Following my previous Villains guide, I’ve decided to give a run down of some theories and some more villains stalking the streets of Broadchurch.

So, without any further ado:

The Theories

After seeing videos of the Laura and Nira rapes and finding them arousing a Broadchurch local decides to copy the crime.

Possible suspects: Tom Miller, Michael Lucas, Clive Lucas, Leo Humphries

It’s still possible that Trish’s initial violent assault and following sexual assault were two separate crimes committed by different antagonists with no connection. The person who knocked Trish out may be horrified that they inadvertently assisted in a rape.

Possible suspects: Cath Atwood, Ian Winterman, Lindsay Lucas, Leah Winterman, Sarah (Ian’s girlfriend)

There’s an awful lot of person to person porn flying about. With Clive passing it on to his stepson and Ian Winterman doing something dodgy with Trish’s laptop could there be a link to the three rapes?

Possible suspects: Leo Humphries, Clive Lucas, Ian Winterman

The torchlight seem by Trish may have been Ed Burnett. After seeing what has befallen the object of his lust he loses his temper and brutally murders Trish’s rapist. Ed dumps the rapist’s body in the lake and unties Trish before fleeing the scene.

Possible suspects: Ed Burnett

More than one person was involved in the rape of Trish Winterman. How many could it have been? There could have been collaborations between Clive, Leo, Alan etc.

Possible suspects: Everyone

The Villains

There may be 5 or 6 core suspects but there are others with an outside chance:

Before being raped a previous victim called for car repair, a service which Jim offers. This drives him up to the prime suspect position. Jim has looked increasingly suspicious as the weeks have gone on and has never produced an alibi despite being asked several times. He certainly wants to leave the village sharpish, doesn’t he?

Other suspects keep falling away but Clive remains as much of an enigma as ever. His home life looks like a mess. If Tom is to be believed, Clive shared porn with his own stepson. What sort of a weirdo does that?! Clive has had contact with a lot of Broadchurch’s shadier citizens making him a key suspect for any gang rape. His trove of creepy memento’s still hasn’t been found either.

Oh Ed. You’ve gone and made yourself the main suspect with all the violence, stalking and flower giving. It doesn’t help that all physical evidence points towards you. Still, Ed has no history of sexual violence and has made no effort to remove any of the physical evidence linking him to the crime.

Once again the owner has “come across” key evidence, this time in the form of the sock used to gag Trish. I’m half expecting him to find the rape condom on episode 7. Perhaps he’ll find it stowed in a cup lying at the back of his horse paddock. Coincidentally the cup is the Holy Grail and the horse standing over it will be none other than the long lost Shergar. Alan has no alibi for the night of the rape and seems to harbour anger about the party sullying his ancestral home.

Cath’s skills at manipulation are as impressive as ever. She sics Ed on her husband with relative ease. Would the High School Queen assist in a truly morose revenge plot? She has access to the twine, no alibi and a clear vindictive streak. Cath has lied like a pro throughout season 3. She seemed surprisingly open to leaving Broadchurch with her cheating husband. Is she really that weak?

Leo seemed rather unconcerned with the news that Ed Burnett had been arrested, almost like the rape has nothing to do with him and his only worry is possible police meddling in his elicit businesses. I don’t think he raped Trish and yet, it’s impossible to look past his links to the equipment used and his lack of alibi. His football team is sponsored by Jim’s Automotors, so they may have a connection.

Another week without seeing Nige is a week where he has free reign to mastermind the destruction of our World. I still cannot rule him out of anything.

With no alibi and some dirty trousers, Ian should be a key suspect. Yet he seems too weak to have moved Trish down by the lake even if he put her in the Axehampton House wheelbarrow. I can’t imagine he would get assistance for such a crime as no one would want to ally with such a useless member of the community. Ian was very quick to add to the police’s case against Ed although that may just be revenge for Ed’s treatment of him.

The rape victim and the rape method do not match Aaron’s preference. His lack of alibi and links to both Trish and previous rape victim, Laura Benson (2014 victim), keep him in here as a suspect. It may be possible that Aaron knows who the real rapist is. He may even have assisted him or helped him choose the targets but he cannot have had anything to do with the rape of Nira (2015 victim) as he was in prison. It will be interesting to see if Alan’s football pal, Dave King, is a suspect or a red herring.

The no-manners gang have disappeared since trying to harass Hardy’s daughter a few episodes back. With little evidence linking them to the crime, they are looking increasingly unlikely.

Could Paul Coates, the teetotaller, have fallen off the wagon and washed some of the communion wine down with a little vodka? We know from Season 1 he liked to play football so he may have some, as yet unseen, links to Leo. He may even be friends with Alex ‘the muso’ who was in the band playing the night of Trish’s rape. That seems like a long shot though.

With no further links between Chas and the rape his rating has fallen somewhat. Perhaps he did catering for the pub Laura Benson worked at? Chas is looking more innocent as the weeks move on.

There is an outside chance that lil’Tom may have gotten himself involved with some less than savoury people. He couldn’t even live a few days without his porn filled phone. I hope for Miller’s sake he has no links to the crime.

The Questions You Should be Asking:

Are we certain Nira was raped by the same person as Trish and Laura? Trish and Laura stated they smelt vodka during their rapes but Nira did not.

What is the true identity of Alan’s friend, Dave King?

Could some of Ed Burnett’s creepy photos reveal a secret?

Who is the mystery man picked up by Clive’s taxi?

If there was someone in the cottage, what did they see and why haven’t they spoken?

Why is Cath so willing to forgive Jim?

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