Presumed Innocent ending explained – Is Rusty guilty?

The TV adaptation of Presumed innocent drew to a close today, so here’s how the ending played out, including if Jake Gyllenhaal’s character is guilty.

Courtroom drama Presumed Innocent started life as a bestselling 1987 novel by Scott Turrow, which was turned into a hit movie starring Harrison Ford in 1990.

Now, the story is an eight-part series on the Apple TV+ streaming service, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Rusty Sabich, the prosecutor who becomes prime suspect in the murder of a work colleague with whom he was having an affair.

So, did Sabich kill Carolyn Polhemus? And if so, was he convicted of the murder, or did he walk free? These are all the details of the eighth and final episode, including how they correspond with what happened in the book and the movie. So, SPOILERS ahead…

Is Rusty Sabich found guilty in Presumed Innocent?

Rusty Sabich is found innocent of the murder of Carolyn Polhemus at the end of the trial.

Rusty gives his own closing argument mid-way through the finale. He admits he betrayed his family, and was in love with Polhemus but claims the evidence doesn’t prove his guilt.

Rusty points the finger at the victim’s son, as well as Carolyn’s ex-husband and a suspect called Liam Reynolds. Essentially, there’s reasonable doubt. “Which begs the question,” says Sabich. “Why are we even here?”

In response, prosecutor Tommy Molto (Peter Sarsgaard) calls him “obsessed,” stating that he was in the throes of a “volatile breakup” and that Rusty “lied, concealed, and sought to bribe and extort others into giving false confessions.” All of which isn’t “consistent with innocence.”

The verdict then returns before anyone is expecting, with the jury finding Rusty Sabich not guilty of the murder.

Who killed Carolyn Polhemus?

Rusty’s daughter Jaden Sabich murdered Carolyn Polhemus.

After the trial Rusty speaks to the press, saying that justice was served, and that he’s an innocent man who did not commit the crime, meaning the killer is still out there.

He then speaks to his wife Barbara (Ruth Negga) in their shed, and points the finger at her.

“You think I killed Carolyn?” she asks, clearly confused by the claim. “No, it was somebody else” comes the response from Rusty. “But somebody in your body, like it was probably somebody else in my body who tied her up… to cover for you.”

Rusty reveals that he went back to Carolyn’s house that night and found her dead, then quickly realized his wife was responsible. So rather than call 911, he staged the crime scene, and created reasonable doubt.

But then their daughter Jaden enters the shed, reveals that she planted the murder weapon at Tommy Molto’s apartment, and confesses to committing the murder herself.

Seems she went to Carolyn’s house to warn her to stay away from her family. Then, when Carolyn revealed she was pregnant with Rusty’s child, Jay killed her with a fire poker, which she then buried.

The Sabich’s then agree to never again speak of what happened, with Rusty stating their family will survive, because they love each other.

Do the book and the movie end the same way?

No, the ending of both the book and the movie are different to the new series.

In both book and film, Rusty’s wife Barbara Sabich commits the murder and gets away with it, while Rusty is found innocent.

In fact, Rusty and Barbara only have a son on the page and in the movie, meaning daughter Jaden Sabich is an invention of the TV series.

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