GRACEPOINT: Clues And Suspects - Episode 4 Recap



Episode 5 of Gracepoint premieres tonight, so to get you ready here's the weekly recap of the main clues and suspects so far.

Episode 4 saw two new suspects coming into the frame. Chloe’s boyfriend Dean was brought in for questioning over the drugs deal and had to explain why Danny was riding on the back of his motorbike the day before he was killed. Meanwhile the police are searching for a mysterious backpacker, Lars Pierson, whose cellphone number was found in Danny’s sweatshirt. It also seems that Danny wasn't quite the angelic child that his parents thought. Meanwhile, there are more signs that Paul Coates and Beth Solano had a relationship in the past and Paul is becoming very protective of Beth.

And don’t forget, Broadchurch fans, even if you saw the original series, from now on the plot is going to start to take some new directions, and it’s all going to lead to a different killer!

The Murder
  • Danny Solano’s body was found on the beach at Gracepoint below cliffs.
  • The body was arranged to look like he had fallen. Forensic evidence later revealed that he had been placed there after his death
  • Danny was killed at the Harvey Ridge hut. His body was moved 2 miles to the beach
  • The cause of death was a blow to the head. Danny was facing his killer.
  • The time of death was between 10pm on the Thursday night and 4am on Friday morning.
  • Danny’s was last seen at home at 9pm at 9pm on Thursday night
  • CCTV picked up Danny riding his skateboard down the main street of Gracepoint a few hours later
  • Neither the skateboard nor his cellphone have so far been recovered.
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The Clues
  • Whoever killed Danny moved the body two miles down the coast without being spotted
  • Mark Solano’s fingerprints were found at the murder scene, the only set found after the hut had been thoroughly cleaned following the murder. It was later confirmed that Mark had been there on a plumbing job.
  • Susan Wright has the keys to the hut and cleans it. She initially lied about giving Mark access to the hut to repair a pipe.
  • Mark owns a boat which was later found to have spots of Danny’s blood in it
  • Mark initially lied about his whereabouts on the night of the murder and asked Vince to lie for him. It eventually emerged that he was with Gemma, but he still has some hours left unaccounted for
  • Susan Wright has a skateboard that could be Danny’s stashed in her closet.
  • $500 was found stashed under Danny’s bed. Chloe Solano claims that this has nothing to do with the cocaine found in her own room.
  • Jack Reinhold says that he saw Danny chatting with an unidentified backpacker up on the cliffs a few days earlier
  • Tom Miller deleted messages from Danny and the contents of his laptop’s hard drive when he heard about Danny’s death
  • Phone engineer Raymond Connelly said that the murder involved water and a boat and claims he received the information psychically.
  • Danny’s journal revealed that he had possibly uncovered a secret and that he was scared his dad would kill him.
  • Emmett Carver previously failed to solve the Rosemont case involving the disappearance of three children.
  • Vince Novik owns shotguns and the floor of the van he drives is stained red
  • A piece of paper with a cellphone number on was recovered from the lining of Danny’s sweatshirt. This was found to belong to Lars Pierson, Jack confirmed he was the man he saw Danny chatting to.
  • Danny was caught on CCTV shoplifting from a convenience store, showing a side to his character that his parents cannot believe


The Suspects
You can vote for your top suspects on the FOX TV Suspect Everyone site. Here’s the main suspects that you’ve ranked in order of guilt.

1. Tom Miller
(Jack Irvine)
19% Vote – last week #2
  • Twelve-year old Tom was apparently Danny’s best friend. As soon as he was alone after learning about Danny’s death he deleted Danny’s texts from his phone and cleared his computer’s hard drive. He appears more worried than upset over his friend's death. Tom has been quiet and withdrawn since the murder and had been reluctant to engage with his peers, and he has had nightmares about Danny. However, could Tom have moved Danny’s body to its resting place without help?
  • Tom was questioned by Detective Carver and eventually admitted that Mark Solano hit Danny.
  • Tom went through Ellie’s case notes and found Lars Pierson’s phone number. He has traced the backpacker’s address.
  • Tom visited Vince who asked if Ellie knew he was there before shutting them inside his shed. At the time this looked sinister, but were there other reasons for Tom and Vince to meet in secret?
  • Although he was supposed to be Danny’s best friend, Dean says that he rarely saw them together.


2. Joe Miller
(Josh Hamilton)
15% Vote – last week #3
  • Joe supported Tom in his interview with Carver. He had to be requested not to interfere and to let Tom talk, as if he wanted to steer the conversation in certain directions. Last week he was on the point of talking to Tom in the playground about something that they hadn’t had the opportunity to discuss yet – but then they were interrupted by Ellie. It’s possible that Joe knows what was going on with Tom and Danny that caused Tom to clear his text messages and laptop hard drive. Could he be protecting Tom from the police investigation?
  • Joe suggested that Ellie invite Carver round for dinner. Is he trying to befriend the detective to throw him off the scent or genuinely trying to be welcoming?


3. Mark Solano
(Michael Peña)
15% Vote – last week #1
  • It emerged that Mark did actually mend the burst pipe at the Harvey Ridge hut where Danny was killed so there is a legitimate reason for his prints to be there.
  • Mark has a partial alibi for the night of the murder as Gemma told the police that he was with her. However, Mark still has a gap of a couple of hours unaccounted for between leaving Gemma and when he says he got home. Mark has no idea that Beth knows about his affair. Mark says that Danny’s death is punishment for his affair.
  • Mark usually checks on Danny every night before he goes to bed. On Thursday night he failed to do so.
  • Danny kept a journal and in it he revealed that he thought he had uncovered a secret about someone. She also worried that his dad was going to kill him – just a turn of phrase or a sign of something more serious?
  • Mark’s temper is starting to show itself more and more. He went after Paul after the local minister had appeared on TV, pinned him against the door of the church and warned him to stay away from Beth. He also has a previous arrest record for a bar fight. His reaction to the video of Danny stealing and the revelation that Chloe has an older boyfriend and is sexually active was far from calm.
  • Under interrogation, Tom Miller confessed that Danny had said that his dad had been annoyed when he’d quit the soccer team and that he’d hit him at least once. Both Joe Miller and Vince Novik were hesitant about admitting Mark was a good guy.
  • Mark would not respond to Beth when asked directly if he’d killed Danny.
  • Mark wants nothing to do with Paul or the church and is offended at the photo of Danny that Paul has displayed. His anger seems to be directed more at Paul than the concept of religion – he thinks the minister is trying to come between them.

4. Paul Coates
(Kevin Rankin)
15% Vote – last week #4
  • Paul Coates is the local priest. He has recently returned to the town to take up a position at the church. His congregation is fairly small still but he is hoping to build it up.
  • Paul missed the kids’ soccer game due to a mysterious ‘something’. Danny had also recently given up the soccer team.
  • Paul, Beth and Mark all knew each other a long time back. Paul and Beth seem to have a special connection: she confided in him about her pregnancy, and her mum said to him that he was always good for her. Whatever it is, it is enough to pique Mark Solano’s temper after he saw Paul’s television appearance talking about the murder and the family. Nonetheless, Paul and Beth enjoyed a glass of wine together and there was a brief touching of hands which could indicate there are much deeper feelings. Have Paul’s feelings for Beth got the better of him?
  • Paul carries a photo of him and Beth as high schoolers on him. Mark thinks Paul is trying to come between him and Beth.
  • Paul confronted Raymond Connelly and aggressively warned him to stay away from Beth.
  • Connelly says that he knows that Paul and Beth used to be close.
  • He is a source of comfort for Beth and they have an easy and familiar relationship. Paul is the only other person who knows about Beth’s pregnancy.


5. Susan Wright
(Jacki Weaver)
7% Vote – last week #5
  • Susan is a reclusive woman who lives alone in a trailer but who seems to be always sniffing around and knows what’s going on.
  • Susan doesn’t seem very happy about receiving so much police attention and said her neighbours were talking
  • Susan works as a cleaner and one of her contracts is the Harvey Ridge hut, where Danny was killed. The hut was cleaned thoroughly after the murder. Susan has the keys for the property.
  • Susan has a skateboard that looks very like Danny’s stashed in her closet.
  • Susan contradicted Mark’s claims that he had been to the hut to repair a burst pipe. However, she later backed down and said that the repair had just slipped her mind
  • Susan’s suggestion that the detectives ‘ought to find who you’re looking for’ was delivered like a veiled threat
  • Susan has an as yet unexplained connection to Mark’s apprentice Vince. They are in something together that they need to sort out. He wants nothing to do with her and did not turn up for her dinner, although she put a lot of effort into it.
  • Susan showed no emotion as she snapped a chicken’s neck
  • Susan told Carver that she didn’t recognise Lars.


6. Vince Novik
(Stephen Louis Grush)
7% Vote – last week #6
  • Vince is the apprentice in Mark’s plumbing firm. He has access to Mark’s van. On the morning of Danny’s murder he was late to pick Mark up.
  • Vince was quite happy to attempt to provide a false alibi for Mark for the night of the murder, although that was quickly dismissed.
  • Vince was later seen to have shotguns hidden in the back of the plumbling van and there were reddish stains on the floor of the van.
  • Vince is short of money and hopes that Mark will be able to pay him more eventually. He hesitated when asked if he thought that Mark was a good guy; on the other hand he was protective of the Solanos under questioning by reporter Renee Clemons
  • Vince went out around 10pm to collect his mother’s cough medicine from the pharmacy
  • Vince has an unexplained connection to Susan who says that they are in this thing together and have to figure it out.
  • Tom visited Vince who asked if Ellie knew he was there before shutting them inside his shed. At the time this looked sinister, but were there other reasons for Tom and Vince to meet in secret?
  • Vince makes skateboards in his spare time and the local kids visit him for repairs. Danny also owned a skateboard.


7. Detective Emmett Carver
(David Tennant)
3% Vote – last week #8
  • Carver is a reluctant resident of Gracepoint and has said that he hates everything about the town.
  • Carver has a medical condition, described as a timebomb in his chest, which could kill him at any time. He collapsed on the dock while chasing Dean and has had pills delivered to him. He carries an emergency medication in a syringe
  • Carver has a dislike of water and being near the sea.
  • Carver fumbled his last case in Rosemont where three girls went missing. He wants to wants to solve the Gracepoint case out of penance. Reporter Renee Clemons knows about the case and wants to make sure that he doesn’t mess up this one. She’s keeping close tabs on him, he wants her to back off
  • Carver carries a photo of a young girl in his wallet and when apparent psychic Raymond Connelly told him “She forgives you about the pendant”, he was visibly affected. He has been trying to phone somebody called Julianne, but did not leave a message.
  • Carver agreed to show the Solano family evidence that he knew would upset them. As they rowed he just stood and observed their reactions.


8. Jack Reinhold
(Nick Nolte)
3% Vote – last week #9
  • Jack is one of the older residents of Gracepoint. A single man, he runs the kayak rental shop and a nature observation group for the kids of the town. Danny was a member of this group and was due to attend on the morning of his death. When Danny didn't show, Jack did not contact anyone to find out why, assuming that the boy was sick, even though he had never missed a session before.
  • The day after the initial interview, Jack called Detective Carver back to inform him that he remembered seeing Danny up on Osprey Point a couple of weeks before,  talking to a backpacker. Danny seemed more interested in the stranger than he was on his wildlife observations. There are no other witnesses and nobody else seems to recall seeing the backpacker around town.
  • Jack was also seen hanging out near the kids’ playground where Ellie was harassed by locals trying to find out whether other children were at risk.
  • Jack told Renee that he doesn’t talk to the press. Why would he want to avoid them? Has he had dealings with them before, or is he just protecting the Solano family out of respect for Danny?
  • Jack told Carver that the backpacker he saw talking to Danny was Lars Pierson


9. Beth Solano
(Virginia Kull)
2% Vote – last week #10
  • Beth has become more suspicious of the fate of her family – namely her and daughter Chloe, as her doubts about Mark grow. She’s also turned to others for spiritual help. Her main support is Paul Coates and it is clear that they had a closeness in the past. Beth has only told Paul so far about her pregnancy. Why does she not want Mark to know? Is he actually the father?
  • Beth has also admitted spiritual messenger Raymond Connelly to her home and, wisely or unwisely, has listened to what he has to say.
  • Beth confronted Mark about his whereabouts on the night of Danny’s death, but he still has not denied to her face that he killed him. Beth also discovered Mark and Becca’s affair, but she has yet to confront him about it.
  • Beth demanded Ellie to let the have all the information and evidence that the police had collected. Carver agreed, even though he knew the evidence would be hurtful.
  • Beth was devastated to learn that Danny had a darker side and was captured on CCTV stealing from a convenience store. She was also shocked to find out that Chloe has a boyfriend who supplied her with cocaine and who took Danny out to the drugs deal. Beth no longer feels she can trust any of her own family, including Danny.
  • Beth says that she recognised Lars Pierson as a customer at the visitor centre. He smelt of propane and asked about her family whom he spotted in a photo on Beth’s desk.


10. Dean Iverson
(Kendrick Sampson)
2% Vote – last week #7
  • Dean is Chloe Solano’s older boyfriend. He works in his uncle’s restaurant in the town and is studying to go to college at the same time. Chloe and Dean have been in a relationship for 4 months in secret
  • Dean managed to obtain cocaine when Chloe needed some for guests at Gemma’s hotel, although dealing is not something that he does regularly. However, he does have a dealer who he seems to know quite well.
  • When Dean saw Carver and Miller coming for him he made a run for it and tried to escape by boat.
  • Dean originally said that he hardly new Danny, but Mickey the dealer said that they pulled up together on Dean’s bike and were arguing. Dean later confessed that Danny confided in him and was a lonely kid. He never saw him with Tom Miller. Danny had told him that nobody knew anything about hi.
  • Danny was out with Dean when he was buying cocaine just before Danny died. He says he picked him up on the highway walking out of town and Danny begged him for a ride. When they stopped for gas, Danny stole a puzzle book and pen fro the store; this was captured on CCTV.
  • Dean’s uncle confirmed that he was working on the night of the restaurant.


11. Owen Burke
(Kevin Zegers)
2% Vote – last week #13
  • Owen is a small town reporter far more used to covering local events like council meetings, so he is swept up in the drama of the murder and makes the news public. The arrival of San Francisco Globe reporter Renee Clemons seems to offer him the chance of breaking away from Gracepoint, something that the drifting and penniless Owen possibly didn’t even realise he wanted until then.
  • Owen told Ellie that his mom was in trouble again and that she had cleaned out his bank account


12. Raymond Connelly
(Adam Greydon Reid)
2% Vote – last week #14
  • The phone engineer has approached detectives Carver and Miller and Beth Solano with apparent information about the case, and while much of what he has to say is pretty vague, some of his assertions are surprisingly accurate.
  • He was working in the police station and would have had opportunities to stumble across information about the case, and the fact that the body was found on the coast is common knowledge. However, his message to Carver hit home with the detective. Did he know Carver from a past case?
  • There’s also his message to Beth that the killer is someone close to her. Is he playing on her paranoia that Mark might be guilty? Is he trying to divert attention away from someone who Beth doesn’t know? Or does he have a genuine gift?
  • Paul is concerned about Raymond talking to Beth and has warned him to stay away
  • Raymond told Paul that he knows how close he and Beth once were

13. Kathy Eaton
(Alisen Down)
2% Vote – last week #15
  • Kathy is the editor of the local paper in a town where very little happens. Kathy seems to have been a well known reporter once, working on a major paper, but has stepped back to run the local journal in a sleepy little town. A big murder story could certainly raise her profile again, but at the same time she seems keen to keep the major press away. She certainly sees off Renee Clemons.
  • Kathy wants to do right by the town and the Solano family – she set up the condolence book and she just wants to make sure that the story is all covered properly.


14. Chloe Solano
(Madalyn Horcher)
1% Vote – last week #11
  • Mark spotted Chloe and Dean together and now their relationship is out in the open. When he confronted her, she said it was the same as Beth and Mark, but at least she and Dean used contraception
  • Chloe said that she had guessed that Becca and Mark were sleeping together
  • Chloe’s boyfriend Dean supplied cocaine on her request for Becca. Chloe insists she knew nothing about the $500 and that Danny had nothing to do with the drugs deal. It later emerged that Danny had travelled to the dealer’s with Dean


15. Detective Ellie Miller
(Anna Gunn)
1% Vote – last week #16
  • Local detective Ellie is still finding it hardest of all to accept that any member of the Gracepoint community might be guilty of the murder of Danny. She is horrified that the list of suspects that the Solanos give her which includes their friends and neighbours. Ellie is struggling with Carver’s insistence that she should become less emotional about this case and start to look at everyone as a suspect. She is still fighting him over this but it seems like new developments may force her to accept that it could be someone close to her.
  • The revelations about Mark’s affair have started to sow doubt in Ellie’s mind about her certainty of the good in all of her friends and neighbours. Even she cannot say with conviction that Mark Solano is innocent.
  • Ellie is also, of course, the mother of Tom, Danny’s best friend, who seems to be acting suspiciously since the murder. Was Ellie aware of a situation between Danny and Tom?
  • Ellie reluctantly invited Carver to dinner on Joe’s request


16. Gemma Fisher
(Sarah-Jane Potts)
1% Vote – last week #12
  • Gemma was revealed to be the person who asked Chloe to find some cocaine to supply some hotel guests. She claims not to know who the dealer is.
  • Gemma stepped in to secure Mark Solano’s release from custody by telling the police that he was with her that night. She claims he left her a few hours before Mark says he arrived home.
  • Gemma confided to Carver that she takes anti-depressants
  • Gemma wants Carver to believe that in spite of the cocaine and the affair she is really a good person who just makes a few mistakes


17. Renee Clemons
(Jessica Lucas)
1% Vote – last week #17
  • Renee showed up in Gracepoint as soon as she heard that Emmett Carver was leading the investigation. She followed his last case and essentially seems to be stalking him and his career. She is determined not to let him forget Rosemont and to get justice for the missing girls and their families?
  • Renee is a relentless and devious reporter who uses all the guiles she has to get in with significant people – Owen and Chloe are her key targets at the moment. However, she has already been sent packing by Jack and Vince, not to mention Carver. Renee is exploiting Owen’s desire to better himself and earn some real money. Overall Renee’s desire seems to be as much about exposing Carver as reporting the case. How far would she go to discredit the detective?
  • Renee also saw Own confiding in Ellie and spotted another link to exploit. She pretended to be about to leave town in order to win Owen’s sympathie and get closer to him


18. Hugo Garcia
(Darcy Laurie)
1% Vote – last week #18
  • Hugo and his team have uncovered key points of evidence. They found the drugs and money in the Solano house, recognised that Danny had not fallen from the cliff top to his death and identified the murder scene, also finding Mark Solanos prints. As CSI on the murder case, Hugo would be perfectly placed to tamper with, create or lose evidence. But what would be his motive?
  • Late in the day, Hugo produced a new piece of evidence, a phone number on a strip of paper found inside the lining of Danny’s sweatshirt.


19. Lars Pierson
(Brendan Fletcher)
1% Vote – New Suspect
  • Lars’ cellphone number was found inside Danny’s sweatshirt
  • Lars was identified by Jack as the backpacker seen talking to Danny on the cliff top
  • Lars is an Afghanistan vet given a discharge for reasons unknown – it is known that Lars has been prescribed Risperidone
  • Lars has not been seen by his neighbours for weeks.
  • A search of Lars’ house is being blocked by the local judge
  • Beth recognised Lars as a customer at the visitor centre. He asked about campsites and hunting permits and smelled of propane. When he spotted a photo of Danny and Chloe on her desk he remarked upon her beautiful family.


You can vote for your number one suspect on the Fox TV Suspect Everyone page. Cast your vote and check the results in the online poll – and you can vote as many times as you like, so you can change your mind when new evidence arises. The site will soon allow you to examine evidence and vote for important clues. Don't rule anyone out!


Episode 5 of Gracepoint premieres tonight on Fox in the USA and Global in Canada at 9pm ET. Viewers in Australia can watch on the Universal Channel at 8.30pm, Friday 10th October.



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