An Investigation: Who Shot Charlotte? (UK Pace)
NOTE: This article is updated at a UK pace and does not contain spoilers to any viewers. For the Australian pace article, click here!
One of Home and Away’s most formidable characters recently met their match, as they found themselves murdered in the show’s 2015 season finale. We recap the trail of events that led to Charlotte King’s downfall, and take a look at some of the key suspects in her murder.
Introduction
Charlotte King came to Summer Bay, looking for a fresh start with her son Hunter, with the ulterior motive to get her ex-boyfriend Zac MacGuire back from fellow Summer Bay High employee, Leah Patterson.
As she began her pursuit, after sleeping with Matt, ignorant to the fact he was her student, her son burned down Leah’s house and stole a safe from the Diner, resulting in Marilyn‘s electric shock. While trying to cover Hunter’s crimes, she accidentally killed Denny Miller, which set off a chain of events that led to Charlotte being blackmailed, murdering a man and turning almost everyone in Summer Bay against her by lying. Her reign of terror ended when she was murdered by a resident of the small coastal town, leaving a question on the tip of everyone’s tongue: who shot Charlotte?
We take a look over the ten main suspects, their reasons for wanting Charlotte dead, and their likelihood of having done it.
Weekly Rundown
A timeline of events is below, detailing, by the day the episode aired in the UK, any significant events that altered the investigation, and ultimately, the lives of the residents of Summer Bay… Forever…
Week 1 (21/03/2016) – Charlotte’s body is found. Detective Dylan Carter arrives in town and tells Kat that they will find who the murderer is. Ash, Zac and Hunter are questioned over the shooting. Hunter mourns the loss of his mother.
Week 2 (28/03/2016) – DNA is found on a piece of clothing, surrounding the rock pool where Charlotte was shot. Dylan questions Hunter over whether he could kill his mother for revealing his secret about burning down Leah’s house. Irene is called into questioning.
Week 3 (04/04/2016) – Billie is asked a few questions by Dylan, but cleared. Phoebe is questioned about Ash’s whereabouts on the night of the murder, and afterwards Ash is violently arrested and hauled into the police station for questioning.
Week 4 (11/04/2016) – Ash is let off after he provides an alibi. Kat and Dylan discover that Charlotte had a second phone and learn that she had been making calls to Kyle on it. After they come to a dead end with Kyle, they discover footage from the Bait Shop that clearly shows Zac walking after Charlotte the night of her death.
Suspect List (High Priority)
Leah Patterson is Summer Bay’s most cherished and loved residents. Charlotte terrorised her family and her life. She made a shocking appearance at Leah and Zac’s wedding, and ruined their big day by threatening to spill some of the guests’ biggest secrets. She was seen, calm and collected, in her bedroom after Charlotte’s shooting, however she had changed from her wedding dress into more comfortable clothes.
Zac MacGuire has many reasons to want Charlotte permanently out of the picture. She killed his niece, she blackmailed him, she tried to sabotage his relationship with Leah, and she threatened the lives of his loved ones. Before Charlotte’s murder, Zac told Leah that he would’ve killed her if he knew what she had done, and then returned to tell his newlywed wife that Charlotte is out of their lives and it’s time for them to move on.
Evelyn MacGuire didn’t have much to do with Charlotte, however she did kill her sister and sleep with one of her best friends. She also harassed Evelyn and her family and threatened to tear apart the only stable family she has ever known. On the night of Charlotte’s murder, Evelyn was seen kissing Andy, and then running down the the beach, taking off her heels and frantically pacing up and down the shoreline.
Oscar MacGuire’s best mate, Matt was deceived by Charlotte, and then unbeknownst to him, she killed Denny during a tussle in her apartment. After burying the body in the woods, she proceeded into a downward spiral taking with her anyone that wanted to stand in her way. She blackmailed Matt, and threatened to destroy Leah and Zac’s union by turning up at their wedding ceremony. He was last seen before Charlotte’s shooting, near the beach, telling Kyle that he wants Charlotte dead for what she did to Denny.
Olivia Fraser Richards has been dating Charlotte’s son for a while, and they did have a run-in in the Diner. Olivia was then accused of vandalising her apartment, causing a confrontation in which Charlotte threatened her life. On the night of the murder, Olivia was seen kissing Hunter and saying goodbye to him at Irene’s house, before being seen after the shooting, running towards him, frazzled, trying to stop him from leaving Summer Bay.
Andy Barrett had a brief romance with Charlotte, but he began to discover her true colours when he learnt that she knew all of the Braxton/Barrett secrets – not only did she learn the truth about Brax, but she also knew that Andy was the one who turned off Jake Pirovic’s life support in October 2014. Before Charlotte’s murder, Andy was seen by Hannah, kissing Evelyn in Angelo’s. After the murder, he was seen rushing home, taking his jacket off and washing his face.
Kyle Braxton was seduced by Charlotte, in order to find out if Brax was still alive or not. He was then horrified to learn that she had murdered her blackmailer, Trystan. When he said he’d go to the police, she threatened to have him charged as an accomplice. He wasn’t seen before the murder as he failed to turn up the Zac and Leah’s wedding reception to perform with Phoebe, however he was seen sitting on the beach with a scratch on his face after the shooting.
Suspect List (Low Priority)
We take a look at the other suspects and deduce their motives for wanting Charlotte gone.
Chris Harrington is one of the nicest guys in Summer Bay, however after Charlotte and Irene went head-to-head, and the latter started hitting the bottle again, would Chris kill Charlotte to try and help Irene?
Maddy Osborne is currently dating Matt, and was formerly dating Oscar. Would knowing that she seduced a student, and that she killed her ex-boyfriend’s sister be sufficient reason to warrant Maddy to kill Charlotte?
Matt Page was a high school student, seduced by his biology teacher on more than one occasion, who was so drawn into her web of lies, he didn’t see what she was doing around him. Would her treatment of others cause Matt to commit a heinous crime?
Billie Ashford has only just returned to Summer Bay after taking the fall for burning down Leah’s house. Charlotte then further framed her, when she planted Kat’s handcuffs in Billie’s handbag, making her look responsible for Kat’s drugging. Would Billie shoot Charlotte?
Hannah Wilson was devastated when her niece was found murdered in the bushes, but further horrified to learn that Charlotte was behind it. Would this, coupled with the fact she saw the man she loved kissing her other niece, be enough for Hannah to pull the trigger?
Eliminated Suspects
After the conclusion of the season finale, Channel Seven launched an app for Australian viewers, titled “Home and Away: Investigation – Who Shot Charlotte?“. The app allows viewers to decrypt phone calls, crack into phones and retrieve files and interrogate the characters. 24 suspects were listed, and every week, viewers had to eliminate a character from the investigation.
All other suspects were eliminated on the show.
Josh Barrett as directly affected by Charlotte’s actions when she begin blackmailing Ash and Andy with the news that Brax is actually alive and threatened to reveal it. Although blind, is it possible that he began to get his sight back when Summer Bay needed his heroics most? ELIMINATED via Investigation App.
John Palmer often called Charlotte out and was distraught when he heard the news about her killing Denny. But she also covered for her son, who was the reason Marilyn couldn’t remember John. Would he kill Charlotte for revenge for the time and lives lost? ELIMINATED via insufficient motive, resulting in no questioning.
Ricky Sharpe and her family was under attack as Charlotte lied, deceived and conned her way through Kyle, Ash, Phoebe and Andy… and she knew the truth about Brax and blackmailed Ricky’s loved ones. Is this enough motivation for Ricky to deliver a deadly bullet? ELIMINATED via Investigation App.
Roo Stewart didn’t have much to do with Charlotte (even so far as they never had a scene one-on-one), however could the killing of an innocent person and the taking advantage of a student be enough reason for Roo to commit murder? ELIMINATED via Investigation App.
Nate Cooper treated Marilyn in hospital after her accident, tried to save Trystan after Charlotte ran him down and is Ricky’s fiance. Would Nate commit murder, and risk his life, just to save the woman he loves? ELIMINATED via Investigation App.
Kat Chapman has been after Charlotte for months now. Having had a hit taken out on her and being drugged, both by Charlotte, Kat started to think she was onto something when Denny’s body was found in the bushes. Is she the culprit behind Charlotte’s execution? ELIMINATED via Investigation App.
VJ Patterson almost had his family torn apart numerous times because of Charlotte’s antics. She tried to turn Hunter and VJ against each other and then ruined his mother’s wedding day. Would this be a good enough motive to kill her? ELIMINATED via Investigation App.
Alf Stewart has lived through Saul Bennett, Angie Russell, Sarah Lewis, Zoe McCallister and Johnny Cooper, but is Charlotte King enough to push Alf over the edge and finally commit murder, just to keep his home of almost 70 years, sane? ELIMINATED via Investigation App.
Phoebe Nicholson was horrified to learn that Brax was alive, but even worse was that Charlotte had found out and was trying to blackmail Ash. Could Phoebe do the unthinkable to protect her boyfriend and the ones that she loves? ELIMINATED via Investigation App.
Hunter King loved his mother when they arrived in Summer Bay, and continued to love her as she covered his crimes – burning down Leah’s house and almost killing Marilyn. But as her true colours were exposed, as well as her killing of Denny and her theft of Hunter’s trust fund, Hunter quickly turned against his mother and told her to leave town. After his mother’s murder, Hunter is seen fleeing Summer Bay, telling Olivia that he wouldn’t be forgiven after what he’s done. ELIMINATED via insufficient motive.
Irene Roberts had a run-in with Charlotte after the truth about her sleeping with Matt came out. She was then forced to defend Olivia against her when she was accused of vandalism. After Charlotte gate-crashed her best friend’s wedding, Irene hit the bottle, and in a drunk stupor decided to leave the house. She was later seen, after the shooting, walking down the road with a rip in her jacket – the result of a torn button. ELIMINATED via her revelation that she got into a scuffle with Charlotte, but then left (insufficient evidence).
Martin Ashford was threatened by Charlotte when she was going to reveal the truth to Ricky and Kyle about Brax being alive. She also dragged him into Gunno’s hunt to find him, and killed the lady that he was once in love with. She framed Billie, his sister, for drugging of Kat and the theft of her gun and handcuffs. He confronted her and tried to strangle her before being stopped. After Charlotte’s shooting, Ash returned home to Phoebe and told her that he couldn’t find her. ELIMINATED via ability to provide an alibi.
Watch this space as we keep you up to date with the events surrounding Summer Bay’s biggest murder mystery in a decade.