The death of Jessica DiLaurentis has been a long-running mystery on Pretty Little Liars. When she was killed off in season 4 episode 24, her death was eerily similar to the way she buried Alison alive, but we know that none of the girls could’ve done it — including Alison — because they were all in New York running from Shana. It’s no secret that Mrs. D wasn’t a favorite in Rosewood, to anyone, but her murder seemed … bizarre. Why did someone just suddenly decide to kill her on that night? Let’s look at a few fan-favorite theories about Mrs. D’s killer.
Peter Hastings
This is an easy one. Peter and Jessica’s lives are so tangled up that he’d kill her just to have one relaxing day without being tormented by his ex-mistress / next-door neighbor. They used to have an affair behind their spouses’ backs, and from the affair resulted Jason, their love child, but a recent revelation also revealed that Spencer is a product of that affair.
Jessica’s sister, Mary, posed as her and slept with Peter to get revenge on her sister and the Hastings’ and thus, Spencer was created. She’s a product of their lies and deception; the product of an unfaithful relationship and a hatred so strong it drove someone to do the inevitable.
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Until recently, Spencer hadn’t known Mary was her mother, but this could’ve been a driving motivation for Peter to kill Jessica. Before her death, Jessica was going after Spencer for Alison’s “murder” (though whether Jessica really was the one to bury Alison alive or not is a different question since “Jessica” saw Cece hit Ali with the rock), and she could’ve been threatening Peter to tell his daughter the truth. That’s all the motive he’d need.
Mary Drake
Since her appearance, this seems the most likely answer. Jessica and Mary despised each other, and Jessica did everything in her power to make Mary’s life hell (more so than it already was by being trapped in Radley). Jessica took away Mary’s children, and raised one as her own and never told Charlotte about her birth mother. All in some twisted form of revenge on her sister, or some enhanced form of jealousy. It’s no wonder Mary slept with Peter to punish these families.
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Mary killing Jessica could’ve been her final push for freedom, and honestly, what did she have to lose by that point? Jessica had made it her mission to destroy her sister’s life, and Mary had been in and out of Radley so many times that it didn’t matter to her anymore. She’d already lost her children, and it has become clear that’s what Mary was always really interested in. Maybe she killed Jessica to take over her life? Maybe she just killed Jessica so she could finally live a life of her own?
Someone Else
While these two are the prime suspects, it’d be more enjoyable if Mrs. D’s killer was someone we weren’t expecting. Maybe Veronica snuck over to the DiLaurentis’ and killed Jessica for torturing her and wrecking her family over the years. Maybe Ashley Marin got tired of her boss and killed her to take over her company.
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Pretty Little Liars often falls flat with the reveals because the writing isn’t shocking. The answers (usually) don’t make any sense, so the reveal of any mystery is mostly just a reason to start asking more and more questions. Say, if Mary killed Jessica, then why wasn’t she introduced back in season 4 when viewers could’ve actually suspected her? Who was originally supposed to have killed her?
What do you think? Who killed Jessica? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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(Image courtesy of Freeform)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
