Presumed Innocent follows a murder trial where the prime suspect, Rusty Sabich, is a seasoned prosecutor with close ties to the victim. All episodes are now streaming on Apple TV+.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
When a prosecutor named Carolyn Polhemus is found murdered in her home, the district attorney, Raymond Horgan, assigns the case to his chief deputy prosecutor, Rusty Sabich.
Rusty takes the case despite a conflict of interest. He does not tell Raymond that he had been having an affair with Carolyn or that he was with her on the night of her murder.
Carolyn was found tied up in a manner similar to Bunny Davis, whose murder case Rusty and Carolyn prosecuted. Davis’s murderer, Liam Reynolds, had even threatened Carolyn.
Soon after, Raymond loses the election for the district attorney to Nico Della Guardia, who appoints Tommy Molto as his chief deputy prosecutor and transfers the case to him.
It is then that Raymond finds out about Rusty’s affair with Carolyn. Tommy also reveals that Carolyn was pregnant with Rusty’s child.
As Rusty’s prints are found all over Carolyn’s house and he had been obsessively sending text messages to her after she broke up with him, Rusty becomes the prime suspect in her murder case.
Rusty then has to confess to his wife, Barbara, that his affair with Carolyn had not ended as she was led to believe. He also has to face the judgment of his children, Jaden and Kyle.
Despite being angry with Rusty for hiding the truth, Raymond agrees to represent him. He hires a lawyer named Mya Winslow to assist him in the case.
Meanwhile, Tommy is determined to prove that Rusty killed Carolyn, not just because of their longstanding animosity but also because Tommy loved Carolyn, who did not reciprocate his feelings.
Carolyn’s son, Michael, who did not have a good relationship with her, also went to her house that night and took pictures of Rusty visiting her.
While the prosecution tries to prove Rusty’s guilt through circumstantial evidence, Rusty, desperate to prove his innocence, accuses Reynolds; Brian Ratzer, who was also linked to Davis’s murder; Michael; and even Tommy in an attempt to create reasonable doubt.
Throughout the investigation and trial, Rusty becomes more desperate and ends up being violent with the forensics expert and Ratzer.
Additionally, the lives of his wife and children, who have decided to support him despite everything, are affected because the case gets intense media coverage.
As a result, Barbara is fired from her job. She then meets a bartender named Clifton and ends up kissing him, which enrages Rusty when Barbara tells him about it.
The case is stressful not only for Rusty and his family but also for Raymond, who collapses in the courtroom. As Rusty jumps in to save his life, he comes across as a hero to the jury.
Following Raymond’s hospitalization, the judge gives the option of declaring a mistrial, but Rusty and Mya refuse. In fact, Rusty decides to represent himself now that Raymond cannot do it.
Rusty, a skilled lawyer, not only manages to divert suspicion toward Michael and his father but also proves that he did not act in any way that indicates his guilt when Detective Rodriguez is brought to the stand.
However, Tommy, driven by his desire to win against Rusty, uses Detective Rodriguez’s testimony against him.
Judge Lyttle had warned Rusty not to give his version of events through any witnesses while representing himself. If he did, he would be brought to the stand to testify.
Tommy accuses Rusty of giving his version through Detective Rodriguez, which means that Rusty will now have to testify.
Judge Lyttle still gives Rusty a way out: she is ready to declare a mistrial. However, if the trial continues, Rusty will have to testify.
Mya urges Rusty to ask for a mistrial, but Rusty refuses. He chooses to continue with the trial, leading to Mya quitting. Rusty now has no one but himself defending him in court.
Ending explained:
Rusty’s detrimental testimony
Getting Rusty to testify works in the prosecution’s favor, as Tommy can rile Rusty up to discredit him and form a negative image in front of the jury.
On the day of his testimony, Rusty apologizes to Mya, recognizing that she was right about him not being in control and making rash decisions.
Mya then decides to support Rusty as his second chair. Additionally, Raymond is cleared by the doctors, so he, too, returns to represent his friend.
Despite Mya and Raymond’s support, Rusty’s testimony hurts his case. While Rusty maintains his composure and does not rise to the bait, Tommy highlights the angry messages that Rusty sent Carolyn.
Tommy is able to prove that Rusty is prone to impulsive violence in a volatile state, as shown in his encounters with Ratzer and the forensics expert, and that he was angry with Carolyn, suggesting that he could be her killer.
The verdict
The fire poker that was used to kill Carolyn mysteriously ends up in Tommy’s house with a threatening message. Tommy, blinded by his hatred, believes that Rusty is to blame.
The judge once again offers the option to declare a mistrial, but both sides refuse. As there is no way to prove that this particular fire poker is the murder weapon, it is not admissible as evidence.
Rusty’s side does not have much to present in his defense, so they decide to rest the case. Against everyone’s advice, Rusty makes up his mind to give the closing argument himself.
In his closing argument, Rusty shows vulnerability. He admits to failing his family but stresses that he did not kill Carolyn, the woman he loved.
He claims that he is being made a political scapegoat by the prosecution, who should have instead focused on finding the real killer.
On the other hand, Tommy asserts that Rusty is neither innocent nor non-violent. He discredits Rusty’s claims of wanting to find the real killer by highlighting how Rusty mishandled the case when he was assigned to it.
Both Rusty and Tommy give impactful closing arguments, but it is Rusty who wins, as the jury finds him not guilty, much to his and his family’s relief.
Tommy, disheartened by the fact that he was beaten by Rusty, is asked to move on by Nico. The prosecution will not be appealing, which means that Rusty will not have to defend himself again.
Who killed Carolyn?
Now that the ordeal is over, Rusty confronts Barbara, as he has suspected her of killing Carolyn from the very beginning.
He reveals that on the night of Carolyn’s murder, he went to her house a second time. By that time, she had already been murdered.
Rusty, suspecting Barbara of the crime, tried to cover for her. He did not call the police and tied Carolyn up like Davis, hoping to extract a false confession from Reynolds later on.
Rusty reveals that he put a tracker in Barbara’s car after she told him about kissing Clifton. Due to that, he found out that Barbara was the one who planted the poker in Tommy’s house, confirming Rusty’s suspicion.
However, Jaden overhears their conversation and reveals that she planted the fire poker to help Rusty’s case after his testimony proved to be damaging.
It was Jaden, not Barbara, who murdered Carolyn. She had discovered the affair and went to Carolyn’s house to ask her to stay away from her father.
When Carolyn told her about her pregnancy and how that would intertwine her life with Rusty’s, Jaden killed her in the heat of the moment.
Rusty consoles Jaden and tells her that she acted in self-defense; she killed Carolyn to defend her family. He blames himself for pushing his daughter to the point of murder and takes responsibility.
Rusty assures her, as much as he assures himself, that they love each other and will overcome this as a family. Barbara is horrified but tries to be there for her daughter.
As Rusty has said, the Sabichs go back to being a happy family. Everyone moves on from the case, including Tommy, and Raymond finally embraces retired life with his wife.
Also Read: Carolyn Polhemus: Presumed Innocent character explained
