Lester’s death — and the culprit behind his murder — has introduced many theories about Only Murders in the Building season 5.
The fourth finale, which concluded in October 2024, followed Mabel (Selena Gomez), Oliver (Martin Short) and Charles (Steve Martin) as they tried to track down what led to Sazz’s (Jane Lynch) murder. They were able to figure out how her stunt prodigy, Marshall (Jin Ha), stole Sazz’s script and killed her to keep it quiet.
Hours later, Oliver and Loretta (Meryl Streep) got married while Mabel and Charles were approached by a woman (Téa Leoni) asking for help in finding her missing husband. After they said no, Lester (Teddy Coluca) was the next victim at the Arconia.
“It’s always one of those strange experiences with the finales of our seasons because we always have to start there first in many ways before we even begin episode one. And we walk through all of the details and lay down everything that actually, in truth, happened,” creator John Hoffman told Decider in October 2024. “And then we back our way, twisting our way to the front of the season in many ways with that mystery story. So a lot of it is just a burst of truth at the end in funny ways and then crafting around that, you know, ways in which we haven’t done before, hopefully.”
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The new season will show viewers more about Lester’s life.
“Our beloved doorman has a hold of a large amount of tenants in our buildings’ secrets and many other things about his life were interesting for me to sort of explore. The very nature of a doorman in a pre-war apartment building, a New York City in 2025,” Hoffman told Decider. “[It] felt very, very interesting to look at in terms of what our show has always been about, which is classic meets newer. We really are dipping our toe into a New York City in season 5 that feels particularly ripped from the headlines in certain ways that we’ve not done before.”
He continued: “And going into some modern new take on the power in New York along the lines with, ‘What happens with the power in New York in regards to the classic respect and sort of protocols that have always been there that exist in these sort of buildings?’ with a doorman and the respect and all of that. And how does modern technology come into all of that? So some of these things are being brought up within the next season, granted in comedic ways and fun ways, but also hopefully in pointed ways like we haven’t shown before.”
Scroll down for a guide to every suspect in Lester’s murder:
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Nicky Caccimelio
Motive: In the season 4 finale, Sofia (Leoni) came looking for help after Nicky (Bobby Cannavale) went missing. It turned out that Lester and Nicky knew each other because of a secret underground casino at the Arconia. Nicky ultimately became a prime suspect once the trio questioned how Lester’s knowledge of the gambling ring cost him his life.
Alibi: Oliver found Nicky’s body dumped at the dry cleaners shortly after Lester’s death. Following a late-night autopsy, the trio decided Nicky couldn’t have been responsible.
Sebastian “Bash” Steed, Jay Pflug and Camila White
Motive: Sebastian “Bash” Steed (Christoph Waltz), Jay Pflug (Logan Lerman) and Camila White (Renée Zellweger) took part in the gambling underneath the Arconia. Jay also conveniently was missing a finger after one was found after Lester’s death.
Alibi: The friends attended a dinner party at Oliver’s, where they individually told Mabel, Oliver and Charles about how they spent time with Nicky before his death. After a disastrous meet-up, Jay lost a finger and everyone went home presumably before Nicky (and Lester’s) deaths.
