Broadchurch Episode 6: Who Killed Danny Latimer?





There were some thrilling developments in this week's episode of Broadchurch as the police identified another major suspect and the true natures of one or two members of the small community stated to emerge. There's also a big cliffhanger with a question mark hanging over the survival of a key member of the cast. Do you think that the police have their culprit? With two episodes to go, is it still too early to say who was the killer? 

Here's the gathered evidence and clues so far. Let us know who you think killed Danny Latimer. As always, there are spoilers below if you haven't watched all of the episodes.




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Susan Wright   

Played by Pauline Quirke

Well, she’s only gone and got herself arrested. Thanks to some digging and delving by journalist Maggie, enough dirt emerged about the shifty outsider’s past to make her a person of interest to the police. She’d already shown herself to be a particular nasty piece of work – her vile threat to Maggie, her dodgy connection with Nige, that business with the two names, and the possibility that she tried to put Mark in the frame. She even managed to lure Tom Miller up to her caravan. And then there was the skateboard in the cupboard. Her actions over that were strange though – it was only after she learnt who Tom’s mother was that she made the decision to present him with the skateboard and send him home. It was almost as though she wanted the police attention. But if she’d planned to slip away, then it backfired when Maggie lured her into a trap and we learnt that whatever is in Susan’s past it’s something unproven and to do with her husband and with children. As we left her she was refusing to co-operate with DI Hardy. However, she was in custody when the hut was broken into. Does she have an accomplice, or have the police got completely the wrong suspect?



Joe Miller   

Played by Matthew Gravelle

There is something increasingly sinister about Joe. We cannot forget that moment over the dinner table a couple of weeks ago; his weighty question to DI Hardy and that long moment when the two of them apparently sized one another up like hunter and hunted. This week he and Hardy shared a similar moment of tension when Joe stepped in to shoo the detective away from Tom. Was he merely being a protective father or was he worried that the boy might blurt something out? Tom is definitely hiding something, and we know that an adult male was most likely to be the killer. Now even his interactions with Ellie are becoming creepy. He teased her about suspecting and arresting him. He also concealed the paintballing trip from her. And the break-in at the hut occurred while Ellie was still down at the police station. The only thing in Joe’s favour is that Ellie must have been his alibi for the night of the murder … unless they are in it together.


Reverend Paul Coates

Played by Arthur Darvill

Hardy seems particularly to have it in for Paul this week. He was riled enough following Paul’s comments at the funeral and witnessing Paul sitting with his hand on Tom’s knee to follow him on a trip to Yeovil. There he discovered that Paul was a recovering alcoholic and a little further digging revealed that the vicar had once been violent towards a child. We still don’t have a credible explanation for where Reverend Coates was on the night of the murder. However he didn’t bat an eyelid over young Tom’s queries over recovering deleted information from a hard drive, perhaps then he doesn’t have any concern that Tom might have any incriminating files worth deleting. But what was his comment of ‘I won’t charge you this time’ all about? So is Paul genuinely trying to heal the spiritual wellbeing of the town or is this all smokescreen and diversion to hide his true nature?




Nige Carter

Played by Joe Sims

We saw a truly nasty side to Nige this week involving Susan Wright’s dog and that crossbow that he had hidden in the back of his van. He did actually threaten Susan with the weapon last week and now it seems he took an opportune moment to make good his threat. We are still no clearer on the nature of their relationship, but Nige is sending Susan a very clear message that he wants no more to do with her. He seems unaffected by Jack’s death too – you would expect that someone who was instrumental in hounding another man to commit suicide would show some remorse at least. Does his apparent disregard for life along with his short temper show a more serious personality disorder. Perhaps Broadchurch has a real psychopath in its midst.





Tom Miller    

Played by Adam Wilson

The increasingly anxious Tom took drastic action to ensure that no evidence could be recovered from his laptop. He sought advice from Reverend Paul first, his IT teacher – he probably would not have approached the vicar if he was involved in whatever business Tom was trying to hide. You would also expect Tom, as the son of a police officer and a former paramedic to be a bit wiser about going off with strangers, no matter how handsome their dog. It did result in Tom recovering a crucial piece of evidence and triggering the arrest of a major suspect though. What was very disturbing was Tom’s outburst to Chloe and Dean that he actually hated Danny. Was he being bullied by his former friend, or forced into activities against his will.





DI Alec Hardy  

Played by David Tennant

Alec is now officially the Worst Cop In Britain according to the Herald, and this case, like his previous one, seems to be crumbling around him. Alec is clutching at straws, now but pursuing his few remaining suspects is going to get harder with fewer resources in his team. Hardy spoke to his daughter on the phone this week – or rather left her a voicemail. We are, of course, assuming that his daughter is alive and well and Hardy is not using her voicemail as a coping strategy for a tragic event while staying in denial. Remember Cate Gillespie’s statement that most parents who lose a child end up divorced? His mystery illness appears to be worsening too. What is it that causes his dizzy spells, pain and blackouts? Is it something physical, or all in his mind? Or a psychological condition that causes him to commit acts that he doesn’t remember afterwards? Is it linked to what happened with his family or the stress of his last case? And what was the meaning of his dream at the start of the episode, another instance where fear of water is significant?


Beth Latimer   

Played by Jodie Whittaker

Beth is still trying to pick up the pieces and move forward. A meeting with another parent of a murdered child, the grieving Cate, mother of one of the Sandbrook victims, did nothing to give her any hope. It sees unlikely that Beth would herself commit an act which has caused her so much misery. However, she is still angry and bitter over Mark’s fling with Becca, and like the other members of her family she has a furious temper. She's also quite physically fit and enjoys running. The figure that burst out of the hut at the end of the episode easily outran both police officers and climbed over a fence.


Olly Stevens   

Played by Jonathan Bailey

Olly is full of remorse following Jack’s suicide, the culmination of events triggered by his own smear campaign against the newsagent. He has also been humiliated by Karen who has dropped him like a hot brick once he ceased to be of use to her. If he had a plan to get him out of Broadchurch and away from his shambolic mother and into big time journalism, then it’s falling apart. Olly, of course, owned the boat that was found burning out at sea and it turns out it was commonly used by many other people in the town. Even Danny had been out in it before. But that still doesn’t explain why Danny’s blood was found in it, nor the chips of paint from the skateboard. The day that Olly discovered his boat missing was a day when, fortunately for him, he had a witness to his apparent surprise.




DS Ellie Miller  

Played by Olivia Colman

We knew from the first scenes of the drama that Ellie was ambitious. Could she, and possibly Joe, have killed Danny so that she could solve the crime and appear to be brilliant? They both have the knowledge and the and the means to tamper with evidence, and could provide alibis for one another. Ellie could get the blame pinned on anyone. Also, when sister Lucy turned up demanding money in exchange for evidence, why didn’t Ellie march her straight down to the station and force her to give it up? Perhaps she didn’t want anyone to know what Lucy saw. And then there’s the skateboard. Susan passed the skateboard back to Tom as soon as she found out that Ellie was his mother. Was it a clear message that she too had some information from that night?


Becca Fisher  

Played by Simone McAullay

Becca has financial worries and has been known to dabble in drug dealing for her hotel clients. It seems that an alternative income on the side would be more than welcome. Is she in deeper than she’s letting on? Or is she selling other more personal services? We already know that she has an eye for the men. Admittedly she did turn down Hardy, but then you could hardly ask the local DI to pay, could you? Did Danny find out something about her activities, what ever they might be, and have to be silenced?


Mark Latimer  

Played by Andrew Buchan

Mark is still under suspicion – remember that he has two hours unaccounted for in his alibi and that he has a furious temper. He was also very reluctant to go after Jack, as though he knew already that Jack was innocent. He is trying to rebuilt his shattered family and make amends to Beth – but is this just a sign that he thinks he’s got away with it?




Maggie Radcliffe   

Played by Carolyn Pickles

Maggie used to be a big time reporter, but now owns a little paper in a tiny town where nothing interesting ever happens. Some of her most acclaimed work was reporting on the Yorkshire Ripper case. Could she have killed Danny to get herself one last big case to get her name back in the limelight before she retired? Possibly she even wants to set herself up financially by selling scoops to the nationals. That's why she got so miffed when Karen showed up - she knew that she would be reporting directly to the nationals without Maggie receiving a penny. Of course digging the dirt on Jack and Susan has turned the spotlight onto other suspects.


Liz Roper   

Played by Susan Brown

If you subscribe to the theory that the least likely suspect is the killer then Liz, with the possible exception of baby Fred Miller, is your go-to cast member. Liz is without apparent motive and doesn’t even seem to be giving up any dark secrets. We aren’t aware of any alibi, or more significantly, any lack of alibi, but then Hardy and Miller have had no reason to call her in


Lucy Stevens

Played by Tanya Franks

The sister of Ellie Miller and mother of Olly, she claims that she saw something significant on the night of the murder. However, she’s holding out for Ellie to lend her some money before she tells all. We know that Lucy is fairly desperate for money, but we don’t know why as yet.


SOCO Brian

Played by Peter De Jersey

Brian seems to have a bit of an attraction to Ellie. Would he engineer a crime just so he could work closely to her or even to promote his own career? Don’t forget, he’s in the perfect position to tamper with the evidence


Chloe Latimer   

Played by Charlotte Beaumont

Chloe found going back to reality quite difficult this week. It could be part of the natural grieving process, but it could equally be remorse and the realisation of what she had done. Did she and Danny have a bit of a sibling rivalry that went too far when her temper got the better of her? Or did Danny find out about her drug dealing exploits and threaten to tell?


Dean Thomas  

Played by Jacob Anderson

Dean was one of the most vocal accusers of Jack, adding his account of Jack’s affection for the young members of the Boat Brigade to the rabid press stories that fuelled the campaign against Jack and, of course, took the focus away from the real killer. Although Dean has been portrayed as quite a bad lad up until now, dabbling in drug dealing and other shady goings on, he did show his softer, more caring side this week


Steve Connelly   

Played by Will Mellor

Steve only showed up, significantly, in Hardy’s dream this week, so he is clearly still on the DI’s mind. We still have no explanation for Steve’s message about the pendant and how Steve came about such information. Has he been stalking Hardy and his cases for a while? Is there a link to Sandbrook or a possible tragedy in Hardy’s own life?


Kevin Green (The postman)

Played by Jack Ashton

Will we ever now discover who it was that Jack said he saw arguing with Danny? The postman’s alibi seemed comprehensive enough for the detectives to rule him out of their enquiries. We do know that he was one of the people who rented out Olly’s boat


Karen White

Played by Vicky McClure

Karen came crawling back to town for Jack’s funeral. She was only too happy to set Beth up in a meeting with one of the Sandbrook parents. If she was aiming to discredit Hardy, then her work has succeeded. Was she possibly behind the murder in the first place? It does seem quite extreme to kill one child to get justice for other murder victims


Cate Gillespie


Cate’s daughter was one of the Sandbrook victims. She has never recovered from her daughter’s death and never forgiven Hardy for botching the trial. Is she so unbalanced that she could kill another child to get back at Hardy?


Other evidence

Don't forget these facts too:


Danny died by being strangled by a man or certainly someone with large hands

Danny was facing his killer when he died

Danny’s murder scene was faked to make it look as if he died in a fall from the cliff. There is no evidence that he died from injuries

There was no sexual element to Danny’s murder

Danny’s body was cleaned using domestic products after the murder

The clocks at the Latimer house all stopped in the early hours of the morning

The figure that ran from the hut was a physically fit adult.

What was Susan's husband's crime?






Comments

  1. This is like one of Agatha Christie murders. They all did it! I would not be surprised if either the DI is the criminal or Joe. Maybe the whole town did it so they could be placed on the map. This tv drama is proper mind blowing experience

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  2. I don't think it's Hardy. It can't be, if Steve was actually right about Danny knowing the killer, it can't have possibly been Hardy, could it? I highly doubt Danny knew Hardy before he was murdered.
    Joe and Tom both know something, so those two are my top suspects

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  3. Joe Miller is on top of my list. As the postman is concerned: Jack said he thought Danny was arguing with the postman, but it was a great distance. He jumped to the conclusion because "who else would be there at such an early hour?". The orange jacket could easily have been an orange lifeboat jacket. Could the motive be some kind of smuggling activity? (I've watched all episodes already 3 times now...)

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    1. I have 2 questions....1. When we see Danny standing on the cliff top in the opening sequence he has blood dripping from his hand. Whose blood? He's alive so possibly not his own. 2. Do you bleed from strangulation? Because they have his fingerprint in blood in the hut but have they jumped to the conclusion it is his own blood? And if you don't bleed then why have they also found his blood in the boat? The post mortem didn't show any lacerations I don't think. Just the strangulation?

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    2. Agricultural diesel is red!!!!!!!!

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