Warning: SPOILERS ahead for School Spirits.

The list of suspects considered in the murder of Maddie Nears has grown to include Maddie's mother, Sandra, and the shocking School Spirits twist proposes the most interesting accusation yet by making Sandra a prime suspect. Since the premier episode, Maddie Nears (Peyton List) has been investigating the circumstances of her death, the result of which confines her to a state of high school limbo and limits her capabilities to probe the living world. With the help of other lost spirits and her living friend, who has the uncanny means to see her in her ghostly condition, Maddie uncovers a web of clues that has yet to incriminate her murderer.

Despite the limitations of the School Spirits afterlife, Maddie and her best friend, Simon (Kristian Flores) are able to conduct an investigation that exposes the dark secrets buried within the school system and the surrounding community. Cheating, extortion, the tampering of evidence, and other transgressions haunt the resolution of Maddie's investigation, but as School Spirits nears its first season finale, an explanation for her murder seems more palpable. In fact, in School Spirits season 1, episode 7, "Séance Anything," Maddie experiences an aggressive flashback that places her mother at the top of the suspect list.

Maddie's Mother Has Yet To Be Suspected Of Murder In School Spirits

Up until School Spirits season 1, episode 7, there is little obvious evidence to suggest Maddie's mother played a role in her death. Sandra has her misgivings, notably in her alcoholism, but more incriminating evidence of other suspected persons tends to conduct attention away from her. The crime occurred in the basement of the high school - a strange place for any student's parents to be - and Sandra often only makes on screen appearances to express grief or a desperate hope for Maddie's return, and so the prospect of her mother being the murderer is largely overlooked.

However, as suspects who appeared to have more motive begin to be cleared of guilt in School Spirits, the chance that Maddie's mother is the culprit grows larger. The most suspected people have since placed reasonable doubt on their involvement - Maddie's cheating boyfriend (Xavier Baxter), Maddie's ex-best friend, Claire (Rainbow Wedell), and even the sketchy janitor, Mr. South (Peter New) have all proved the evidence against them unstable. School Spirits hasn't placed enough emphasis on Maddie's mother as a suspect and has only just revealed Sandra's unnatural aggressiveness toward Maddie, making Sandra a compelling murder suspect for her shock value.

Why Sandra Would Murder Maddie In School Spirits

While Sandra's motive might not be obvious, not even to herself, there is one major reason why she might be involved in the death of her daughter. Maddie often cleans up the aftermath of her mother's alcoholic benders; School Spirits goes so far as to show Maddie taking the blame for a car accident Sandra caused in her drunken state. Whether it be by accident, for the guilt or anger of having to be closely supervised, or carried out in an unconscious, blacked-out fit, Sandra could have killed Maddie as a result of her alcoholism.

If that were the case, it would be shocking twist, as that would mean School Spirits had set up elaborate motives within other characters only to resolve them as a cover for Maddie's mother. Only one episode remains to be released in School Spirits season 1, and Maddie is sure her mother knows something of her demise. The School Spirits season finale is set to air April 13, 2023, and is anticipated to address not only Maddie's murderer, but the extent of her mother's aggression.