Poppy White

**Becky Butler**, alias **Poppy White**, is a recurring character in Season 1 and a main character in Season 2 of *Only Murders in the Building*. She was a former assistant to Cinda Canning, later revealed to be Bunny Folger's murderer.

She is portrayed by Adina Verson.

## History

### Going Into Hiding

Becky lived a boring and miserable life in Chickasha, Oklahoma, where she lived with her ailing, abusive father and worked for the mayor, who is believed to have assaulted her. She was also a fan of Cinda Canning's podcasts. One day, after her boss tried to get her to stay at his office and have a drink with him, she decided to disappear and become another person. She cut and dyed her hair, then went to New York and approached Cinda Canning about making a podcast about her disappearance, calling herself Poppy White. They traveled back to Oklahoma together, where Poppy teamed up with Daniel Kreps, whom she began dating, and he helped plant evidence to get the mayor convicted of her murder, despite her body never being found.

### Cinda's Meeting with the Trio

When Cinda met with Mabel Mora, Charles-Haden Savage, and Oliver Putnam to advise them on their podcast, Poppy informed them that Cinda had won the Peabody in 2018 and 2020. While Cinda talked on the phone about a deal to sell, she told them Cinda was what was being purchased.

### Trio's Arrest

Poppy and Cinda were among those who watched as Mabel, Charles, and Oliver were arrested after being found with Bunny Fogler's body. Poppy held up a boom mic as they walked past, then said, "Coming this Fall: Only Murder*ers* in the Building," which Cinda immediately claimed credit for.

### Bunny Folger Murder

When Cinda was upset at the trio putting out their own podcast about Tim Kono's murder, she claimed she needed a new "All Is Not OK" to compete with their podcast and avoid being a one-hit wonder. Poppy suggested making a podcast about Rose Cooper's disappearance, but Cinda wanted a murder and was tired of waiting for one to fall into her lap. Poppy then decided to take matters into her own hands and murdered Bunny to create a story on which they could base a podcast.

### Helping Mabel

Poppy found and booked Jimmy Russo for Cinda's podcast. Jimmy was a former co-worker of Mabel Mora, who claimed she cut off his finger. When Jimmy arrived for his interview, Poppy greeted him and showed him to Cinda's office. During the interview, Cinda texted Poppy to have her come in and say she had a call so she could leave to use the bathroom.

Poppy later accompanied Cinda to Bunny's apartment where Detective Kreps was waiting for them. They were later joined by Mabel, Charles, and Oliver. Kreps then told all of them to stop podcasting, as it was interfering with the investigation. When Cinda and Poppy left, Mabel followed Poppy out and told her the way Cinda treated her wasn't okay. Poppy insisted that she was fine and was paying her dues. Mabel told Poppy that Jimmy was lying and Poppy could help Cinda by keeping that episode off the air and she might earn Cinda's respect in the process. Poppy was insistent that Cinda respected her, even when Cinda whistled for her like a dog.

Back at the studio, as Cinda finished recording an ad for her podcast, Poppy asked Cinda to consider giving her a promotion. Cinda said she normally didn't consider promotions until after five years, but she agreed to think about it. When Poppy went to Cinda to tell her the episode was a hit and ask if Cinda had a chance to think about the promotion. Cinda said her request had made everyone uncomfortable and advised her that she shouldn't be too good at a job she didn't want, as she was a rock star assistant.

Upset with Cinda, Poppy called Mabel and offered to tell her all of Cinda's secrets. Mabel hung up on her while she was talking.

Mabel went to see Poppy at the studio, where Poppy said she couldn't help Mabel after all. Mabel said she'd figured out that Bunny's murder had something to do with Kreps and "*All is Not Okay in Oklahoma*", but she couldn't figure out what. Poppy told her to let it go, but she persisted, asking what Poppy knows. Poppy said that Mabel didn't know what Cinda was capable of and tried to get Mabel to leave. Mabel asked why Poppy was so scared and Poppy admitted that she was Becky Butler, the woman whose murder was the subject of "*All is Not Okay in Oklahoma*".

### Killer Reveal Party

Charles, Mabel, and Oliver asked Poppy how to unsettle Cinda, hoping to coerce her into a confession. She told him all the things Cinda hates, then excused herself to help Cinda record the finale of her podcast.

Once they'd solved the murder, Charles, Mabel, and Oliver invited Cinda to come to their killer reveal party. When she and Poppy arrived, they quickly accused Cinda of the murder, declaring that she'd killed Bunny and hid her tracks with the help of a crooked cop. She asked how he knew about Kreps. Charles then laid out how instead of solving crimes for her podcast, she made them up. Cinda asked why she'd want to kill a woman she never met. Lester interjected that he had the logs that showed several visits to the Arconia, meaning she did meet Bunny. Cinda said she was just keeping tabs on the Kono investigation. The trio tried more things to unsettle Cinda, but she still couldn't confess. Mabel said that was because she didn't do it and pointed the finger at Alice, saying she wanted the painting and when Bunny asked for too much money for it, Alice killed her to get it. Alice flew into a rage and grabbed a nearby knife, intending to stab Mabel, but hitting Charles instead when he pushed Mabel out of the way. Charles collapsed to the floor while Uma called the police and the others restrained Alice. Oliver and Mabel cried and held Charles' hand as he bled to death.

As Howard comforted Mrs. Gambolini, Uma told them police and the ambulance were three minutes away. Cinda said that she was sorry for Charles's death, but said Mabel was incredible and offered her a job, saying she could even have her own podcast. This upset Poppy, who said there was nothing tying Alice to the murder and her confessing was just pure luck. Meanwhile, Poppy does everything for Cinda. As she talked, Poppy started sneezing. She said she was the one to tell Cinda about the art in the first place. Mabel questioned why and Poppy said it was for a podcast, but Cinda wasn't interested. Poppy continued to sneeze as she talked, prompting Oliver to ask if she had some kind of allergy, perhaps to Mrs. Gambolini. Mabel said the killer sneezed while leaving the crime scene. Poppy challenged that it wasn't uncommon to be allergic to birds and asked if they were going to believe some young girl hiding in the walls. Oliver said that only the killer could know about Lucy. Cinda then revealed that she knew that Poppy was really Becky Butler, the woman whose "murder" was the subject of Cinda's podcast, "*All Is Not OK in Oklahoma*". When Poppy asked who told her that, Charles popped out from under the sheet, revealing that they'd faked his death, and said it was them. The whole night was staged, including the two false accusations. Poppy said she just wanted to make a good podcast. She wanted Cinda to notice her, but things went wrong. While she talked about why she did it, Williams came in to arrest her while Kreps waited outside, already in handcuffs of his own.

## Personality

Poppy is hardworking, unobtrusive and quiet. She often seems jumpy and nervy, and speaks very quickly. She is treated terribly by Cinda, although she puts up with this as she believes is it "paying her dues". She quietly works in the background and Cinda describes her as a "rockstar assistant". However, underneath her quiet facade, she is desperate to be noticed by Cinda, which drives her to extreme actions.

After her true identity is discovered, it is revealed that she previously lived a wretched life in Chickasha, which she escaped by faking her own disappearance. This plan shows that she can be extremely cunning and deceptive when driven to it. Her later actions reveal that she is capable of immense deception and doesn't care about implicating others in her crimes.

## Career

Becky came to Cinda after her disappearance to suggest a new case for her: the disappearance of Becky Butler. She then began working as Cinda's assistant. After two years, she began to think about being promoted and, after encouragement from Mabel, asked Cinda about the possibility. Cinda shot her down, telling her that she was great at what she did, and that she shouldn't be too good at a job she doesn't want.

## Notes and Trivia

* She appeared in Mabel's hallucination of Cinda announcing her new podcast. In the hallucination, she was knitting along with Cinda and Cindy.

## Gallery

### Episode Stills

Photography by Craig Blankenhorn"Persons of Interest" (S02E01)"Performance Review" (S02E06)"I Know Who Did It" (S02E10)

## References

1. ↑ "I Know Who Did It" (2022). Season 2, episode 10.
2. ↑ "The Sting" (2021). Season 1, episode 4.
3. ↑ "Open and Shut" (2021). Season 1, episode 10.
4. ↑ "I Know Who Did It" (2022). Season 2, episode 10.
5. ↑ "Performance Review" (2022). Season 2, episode 6.
6. ↑ "Sparring Partners" (2022). Season 2, episode 9.
7. ↑ "I Know Who Did It" (2022). Season 2, episode 10.
8. ↑ "Persons of Interest" (2022). Season 2, episode 1.