultimate episode and Poppy White's startling confession to Mabel that she was Becky Butler, whose disappearance and murder Cinda Canning had reportedly solved in her first big case. While this revelation came out of left-field, the proof that Cinda Canning was the criminal mastermind behind Only Murders in the Building season 2 was still there for amateur detectives to discover for themselves.