Psycho Murderer or Just Psycho?

Status: Psycho killer. Qu'est que c'est? You should have run, run, run, run, run, run, run away!

Aaron Echolls killed Lilly Kane.

Just...not according to the jury.

What we knew: There was no hard evidence that Aaron killed Lilly. Veronica's account of Lilly's murder was her own speculation. Any actual evidence of the murder was compromised by the Kanes' cover-up. There was videotaped evidence that Aaron and Lilly had an affair, and he tried to recover those tapes, in the course of which he attempted to murder Veronica. The closest he came to admitting he killed Lilly then was when he told Veronica:

"You know, Lilly never told me where the tapes were hidden either. I-I kinda think there's a cautionary tale in that, Veronica. Something like I'm not going to let a 17-year-old piece of ass ruin my life!"

The tapes were destroyed by Logan to preserve Lilly's dignity after Leo, looking for cash, took them from the evidence room and sold them.

What the jury knew: Aaron Echolls is so pretty. He's a movie star. He has an Oscar. (He certainly deserved it for the performance he gave in the courtroom.) They couldn't give him another one, so they gave him the next best thing — his liberty.

It wasn't just that Aaron had expensive lawyers or that the prosecution was worse than useless. It was those little extra touches. Like knowing about Veronica's diagnosis of an STD or her and Duncan's breaking and entering into the home of Meg Manning. (Hey, Lambie boy, exactly how'd they know about that, huh?) Like getting Kendall Casablancas to secure a piece of Duncan's hair and getting his cell mate to secure the key to where an Oscar dwelt, one which mysteriously ended up with the hair and some of Lilly's blood buried by the Kane pool. Like torpedoing the credibility of his own son by bringing to light that his testimony was compromised by Logan's deal for immunity from charges of destroying State's evidence. In a world where judges entertain shady men in their chambers, it's really no surprise that Aaron walked.

What we know now: Yes, Veronica. There is justice in Neptune, but it's the Death Wish kind. After Aaron confessed to her in an elevator, clearly and without equivocation to killing Lilly, Veronica was stoic, thinking that life was such a bitch. Little did she know that one of the Kanes had already decided to command the execution that the jury denied the family. Clarence Wiedman, Jr. did the deed, putting two bullets in Aaron's brain as he sat, comfortable and sated after a sex session with Kendall, admiring himself in one of his old movies on TV. CW's master? Not the vengeful Jake who swore to ruin Aaron and all his spawn. Not the icy Celeste who was less than loving towards her wayward child. Clarence's instructions came from the noble Duncan, kidnapper and now murderer. And odd as it seems, few but the most rabid of his detractors would condemn him for it.

Mystery Summary as of 2.22 "Not Pictured"

Clues for Psycho Murderer or Just Psycho?

• 2.06 "Rat Saw God"
• Aaron was unexpectedly transferred from County to the cell at the sheriff's department.
• Lamb puts Logan and Aaron in a cell together with a third man. Who is the third man (as opposed to what is The Third Man, the answer being a masterpiece in the film noir genre)? Is he called Harry Lime by any chance?
• Coincidence or design? If Lamb is at all competent, he must know the weakness of the case against Aaron regarding Lilly's murder. Has he set this up in the hopes that Aaron will confess? Aaron's not stupid. Did he recognize the set-up and play his part accordingly?
• Does Aaron know about Duncan's epilepsy? If not, how was he able to so accurately describe Duncan in the sort of rage he experienced when he vandalized his car in 1.21 "A Trip to the Dentist"?
• 2.10 "One Angry Veronica"
• The Aaron/Lilly sex tapes have been destroyed by Logan. Keith believes this will help Aaron. Logan and the thief, Leo D'Amato, believe it won't, as people who have seen the tapes can give the evidence of their contents.
• 2.15 "The Quick and the Wed"
• Aaron again puts forward the argument that Duncan was responsible for Lilly's death, this time on television. His charge may have more weight now that Duncan is branded a kidnapper and not in a position to defend himself.
• Aaron's lawyers have been asking for the tapes, and the prosecution's failure to present them is used to cast doubt on their existence.
• Aaron asks Kendall Casablancas, who wants him to invest in Phoenix Land Trust, for a favor, which involves her visiting the hotel suite in which Duncan used to live and where Logan is living. What he asks is unknown.
• Kendall visits the hotel suite. She enters Duncan's shower and appears to remove a hair from the drain.
• 2.16 "The Rapes of Graff"
• Someone has arranged the theft of Cliff's briefcase which contains files on cases of a drunken assault, lewd conduct, a fraud, a divorce and the murder case against Logan. Given Aaron's interest in obtaining evidence against Duncan in the Lilly Kane case, has Aaron cast his net any wider?
• Also stolen from Cliff were keys, including the key to "their storage locker" containing everything that wasn't in the Logan Echolls files. Is this an Echolls storage locker? If so, wouldn't Aaron already have access?
• 2.19 "Nevermind the Buttocks"
• The questions Aaron's lawyer puts to Veronica indicate that Aaron is going to deny ever having had sex with Lilly.
• Aaron's lawyer wants to know if Veronica is in touch with Duncan.
• Aaron's Oscar statue has been unearthed at the Kane estate, a few feet from where Lilly was found, as a result of work by the new owners to move the pool. It has Lilly's blood and Duncan's hair on it.
• Keith states that the Oscar is the murder weapon, it only having been assumed that it was the glass ashtray, because there seemed to be no other reason for it to have been thrown into the pool.
• 2.20 "Look Who's Stalking"
• According to Logan, the man who paid the hooker to steal Cliff's briefcase looks just like the man with whom Aaron was sharing a cell.
• 2.21 "Happy Go Lucky"
• Aaron's story at trial is that he was flattered by the attention Lilly gave him and that they fooled around but never had sex. He broke it off the day she died, but she stormed out, stealing his Oscar. He followed her to the Kane residence to retrieve it. He failed to do so as she screamed and threw an ashtray at him. Aaron left when Duncan arrived. He describes Duncan as crazed.
• Aaron's story at trial with regard to Veronica is that she is attracted to celebrity and seeks to emulate Lilly. She found the tapes and offered them to Aaron in exchange for sex. He and Veronica drove away from the Kane party together, but she crashed the car. The nearby homeowner assisted them and they waited on the porch for a tow truck. Keith arrived and, seeing Veronica in a compromising position, attacked Aaron. Keith's attack on Aaron's lawyer in the courtroom appears to substantiate the implication that Keith is volatile when it comes to his daughter.
• Aaron's lawyer knows of Veronica's STD diagnosis and is allowed to introduce that information to support Aaron's defense that she is promiscuous. It is not known how he has this information.
• A newspaper reports "Test result errors rampant in SATs, effects immense."
• The homeowner supported Aaron's story, but he has not been questioned by the prosecution and has not responded to a subpoena. He has disappeared.
• The defense position on the tapes is that they did not show Lilly and Aaron having sex. It is claimed that Veronica manipulated one boyfriend, Leo, to give them to another boyfriend, Logan, to destroy them, thus deflecting blame from a third boyfriend, Duncan.
• Aaron advises Logan to lie and not disclose what he saw on the tapes to protect himself against charges for destroying State's evidence.
• Aaron's lawyer has knowledge of the incident when Veronica and Duncan broke into the Manning residence. It is not known how he has this information.
• Aaron's lawyer has knowledge of Leo's disciplinary record. It is not known how he has this information.
• By appearances, the rich, powerful, and corrupt Leonard Lobo is on very good terms with at least one of the members of Neptune's judiciary.
• Logan testifies to what was on the tapes. He confirms that he has been granted immunity from prosecution for destroying State's evidence, a felony, in return for his testimony.
• Aaron is acquitted of all charges.
• 2.22 "Not Pictured"
• Aaron admits to Veronica that he killed Lilly with the ashtray.
• Aaron meets Kendall at the Grand Neptune Hotel for a night of sex and relaxation.
• While Kendall is in the shower, Clarence Wiedman creeps up behind Aaron and executes him with two bullets into the brain.
• Clarence acted on the instructions of Duncan, who is in Australia with his daughter.