Who Killed Sazz Pataki in Only Murders in the Building?
In the season three finale of Only Murders in the Building, Charles's close friend and stunt double, Sazz Pataki, is killed in his apartment in the Arconia.
Season four picks up right where season three left off, except the main trio—Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez)—don't yet know that Sazz (Jane Lynch) is dead. When they get back to Charles's apartment, Sazz's body is gone, and they don't notice the gunshot hole in the window. The first episode primarily finds them in Los Angeles, where Bev (Molly Shannon) is pitching the trio a film based off their podcast, starring Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria as Charles, Oliver, and Mabel. At the end of the episode, Charles gets a call from their doorman, Lester, that there's a hole in his window, at the same time Mabel realizes Howard's dog was a trained cadaver dog—leading them to hypothesize that Sazz could be dead. They fly back to New York, and Charles gets a text from someone pretending to be Sazz, writing that they are "Not your fucking friend." Sazz is confirmed dead in the second episode, and a whole crew of new characters that live in the West Tower of the Arconia are introduced.
We've ranked the characters below from most likely to least likely to be Sazz's murderer in Only Murders season four, and we'll be updating this story weekly:
Vince Fish
Also called "Stink Eye Joe," Vince, played by Richard Kind, is one of the "Westies"—residents of the West Tower who have a clear shot into Charles's apartment. Vince seems the most suspicious, as he clearly has a ton of information about the trio.
Alfonso
Alfonso, played by Desmin Borges, also shot up to the top of our suspects list after episode two—another resident of the West Tower, he seems jealous of his wife Inez's crush on Charles. Could this jealousy have provoked him enough to attempt murder?
"Christmas All the Time Guy"
We haven't officially met Kumail Nanjiani's character, but he is introduced as a guy who has Christmas decorations up year round. He just seems suspicious from the two-second clip!
Marshall P. Pope
Marshall (Jin Ha), the writer for the Only Murders movie, seems to be a superfan of the podcast. "I'm just a fly on the wall," he says at one point. Maybe he has gone under the radar at the Arconia, too? But at this point, we're not sure what motive he'd have for killing Sazz. He only appears briefly in episode one.
Anna and Inez
Mother-daughter duo Inez (Daphne Rubin-Vega) and Anna (Lilian Rebelo) are introduced in the second episode, more residents of West Tower. We don't know what their motive could be, but they clearly are hiding something.
The Brothers
Directing duo and twins Trina and Tony Brothers (Siena Werber and Catherine Cohen) are helming the Only Murders film. They have an intense energy, so we're putting them high on our suspect list, though they, like Marshall, seemingly have no motive to have killed Sazz.
Studio Execs
These three characters—Todd Shettinger, Monica Bernstein-D'Angelo, and Sal Snyder-Bernsdorf—meet the trio briefly, introducing themselves quickly in roles that have to do with marketing and social media. Perhaps they would want a new murder to increase hype around the film? It's an inventive marketing strategy, for sure...
Bev Melon
"When I see a hot piece of IP getting circled by a bunch of horny rival studios, I go in hard, and I always finish first," Bev tells the trio. Could she be so dedicated to the film that she'd murder Sazz?
Howard
Michael Cyril Creighton (who plays Howard) has been in all four seasons of Only Murders in the Building, and was a suspect in season two. We are doubtful that the writers would turn one of their regulars into a killer, and if he was the murderer, he wouldn't bring his brand new rescue dog, who had been trained to sniff out cadavers, to the crime scene. But perhaps Howard takes a dark turn this season!
Jan
Jan probably didn't do it, as she said, "Snipers are assholes. What’s the point in killing someone if you’re not there for the release?" Yet, we do have to note her return, as a former Only Murders murderer.
Loretta Durkin
Loretta (Meryl Streep) was in New York City the night Sazz was murdered, but she's unlikely to have committed the murder—she was a main suspect in season three, and the show is likely to take a different direction.
Zach Galifianakis
Zach Galifianakis is playing a satirical version of himself, and it's highly unlikely he is the murderer.
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy is also playing himself, and we're doubtful he's the murderer. Yet, he is a new character in the OMITB-verse.
Eva Longoria
Same goes for Eva Longoria, but we had to include her (despite how unlikely it may be)!
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