Kieran's Accomplice Theory (Gustavo Acosta)

This is a Reddit theory about Gustavo Acosta being Kieran Wilcox's accomplice and the secret second killer, that was written before Halloween Special:

## Theory

*After thinking back about some of the clues from Season 2, I am convinced that Kieran was not working alone and that he had an accomplice. There has been debate about whether or not Kieran has an accomplice, but the writers never confirmed that he did not. All they said is that Kieran is responsible for all but one of the murders, but this does not mean there was not somebody helping with some of his other actions that were not murders. I think everything in Season 2 can tie together perfectly with Gustavo being Kieran’s accomplice. I am going to discuss some of the events during the season I think Gustavo is responsible for and talk about some of the clues that make me believe he is involved. I apologize for the length, but I think this full theory can tie up everything from Season 2.*

* *The biggest clue that Kieran has an accomplice is on episode 2x01 when Jake was kidnapped. Most people remember how Emma found Kieran sleeping on the couch and how he said he was trying not to wake her, which seemed to be a clue that he left the house to kidnap Jake. However, what I did not realize until I rewatched that episode is that Emma discovered Kieran on the couch in the scene directly before Jake was kidnapped. Unless the scenes were out of order, this means Kieran had already gone out and come back so he has an alibi for when Jake was kidnapped. Maybe the writers put the scenes out of order to trick the viewers, but they were not very subtle about other Kieran clues like when he appeared at the carnival right where the killer disappeared, so I doubt they would go out of their way to be this deceptive. This leads me to believe that Kieran’s accomplice was really the one who kidnapped Jake so that Kieran would have an alibi. However, I do not think Jake’s death is the one murder Kieran did not commit but that Gustavo kidnapped Jake and left him in the barn and that Kieran later came and killed Jake. If Gustavo is Kieran’s accomplice, it makes sense that he would want to target Jake so that he could have Brooke all to himself.*
* *I do not think Kieran was the one texting Brooke from Jake’s phone. Given Kieran’s motivations, it seems unlikely that he would spend time going out of his way to toy with Brooke and make her think Jake is alive given that all he cared about was getting revenge on Emma and Audrey for killing Piper. Since Kieran did not care about Brooke at all it seems unlikely that he would spend so much time playing with her emotions. However, given that Gustavo was somewhat obsessed with Brooke, it makes sense that he would be the one sending her so many messages. If Gustavo was the one who kidnapped Jake, it makes sense that he could have stolen Jake’s phone then. There were two occasions, at the police station and at the movie theater, when Brooke got a text from Jake’s phone immediately after Gustavo typed a text on his phone so he definitely could have been sending them. Also, at the end of episode 2x02, Brooke texted Jake and said she was going over to his house. While she was standing outside Jake’s door, Gustavo was on his bike watching from a distance. The only way he could have known that Brooke would go to Jake’s house that night is if he had Jake’s phone and directly saw the text.*
* *Another clue that Gustavo was working with Kieran was when he talked with Noah at the movie theater on 2x03. Gustavo warned Noah about his investigations into Piper’s accomplice and suggested that Noah could become a target if he discovered too much information. These comments seem like big clues that Gustavo was working with Kieran and was threatening Noah to prevent him from exposing Kieran as Piper’s accomplice.*
* *Another strange action for Kieran to have taken is sending the bottle of tequila spiked with ayahuasca to his birthday party on 2x04. Considering that it was a surprise party, it is somewhat strange that Kieran knew about it ahead of time and was able to devise a plan to attack at the party. Also, why would Kieran drug himself just to pass out at the party? However, it makes a lot more sense if Gustavo was the one who executed the ayahuasca incident. Gustavo was the only person at the party who immediately recognized the ayahuasca and he was the only person at the party who the ayahuasca did not affect. Even more suspiciously, Gustavo was the one who actually handed out the shots at the party, which means he is the one responsible for everybody being drugged and that he specifically chose to take the shots from the spiked bottle. It also connects with my previous thoughts that Gustavo was the person using Jake’s phone to pose as Jake since the tequila bottle was signed from Jake. It makes sense that Gustavo would drug everybody at the party since he knew he would not be affected by the ayahuasca while everybody else would, so he could do whatever he wanted to while at the party. Perhaps this is when he hid Jake’s phone in Emma’s backpack or maybe he chased Emma in the woods if that attack was real. Additionally, by drugging Kieran, Gustavo could take suspicion of his partner.*
* *I also believe that Gustavo is the one who cut Mr. Branson’s hand off. The only people who knew where Mr. Branson was tied up were Brooke, because she was the one who left him there, and Gustavo, which can be determined by the fact that he drew Branson in the hotel room. There is no way Kieran could have found out Mr. Branson’s location unless he is working with either Brooke or Gustavo. It seems highly unlikely that Brooke would work with Kieran to kill Jake or that she would constantly text with Jake’s phone if she already knew he was dead, so most likely Gustavo is the one working with Kieran who knew where Mr. Branson was tied up. It makes sense that Gustavo would want to target Mr. Branson to get him away from Brooke. I think Gustavo was the one who actually cut off Mr. Branson’s hand rather than Kieran because the attack seems unlike Kieran’s usual methodology. Kieran never intentionally left any of his victims alive but the person who cut off Mr. Branson’s hand specifically cauterized the wound so he would survive. Even if the plan was to kidnap Branson so that he could be used to distract Kristen Lang, but the killer could have still distracted her with Branson’s body and it seems a lot riskier to keep him alive because there is a chance he could survive. It seems strange that the same killer would go out of his way to ensure Branson survives on one episode but then leave him to burn a couple episodes later, so it could hint that these were two separate killers. Similar to what I said about Jake earlier, I think that Gustavo attacked and kidnapped Branson but that Kieran was the one who left him to die. Therefore, this would not count as the one death the accomplice is responsible for because Kieran still killed Mr. Branson. This could perhaps hint that even though Gustavo is working with Kieran, he is reluctant to kill and chooses to avoid doing so if it is not necessary and let Kieran take care of the killings.*
* *Gustavo was probably also responsible for throwing Ms. Lang down the stairs. While the killer taunted her, he mentioned the fact that she was dating Mr. Branson. However, the only two characters who knew about this were Brooke and Gustavo because they discovered it while investigating Mr. Branson. This means one of them was involved in the attack on Ms. Lang and Gustavo seems more likely since Brooke was with Audrey while it was happening. This attack also connects to other attacks I believe Gustavo committed. The person taunting Ms. Lang had Mr. Branson’s hand, which implies it is the same person who cut his hand off. Also, the killer distracted Ms. Lang with a toy pig which is the same trick used by the person who kidnapped Jake. The pig toy could be a clue that Gustavo has some sort of connection to Brandon James and the pig farm. He also had a drawing of a pig in his room while his dad was searching it on 2x04, which could further hint that Gustavo is the one with the connection to the pig farm. Maybe Gustavo’s dad brought Gustavo to the farm just like Maggie brought Emma there. If Gustavo does have a connection to Brandon, it could play into his motive and it could explain why he had a Brandon James' mask hidden in his room (Since the one in his room was made of a different material than the one the killer uses). Getting back to the attack on Ms. Lang, it seems necessary that there were two killers there because the one who attacked Ms. Lang fled when the janitor approached but somehow Mr. Branson was taken away even though he was in the opposite direction from where the killer fled. It seems that Branson was taken away earlier since the janitor never saw him, which could only happen if there was a second killer to carry away Branson’s body. I believe Kieran was the one who took Branson away because immediately afterward, Branson was left in the house to get burned with Eddie (It was probably Kieran who had Eddie’s body since Gustavo was at the movie theater during Eddie’s murder). One final clue that Gustavo attacked Ms. Lang is revealed in Gustavo’s drawing. He drew Ms. Lang lying with a pool of blood around her head with the exact same pose she was laying in. The details in his drawing were all correct, which makes me think he must have actually seen the attack because I doubt anybody would describe it to him in such precise and gruesome detail.*
* *Gustavo also probably played a role in Kieran’s “kidnapping”. Somebody sent Audrey a video of Emma running into the funhouse filmed from behind. This could have been Kieran, but it would have been way too suspicious for Kieran to risk being seen standing outside the funhouse*

filming Emma whether he was in costume or not because he would have been exposed if anybody saw him. This makes me think it was somebody else who was able to inconspicuously film Emma without having to wear the costume. Gustavo would fit perfectly since he was mysteriously unaccounted for during the majority of the time at the fair. Also, Gustavo was right at the front of the crowd when Emma and Kieran came out which could be a clue that he was there even sooner. This scene also had the most major clue yet that Gustavo is Kieran’s accomplice. Here is a picture of the different masks that have appeared in the show so far. The mask Kieran was wearing in the funhouse is the bottom right picture. This mask did not fit the style of the killer’s usual mask, shown in the top row, but it looks exactly like Gustavo’s mask, which is the bottom left picture. They appear to be the same mask, which fits because Gustavo’s mask disappeared from his room earlier on the same episode as the funhouse scene (Another clue in the scene when the mask disappeared is the fact that Gustavo did not even deny being the killer, he just said his dad could not prove it).

* *Gustavo also helped orchestrate the Face the Mask party and the staging of Haley’s body. Although Kieran was the one who led Emma to Ms. Lang’s house to discover the orphanage, she would have never even gone to the hospital if it were not for the message and the tape in her locker. The message was written in lipstick and Gustavo stole Brooke’s lipstick at the beginning of that same episode. There was never any explanation for why Gustavo needed Brooke’s lipstick or why he had to steal it instead of just asking Brooke if he could use it, which leads me to believe he stole it specifically so he could leave Emma the message that would lead Kieran and her to the hospital. Emma’s locker also had one of Ms. Lang’s tapes in it, which were taken by the police after she was attacked. Gustavo has access to the police office and was shown stealing evidence before when he found Mayor Maddox’s texts, so he could have easily stolen Ms. Lang’s recording. Kieran led Emma from the hospital to Ms. Lang’s house so that she could discover the orphanage and the party, but Audrey found out about the party from the killer calling her. However, Kieran was with Emma and they were on the way to the party at this point so Kieran could not have called Audrey, which is further proof that Kieran had an accomplice. Gustavo was the only other character besides Emma, Kieran, Zoe, Noah, and Audrey who knew about the party and since he was sneaking around and did not say anything to the others, he probably had sinister contentions. I think Kieran was the one who killed Haley but Gustavo is probably the one who staged Haley’s body for the cops considering his obsession with death and art.*
* *There were some major Gustavo clues in episode 2x11. First of all, Noah’s computer was hacked on this episode and a common way to get hacked is by opening a file in an email. Gustavo made a comic for Noah on this episode and emailed it to him, so Noah had to open it which could have given Gustavo control of Noah’s computer. On a side note, Gustavo’s drawing was creepy considering he knew the exact details of Noah’s attack like the fact that he was attacked in the woods and even the fact that Noah was holding a flashlight. This could mean Gustavo was the one who attacked and kidnapped Noah (since Noah survived it would not count as the one murder Kieran did not commit). Back to the email, this could mean that Gustavo was the killer in charge of technology. This makes sense because the video framing Emma and Audrey had one of Gustavo’s drawings in it, which could be a clue that he was the one who made the video. The video also had pictures of Emma’s writing from her dream journal, which means the person who made the video is the one who stole the dream journal. It seems unlikely Kieran stole it since the person who stole it seemed unfamiliar in Emma’s house and stabbed the picture of Kieran in her room, so his accomplice is probably the one who stole the journal. Also, Emma and Audrey found the journal in the pig farm and as I mentioned earlier, the pig clues could tie back to Gustavo. If Gustavo was the one in charge of technology, he probably also sent Audrey’s recording to Emma while posing as Zoe. The message was signed from Emma’s “special friend” which is the name Haley called the person who killed her. I do not think Gustavo was the special friend, but Kieran probably told Gustavo to use that name in order to freak Emma out, which would explain why Gustavo seemed to recognize the phrase at the end of 2x09 when he asked Brooke if her hotel room was a place for special friends.*
* *Finally, it is time to discuss the murder Gustavo committed. I think he played a role in planning Quinn Maddox’s death since the phone Maddox found was an Android and Gustavo is the only main character with an Android, but I think Kieran is the one who actually committed the murder since he appeared at the scene right afterward. The murder I believe Gustavo committed is the death of Deputy Stevens who was driving Emma and Audrey to the police station. It does not make sense for Kieran to have committed it since he was still at the farm when the officer took them away, so he would have drive extremely fast in order to not only pass the police car but to be able to get out and stand in the road. This would make Kieran look really suspicious and it would be pretty reckless to speed away from a crime scene with multiple police officers present. However, Gustavo was completely unaccounted for that night. All we know is that he was riding his bike somewhere while Emma and Audrey were on their way to the farm and that he refused to give any information about his whereabouts that night when Brooke questioned him the next morning. He probably got in position on the road to intercept the police car before it took Emma and Audrey to the station and it makes sense that he knew what route the car would take to the police station since he is the sheriff’s son. I am not entirely sure about his motive, but I think Gustavo wanted to prolong the killing spree while Kieran was content letting Emma and Audrey get arrested so they would receive the justice he believed they deserved for killing Piper. However, I think Gustavo did not want it to end then either because he wanted a better ending for his graphic novel about the events or maybe since he wanted Kieran to take the fall for the killings in the end instead of Emma and Audrey.*
* *Gustavo also played a role in the events of 2x12. Emma received a call from the killer in the movie theater bathroom while Kieran and Noah were outside together. Maybe Kieran walked away from Noah to make the call but that would look extremely suspicious, so I am guessing Kieran’s accomplice was the one who made the call. Shortly afterward, Gustavo appeared at the theater with a text from “Brooke” telling him to come there. It makes no sense why Kieran would want Gustavo to come there unless Gustavo was his accomplice. The only possible reason is to make Gustavo look suspicious, but Kieran only tried to frame Eli in Emma’s and Audrey’s eyes and Emma and Audrey in the police’s eyes, but he never actually tried to frame Gustavo before. He had no reason to frame Gustavo at that point considering everybody thought Eli was the killer. At some point later on, the killer kidnapped Audrey and took her over to the orphanage where they staged her in the costume. However, Kieran could not have done this since he never disappeared for more than a few minutes and rode the ambulance to the hospital with Brooke so he would not have a chance to go back after stabbing her. So I assume Gustavo is the one who took Audrey there. Also, I think Kieran betrayed Gustavo at this point. Kieran no longer needed Gustavo since he was in the endgame of his plan and Gustavo could not expose Kieran for revenge without also exposing himself. I think Kieran and Gustavo had an agreement that Kieran would not hurt Brooke, but Kieran decided to stab Brooke as revenge for Gustavo allowing Emma and Audrey to escape from the police car. This is why Gustavo cried in the hospital: he realized that his actions were the reason Brooke got stabbed and felt guilty for hurting the one person he was trying to protect. The rest of the plan went as Gustavo planned except for one flaw: Kieran survived. After Kieran attacked Brooke, Gustavo had no love for him anymore.*

## Addition

* In the end of 2x12, Kieran got a call from killer saying "Who told you you could wear mask?", and in the beginning of Halloween Special, Kieran was killed by the same killer in the prison. According to this theory, this would've been Gustavo, since he wanted get back at Kieran after he tried to kill Brooke.
* In Halloween Special, Stavo wasn't revealed as the secret accomplice and it looks he joined Lakewood Five for good, meaning that if even he was a killer, after killing Kieran, he ceased being a killer, knowing that he had managed to get Brooke, and he didn't have anything against Emma, Audrey and Noah anymore.

## 1994 Killer actually (most likely) killed Kieran in prison

However, even if Stavo was Kieran's accomplice, Kieran was most likely still killed by the same person who murdered 5 teenagers in 1994, which definitely couldn't be Stavo. And the most evidence points to the 1994 killer, as well as Kieran's killer, being Kevin Duval, Emma's father.