What is it about How to Get Away With Murder that makes fans feel like they actually are a detective trying to crack a case? The series returns to ABC on Thursday, Feb. 11, and with it the conclusion of one huge mystery: who really killed the Hapstall parents? The burning question has given way to a ton of theories.
Though the show is currently placing the Hapstall’s adopted daughter, Catherine, and Mr. Hapstall’s secret biological son Phillip as the center of this mystery, one theory that fans haven’t quite shaken yet is that Caleb could be the real culprit — and playing everyone around him. (Hey, he’s pretty easy on the eyes. It wouldn’t be that hard.)
Caleb may have claimed his innocence to new maybe-girlfriend Michaela, but some fans are calling BS on how easily he found the murder weapon in the Hapstall mansion — a move that implicated his sister. He was also conveniently out of the house when their aunt was killed in her car. He feigned innocence back then, but as for proof, we still haven’t gotten it outside of Caleb’s word — and as we know from Season 1 of How to Get Away With Murder, everybody lies.
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Of course, Caleb being a total sociopath isn’t the only theory fans have going into the second half of Season 2. Here’s how else things could have gone down on this show:
Catherine, Phillip, and Caleb are in on it together
This theory comes from Reddit user Jenja1974, who thinks that all three Hapstall siblings worked together to carry out the crime. The theory makes plenty of sense — in this scenario, Catherine and Caleb wanted to get rid of their aunt and parents so they could obtain the entirety of the Hapstall fortune. When they found out about Phillip, they decided to team up with him so they could get exactly what they wanted. According to Jenja1974, Catherine and Caleb killed the parents, but blamed it on Phillip, knowing that he could get away with a plea of insanity because he was the child of incest. Phillip would then go to a mental institution for several years, and upon leaving the hospital, would be given a third of the fortune as a “reward.” It is certainly a depressing theory, but hey — money definitely corrupts.
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Helena Hapstall killed her brother and sister-in-law
Could the aunt who was found murdered in her car have committed the heinous murder for monetary gain? It’s possible — and the fact that she’s already dead means she’s not exactly being investigated as a suspect. Still, Helena already has a few marks against her when it comes to being a possible murderer: she desperately tried to blame the murder on her niece and nephew, and had a secret affair with her own brother. (Ew. So much ew.) She may have even called upon her biological son, Phillip, to assist with the crime — only for him to turn on her and kill his own mother.
The Hapstall murders were really a murder/suicide
This is possibly the darkest theory on the books, but the show has dropped quite a few hints about it over the course of the season. We know that Grant and Helena Hapstall had an incestuous relationship (the ick factor is strong) that led to the birth of Phillip. Phillip has been out of sight for his entire adult life — and yet, somehow, he ends up palling around with Grant’s daughter, Catherine? It doesn’t make much sense, unless you consider that Phillip showing up could have led to Grant’s death. Perhaps Phillip finally met his father and his biological family only for Grant to reject him. Phillip then threatened to tell everyone the truth about his parentage, which led to Grant having a breakdown and killing his wife and then himself. In order to make sure that Phillip would get the inheritance — and that Catherine and Caleb would be blamed for the murder — Helena, who was on property at the time, could have arranged the scene to make it look like a double homicide instead. Because this family is just that crazy.
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So will any of these theories pan out? We have a lot of mystery to dig through in the second half of Season 2, but no matter what happens on this show, you know it’s bound to be seriously shocking.
How to Get Away with Murder returns Thursday, Feb. 11 at 10/9c on ABC.
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