Presumed Innocent Ending Explained: The Shocking Twist That Flipped the Script

The wife didn't do it. In a stunning departure from the 1987 novel and 1990 film, Apple TV+'s Presumed Innocent reimagines its conclusion with a gut-wrenching reveal. Rusty Sabich(Jake Gyllenhaal) may have walked out of the courtroom a free man, but the truth waiting for him at home was far darker than he imagined.

Presumed Innocent Ending Explained: Jaden's Confession and the Fallout

The finale reveals that Rusty was acquitted because the evidence was purely circumstantial. However, the real twist occurs in the final 20 minutes. Rusty confronts his wife, Barbara, admitting he staged the crime scene—hog-tying Carolyn's body to mimic a serial killer's work—because he believed she was the murderer. He thought he was protecting his family, but he was protecting the wrong person.

Their daughter, Jaden(Chase Infiniti), then delivers the final blow. She confesses to the murder, explaining that she went to Carolyn's house to demand she leave their family alone. When Carolyn revealed she was pregnant with Rusty's child, Jaden snapped and used the fire poker to end her life. It's a massive shift from the original where Barbara was the killer, adding a layer of generational trauma to the story.