Who Killed Emma Barton?

"Who Killed Emma Barton?", also known as "#WhoKilledEmma" on social media, is a whodunit storyline from British soap opera Emmerdale. The storyline launched on 12 October 2017 and is yet to climax. The storyline focuses on the murder of local villain Emma Barton, played by Gillian Kearney, and her killer is still at large. ITV released a trailer showing that her killer would be revealed on 14 December 2017.

Development

Actress who portrayed Emma, Gillian Kearney, was due to leave the show in May 2017 as her contract was due to expire. However, she bosses extended her current contract to October 2017 and agreed when she would leave the show. On 9 May 2017, Kearney's departure and exit storyline was announced.

On 12 October 2017, the storyline was launched. Iain MacLeod, the show's producer, said to the DigitalSpy,"Now we've revealed Emma's death as a 'whodunit', there's lots of characters to point the finger at. Emma's trodden on so many people's toes in the village, that there's no shortage of potential suspects." A trailer released by ITV showed that Emma's killed would be revealed on 14 December 2017.

Suspects

These are the current suspects in the investigation:

• Ross Barton, played by Michael Parr. Tensions flew between Ross and Emma on the days leading up to her death. Emma hade shot her youngest son, Finn Barton (Joe Gill), on the night before her death and he died the following day in hospital. When the investigation into Emma's murder launched, Ross was seen burning potential evidence, consisting of Emma's handbag and smartphone. After Pete fell down the stairs, and Ross was overhead by Adam saying that he didn't want to be responsible for another death. A flashback revealed that Emma was being escorted away from the village by Ross, before her death. In a previous whodunit, "Who Shot Robert Sugden? (Ryan Hawley)", Ross was revealed as the person who shot him.
• Pete Barton, played by Anthony Quillian. Pete was given a motive after Emma killed James and Finn and kidnapped baby Isaac whilst Pete was presumed the father. Pete couldn't accept the fact that Emma killed Finn. Emma did have a strong bond with Pete, however, Pete does have a criminal record for Ross' attempted murder in August 2015 following a helicopter crash. A flashback revealed Pete hade a heated argument with Emma before she was killed.
• Adam Barton, played by Adam Thomas. Adam hade chased Emma into a woodland with a gun. In confusion, Emma retrieved the gun and shot Finn. Adam was in the frame for Finn's murder but was released without charge. A flashback revealed that Adam was reading Emma's suicide note.
• Moira Dingle, played by Natalie J. Robb. Moira has always hade to watch her back when Emma was around. On the day before her death, Emma started a fire after confessing she killed her husband, James Barton (Bill Ward), in October 2016. Moira went into unexpected labour and convinced Emma that the baby was Pete's. Emma rescued her and delivered the baby, leaving Moira for dead soon after. Moira discharged herself from hospital hours before Emma's death. A flashback showed Moira was driving near the viaduct that Emma was pushed from.
• Cain Dingle, played by Jeff Hordley. Cain was the first to find Finn after he was shot. Emma hade kidnapped baby Isaac from the hospital, whist the father was presumed to be Pete but a DNA Test revealed Cain was the father. Cain was acting very shifty after Emma's death. A flashback showed that Cain hade a pipe in his car and was deciding if he should kill Emma.
• Gabby Thomas, played by Rosie Bentham. Gabby could've killed Emma because of all the nasty ways she treated her family after her father, Ashley Thomas (John Middleton), died of dementia in April 2017. A video surfaced of Emma trying to manipulate Ashley when he found out that she killed James. Emma tried to manipulate Gabby's brother, Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke), into destroying the SD Card that contained the video. When Gabby returned from a holiday in Australia, she swore revenge against Emma. Gabby's whereabouts remain unknown at the time of Emma's death.
• Laurel Thomas, played by Charlotte Bellamy. Laurel was named as a suspect on 3 November 2017, in the late investigation. Laurel was given a motive to kill Emma after the terrible things she done to Gabby, Arthur and Ashley. A flashback showed Emma driving past Laurel at speed.

Plot

Events leading up to Emma's murder

Emma Barton's (Gillian Kearney) murderous past begins to catch up with her. Her youngest son, Finn Barton (Joe Gill), finds out that she killed his dad, James Barton (Bill Ward), twelve months previously. She decides to lock him in a cupboard in the church, but is later freed by Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen), who was looking for Emma.

Emma is now at Moira Barton's (Natalie J. Robb) farm where she confesses she killed James because of her. A fight between Emma and Moira escalates, which starts a fire, causing Moira to go into labour with her baby son Isaac. Emma doesn't believe she's pregnant, but Moira manages to convince her that the baby is Emma's oldest son, Pete Barton's (Anthony Quillian). Emma manages to rescue Moira and delivers baby Issac but Emma leaves Moira for dead.

Adam (Adam Thomas) and Victoria Barton (Isabel Hodgins) notice the farm ablaze. Adam grabs Moira's gun and chases Emma into the woods with it. Emma finds the gun abandoned, and in confusion, shoots Finn. Adam returns to the farm where the emergency services begin to arrive at the scene. Moira is rushed to hospital and is required a blood transfusion. Finn is left in the forest to die.

The following morning, Finn is still alive. He makes his way through the woods to a road. He is found by Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton) and Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley). Finn is rushed to hospital and doctors perform emergency surgery to remove the bullet from his body. The doctors decide to keep Finn in a medically induced coma, as he is required further surgery but dies hours later. Moira wakes up in hospital and tells everyone that Emma tried to kill her. Adam is arrested for Finn's murder but is later released without charge.

Emma, dressed as a nurse, heads to the maternity ward of the hospital and kidnaps baby Isaac. She is pictured on CCTV leaving the hospital with him. The police receive a copy of Emma's credit card details which she used to purchase a rental car. She begins to have hallucinations of James telling her to do the right thing. After hearing of Finn's death of the radio, Emma plans suicide. She abandons baby Isaac at the church and leaves a suicide note in his jacket, which goes missing. Harriet finds him and returns him to the hospital.

Emma drives to the Hotten Viaduct where she has hallucinations of Finn. Tracy Metcalfe (Amy Walsh) and Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) lay flowers for Finn outside the Barton house. Emma falls from the viaduct but its unclear if she jumped or was pushed. She initially survived the fall but died minutes later. Emma's second son, Ross Barton (Michael Parr), was at the bottom of the viaduct after Emma fell but ran after he heard someone coming. Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) returns to The Woolpack, freezing cold without her jacket.

Events following Emma's death

A DNA test showed that Pete isn't the father of baby Isaac, Cain is. Harriet decides to break up with Cain after finding out about this, still believing that he loves Moira and not her. Pete can't accept that Emma killed Finn and still believes that Adam killed him, but Ross tells him the police found evidence that it was Emma. Pete and Ross mourn Finn after finding a bag full of his belongings.

The two remaining brothers visit James' grave but they are being spied on by DS Benton (Justin Pierre) and his colleague DC Wilson (Jennifer Lord), the police officers investigating Emma's death, believing one of them have something to hide about Emma's death.

Investigation launch

On 12 October 2017, Benton and Wilson interrupt Finn's funeral to alert Ross and Pete that during Emma's autopsy, evidence consisting of bruises found on the front of Emma's body suggesting that she was pushed from the viaduct. A search warrant is issued to search Ross and Pete's house for evidence that could lead to finding out who Emma's killer is. Pete was to say a speech at Finn's funeral but he broke down and was taken away and comforted by his ex-fiancée, Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi).

Cain was the first to be arrested for the murder. Moira gives him a false alibi by saying that he was taking her back to the hospital at the time of Emma's death. Cain thanks her for giving him an alibi but she proves exactly how much hate she has for him, bringing him to tears.

Pete accuses Gabby and harasses her to get some answers. Gabby doesn't keep her hate for Emma a secret but denies murdering her. Benton arrests Gabby and questions her. He makes a serious accusation against her thinking she killed her, but by accident. Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) asks Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw) to give her a false alibi, saying that he was with her whist visiting her sister at the time of Emma's death, which he agrees to.

On 3 November 2017, Laurel is named as a suspect. Adam is convinced that Emma's killer is covering their tracks. Gabby is being bullied at school after students find out that she's been named as a suspect. Six flashbacks show several suspects' whereabouts at the time of Emma's death. Moira - Moira was seen driving at the bottom of the viaduct whilst Emma was standing on the edge. Pete - Pete was having an argument with Emma. Ross - Ross was seen escorting Emma away from the village. Laurel - Emma drove past Laurel at high speed. Cain - Cain was seen with a pipe in his car and was considering killing Emma. Adam - Adam was reading Emma's suicide note.

Emma's DNA was found in Adam's car. Benton is convinced a struggle escalated between Adam and Emma, Adam trying to get Emma into his car and but he pushed her during the struggle, causing her to fall. Adam shouts at Benton and is tries to maintain his innocence. Adam's lawyer states that they can't prove Adam was driving the car. Victoria convinces Adam not to burn Emma's suicide note as it will make him look guilty for the murder and is convinced that one of two people could've killed Emma, Ross or Pete, and that one of them is trying to frame him. Adam lets his temper get the better of him by accusing Ross if trying to frame him. Ross swears he doesn't know anything about it. Moira now becomes convinced that Cain is trying to frame him. Pete becomes convinced that Emma confessed to Ross that she killed James on the day he died. Another flashback revealed that Ross was the first to find Emma's suicide note and after reading it, returned it to baby Isaac's jacket and Adam later found it.

Pete turns to alcohol to cope with the misery and pain he's going through. He ends up falling down the stairs and first found by Ross. Adam is outside and overhears Ross saying that he doesn't want to be responsible for another death. As the ambulance arrives, Adam tries to get some answers from Ross.

After Pete is discharged from hospital, Adam and Victoria visit him. Whilst Victoria talks to Pete and Ross is on the phone to Harriet, Adam plants Emma's suicide note in a teapot in the kitchen, in an attempt to frame Ross. Baby Isaac is diagnosed with a heart murmur. Moira blames herself for drinking whilst she was pregnant but she didn't know she was pregnant until she went into labour. She leaves him in Cain's custody.

External links

• #WhoKilledEmma suspects: Adam Barton at itv.com
• #WhoKilledEmma suspects: Pete Barton at itv.com
• #WhoKilledEmma suspects: Laurel Thomas at itv.com
• #WhoKilledEmma suspects: Cain Dingle at itv.com
• #WhoKilledEmma suspects:Ross Barton at itv.com
• #WhoKilledEmma suspects: Moira Dingle at itv.com
• #WhoKilledEmma suspects: Gabby Thomas at itv.com

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