‘Only Murders in the Building’: Who Killed Nicky?

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Okay, so Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building really threw me for a loop! It wasn’t just one mystery this time, but two people ended up dead. We had Lester, the Arconia’s doorman who everyone knew and loved, and then Nicky Caccimelio, this kind of wannabe tough guy, who was found with… well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. A cleaver to the chest! The big question, of course, was whether these two deaths were connected. Was the same person responsible for both of them? It definitely upped the ante and made things way more complicated.

Okay, so about those questions everyone’s been asking? The first one, yeah, that checks out. But after Season 5, Episode 9 – “L.E.S.T.R.” – totally flipped the script on the second one. And honestly, the person who killed Nicky? Seriously, nobody saw that coming. Even knowing who did it, though, the way they found the body… it just doesn’t add up, and leaves you with a ton of questions.

Nicky’s Story Reads Like a Gangster Movie in ‘Only Murders’


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To figure out why Nicky died, it helps to remember what he was doing with his life. For many years, Nicky secretly ran a casino in the basement of the Arconia building. When the previous building manager, George, retired, he brought Lester in on the arrangement. Lester’s job was simple: let a few people in on Saturday nights, keep everything discreet, and he’d receive a weekly payment.

Lester happily did his job for many years without issue. However, after his children were grown, he began to want to retire. When his boss, Nicky, refused to give him even one night off for his anniversary, Lester understood he was trapped. Nicky further emphasized this by pointing out how Lester’s income had provided a comfortable life and funded his children’s education, making it impossible to simply quit. This led Lester to start training Randall to take over his duties. Though he didn’t feel fully prepared, Lester knew he had to retire, and he was determined to protect Randall from ending up in the same difficult situation with Nicky.

Camila White, a rich casino visitor who was attracted to Nicky, was determined to win the bid for New York City’s first casino. She wanted the entire Arconia building, not just the basement, as the location. She proposed a deal to Nicky: he could manage the casino, she would provide the funding and take the credit, and hinted at a possible romance between them.

Nicky rejected Sofia’s romantic overtures, even though he had been unfaithful to his wife multiple times. The Arconia casino held deep family meaning for Sofia, and he felt he couldn’t sell it. However, everything changed when Nicky and Camila unexpectedly met. He confessed he’d caught Sofia with another person – though he wouldn’t reveal their identity – and announced he was ending things with her. He was now fully on board with the business partnership Camila had previously suggested, which surprised and thrilled her.

After Lester’s body was found in the Arconia fountain, Oliver began investigating, suspecting Nicky. However, he soon discovered Nicky himself was dead, found hanging in his dry-cleaning shop. The mystery now is: who killed Nicky? Investigators found peculiar clues on his body—green felt like you’d find on a casino table under his fingernails, a piece of Arconia letterhead in his mouth, and frostbite behind his ear, hinting his body had been frozen and then thawed. The fact that the gardenia on his lapel was still fresh, rather than wilted, supported this idea.

Nicky’s Killer Was Protecting the Arconia


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All the clues suggest someone hid Nicky’s body and then carefully planned a deception. When the police arrived, they were puzzled by the scene. They had been told to expect a hanging, but instead found Nicky on the floor. One officer instructed the other to write the report as planned, stating the time of death as that morning and blaming the Caputo crime family. However, as revealed in Episode 9, “L.E.S.T.R.,” Nicky wasn’t killed by the Caputos. In a surprising turn, he was already dead, and the killer was Lester! Someone then moved the body and staged the scene to protect Lester.

The mystery of who killed Lester begins to unravel in Episode 8, “Cuckoo Chicks.” Suspicion shifts to Randall when the group realizes Camila’s overheard insult wasn’t about Lester, but about him, the new doorman. Vince, a returning character from Season 4, recalls that he and Lester had installed a bird-watching camera. This camera only activates when birds are nearby, but Lester blew his bird whistle just before he died, seemingly to trigger it and send a message to his friends. The resulting footage shows Randall running outside, finding the bloody elevator crank, looking around cautiously, and then quickly going back inside – making him look very suspicious.

Randall Is Cleared by L.E.S.T.R.


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For the first half of Episode 9, the group searched for Randall after he ran away when they tried to talk to him. They eventually found him hiding in the building, but he wouldn’t cooperate. Luckily, the new doorman, L.E.S.T.R. – voiced by Paul Rudd – was happy to talk. The robot pointed out all the helpful services it offers, which hadn’t occurred to anyone. It turns out L.E.S.T.R. had been stored in the basement for a long time, even before Lester passed away, and it constantly records everything, providing a record of events.

Lester discovered Nicky had made a deal with Camila and learned their scheme to take over the Arconia building. Furious about the potential displacement of all the residents and the threat to the building he loved, Lester killed Nicky in a rage using the elevator crank. Believing he had to stop them, he immediately confessed to Randall, desperately asking him to keep the secret. Randall, wanting to protect Lester’s reputation even in death, agreed to stay silent.

It was now clear why Randall had taken the elevator crank – he was trying to get rid of anything that connected Lester to the crime. It also made sense why he’d been so evasive when questioned. However, we still don’t know what happened to Nicky’s body, or who killed Lester after everything went down.

So Many Questions Remain in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5


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With Nicky’s murder now solved, the season finale, Episode 10, “The House Always,” still needs to explain some crucial details surrounding his death. We know who killed him and their motive, but many questions remain: Who discovered the body, concealed it, intentionally placed a cleaver nearby to mislead investigators about the actual weapon (an elevator crank), and ultimately suspended the body? This clearly involved someone with influence who could direct the police. Lorraine (Dianne Wiest) seems like the most likely suspect, potentially aided by Sofia, given their close relationship. Sofia might have then recruited her sons to physically carry out the task.

Suspicion is falling on Nicky’s mother, Nonna, as the episode concludes with evidence suggesting she stole the severed finger from Charles’ freezer. The trio discovered tire tracks matching her motorized scooter, leading them to believe she’s involved. The episode ends before Nonna can explain her actions, possibly to shield her son or reputation. However, this discovery might be a misleading clue.

We still haven’t identified who the severed finger belongs to. Since neither Nicky nor Lester seems to be missing one, and it doesn’t match Jay Pflug’s, it suggests someone – probably Nicky – cut off a finger during the fight. This means another person is out there missing a finger, and we need to figure out how they’re connected to everything.

The central question remains: who killed Lester? We know he hit Nicky, discarded the weapon (which Randall found), and fled. After telling Randall what happened, the details become hazy. Everything is unclear until Lester appears on the bird-watching camera, using his whistle to activate the recording. This proves Lester was intentionally harmed – it wasn’t a simple accident.

It definitely wasn’t Nicky. Whoever killed Lester was likely seeking revenge for Nicky’s death. This significantly reduces the number of potential suspects to Sofia and her sons, Nonna, Camila, and possibly even L.E.S.T.R., considering their strict rules against violence on the property.

It’s clear Lester was serious about protecting the Arconia at all costs. His final act of selflessness—insisting someone else go first—showed his deep care for the building and its residents. He was prepared to stop anyone who posed a threat to it. Watch Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.

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2025-10-21 22:31