Unpacking the Evidence: Who Is Behind the Murder of Sazz in 'Only Murders in the Building'?

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 3 and 4 of Only Murders in the Building.

The Season 3 finale of Only Murders in the Building left viewers with several pressing questions. The biggest one, obviously, is: Who killed Sazz (Jane Lynch)? Not Sazz! Another key question you may have is: Was the bullet intended for Charles (Steve Martin)?

To recap, Sazz was shot in Charles’s apartment while searching for a vintage bottle of wine intended to celebrate Oliver’s (Martin Short) Broadway victory. Earlier, she had told Charles that she needed to discuss something “sensitive.” Realizing that the chance might never come again, Sazz tried to write a message on the floor with her own blood. With this new mystery on our hands, it’s time to unravel who killed Sazz and why. Let's dive in!

While we don’t yet know who killed Sazz in Only Murders in the Building, we’ll find out soon enough. What we do know is that Sazz’s murderer may be using her phone to communicate with Charles and is trying to cover their tracks, even attempting to replace a window while Charles and the gang were negotiating a Hollywood movie deal. However, the killer might have made a mistake by leaving behind a crucial clue.

After Sazz seemingly goes missing, Charles texts her, and "she" replies, "Sorry, I had to jet off last minute to cover Bakula on set ... in LA." However, after Charles visits her home and realizes she hasn’t been there for some time — and learns from her co-star that she never showed up on set — he begins to worry.

But, being part of one of the best crime podcasts in New York, Charles, Mabel (Selena Gomez), and Oliver soon piece together that the whistling sound in Charles's apartment is coming from a bullet hole. With the help of Howard's new dog, Gravey (spelled wrong because he was a cadaver dog), they use the scent he picks up from Charles's floor to lead the gang right to the place where Sazz was last — the incinerator.

If Sazz didn’t die from the bullet that pierced her chest, she certainly did when she was thrown into the incinerator. As Charles begins searching the incinerator, which oddly enough has an "out of order" sign on it, he pulls out a piece of metal. This piece turns out to be a joint made in Bulgaria — the same place where Sazz had all of her joint replacements made (remember her shrine devoted to all the broken bones she suffered on set?).

It's at this moment that Charles and the gang realize Sazz was murdered. He then texts her phone, "You’re not Sazz. Who are you?" and receives the chilling reply: "Not your f--king friend."

If there's one thing we've learned from past seasons, it's that a fresh set of faces isn’t always a good sign. After Ben Glenroy was murdered, Cliff and Donna, who were new to the series, turned out to be the culprits behind the crime. Now, one of the new faces that stands out as a potential suspect in Sazz’s murder is Bev Melon (Molly Shannon). She’s a high-powered businesswoman, similar to Donna, who was a producer.

Two other potential suspects, though we don't yet know their motive, is the Brothers sisters — yes, their last name is actually Brothers. From the start, they don’t exude a friendly vibe and are surrounded by an aura of mystery.

Episode 2 also opens up the table to a few other suspects, including the residents of the West Tower, aka "the Westies." The "Sauce family," who Charles claims is always stirring up some kind of sauce, and Stink Eye Joe, do come off as odd, especially considering that the name of their favorite game, "Oh Hell," was spelled out on a paper left on Sazz's desk.

Ironically, it also turned out to be the combination for a padlock on an apartment in the West Tower with a horribly disgusting mattress inside. This unit appears to be where the killer fired, as the window was forced open and it was in the direct path of Charles's apartment. While Episode 3 increasingly rules out The Westies as suspects, including Dudenoff who is apparently in Portugal, more evidence is still needed to determine who killed Sazz.

For now, it’s safe to say Charles was the target, and Sazz, well, she took the fall for him — just as she regularly did while serving as his stunt double in Brazzos. This brings us to the cryptic message Sazz managed to leave with her own blood on the floor: "TAP IN."

In an old video Charles watched of Sazz, she shares her father’s advice: "If you want a long career, you need to find your person, your number one, the one you always fall for." Sazz added, “The day I met Charles Hayden Savage, I knew I had mine.”

While speaking with escaped convict Jan, Charles references "TAP IN," a wrestling term he and Sazz exchanged when it was her turn to step in on set for a stunt. Now it’s Charles’s turn to finally "TAP IN" and help find Sazz’s killer before they find him first.

As Season 4 unfolds, we’ll be piecing together the clues, bit by bit, until Sazz’s murderer is unmasked!

Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building premiered on Aug. 26, 2024, with new episodes dropping on Hulu weekly on Tuesdays.