“Presumed Innocent ”Ending Explained: Who Was the Killer in the Jake Gyllenhaal Drama?

The Apple TV+ series wrapped up season 1 on July 24, but has already been renewed for a second season

Warning: This story features spoilers for the season 1 finale of Presumed Innocent

After weeks of waiting, the truth about Carolyn Polhemus' murder has finally been revealed.

On Wednesday, July 24, the finale of Presumed Innocent aired, giving viewers some long-awaited closure on the fate of Jake Gyllenhaal's disgraced Chicago prosecutor Rusty Sabich, who was accused of killing his mistress Carolyn (Renate Reinsve).

Rusty was found not guilty by the jury after an intense, weeks-long court case, which saw his former boss and best friend Raymond Hogan (Bill Camp) defend him against two of his former colleagues, Tommy Malto (Peter Sarsgaard) and Nico Della Guardia (O-T Fagbenle).

Related: Jake Gyllenhaal Surprised His Presumed Innocent Costars with Sweet Gesture on Set (Exclusive)

Rusty had delivered an impassioned speech as the closing argument for his defense – which saw him admit he was in love with Carolyn, his coworker, and he was ashamed of how he'd embarrassed and betrayed his wife Barbara (Ruth Negga) and kids Jaden (Chase Infiniti) and Kyle (Kingston Rumi Southwick) – and that was enough to convince the jury that he was not Carolyn's killer.

In the final minutes of the episode, viewers finally got their answers to who had killed Carolyn, who was pregnant with Rusty's child, which he only found out after her death.

After accusing his wife of killing Carolyn, and telling her he knew from the start it was her, he doubted himself, then he knew again for sure, and he went through with the trial to protect her, Rusty and Barbara found out the heartbreaking truth: their daughter, Jaden, was the killer.

Jaden walked into the garage where her parents were talking – as Rusty accused Barbara of the murder and of planting the fire poker in Tommy's house – and tearfully admitted what she'd done as her mother looked on in pure shock.

Jaden said she'd gone over to Carolyn's house to talk, and in a flashback, she told her father's mistress to stay away from their family, only for Carolyn to reveal that she was pregnant with Rusty's baby. In the heat of the moment, Jaden grabbed the fire poker from beside Carolyn's fireplace and hit her over the head with it several times, killing her instantly.

She drove home in a haze, buried the fire poker, cleaned her car and sat with the secret for months, before planting the fire poker in Tommy's house to try to sway the case in her father's favor.

Rusty was clear-headed after his daughter's confession, and told her and Barbara that they would never speak of the murder again, and that Jaden had acted in defense of their family and it was ultimately his fault.

The episode concluded with the family sitting together for Thanksgiving dinner, with no clear set-up for the impending second season, for which the Apple TV+ series was renewed earlier this month.

Related: Presumed Innocent's Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard Dish on Acting Together as Brothers-in-Law: 'It Absolutely Helps'

Executive producer J.J. Abrams told Deadline that the season 1 finale ended without leaving many unanswered questions on purpose.

"Nothing was ever shot to set up a second season. Our focus was on telling the story of Carolyn's murder and Rusty's trial and wrapping that up at the end of the first season."

While he said it's still "too early to talk about what might happen in season 2," Abrams said he and creator David E. Kelley are "very excited about the possibilities [they're] discussing" for the series, which is based on Scott Turow's 1986 novel.

At the show's premiere at Tribeca Film Festival in New York City in June, Gyllenhaal, 43, told PEOPLE that playing the accused murderer was an "interesting challenge."

"I think he is very particular as a character, but I think that David Kelley sets up a really, really complex situation," he said.

"I think that's what drew him to it. It also drew me to it — of all the questions that come. But I think one of the other things that really drew me to it was the question of the family. That in this story you really explore that whole world, and how everybody gets embroiled and enmeshed in it."

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Presumed Innocent is now streaming on Apple TV+.

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