All massive Emmerdale spoilers and twists as Ray’s killer is finally unmasked

Who killed Ray Walters? (Joe Absolom). A special week of Emmerdale episodes reveals the murderer…

Let’s face it, Ray was not winning any popularity contests on the day he died.

Being exposed as a drug-dealing people trafficker who operated a modern slavery ring from Butler’s Farm won’t leave anyone in a hurry to buy you a round in the Woolpack.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole village bumped him off and blamed it on a rogue stampede of angry sheep, like the Yorkshire version of Murder On The Orient Express.

But one Dales Dweller has a bloody secret to hide, and Emmerdale is turning back the clocks to the scene of the crime in upcoming episodes, focusing on the three main suspects – Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock).

After these three perspective are explored, Thursday’s episode will show the audience what really happened on Ray’s last day on Earth, right before he killed his adoptive mother and partner in unspeakable crime – Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths).

First up is the village’s resident sweetheart, Laurel Thomas – who is probably the very last person you’d accuse of murder.

However, lest we forget, Laurel was falling in love with Ray and ready to start a relationship with him. This all changed when Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle), one of many unfortunate teenagers that Ray had coerced into dealing drugs, told her what kind of man she was dating.

The last time we saw Laurel with Ray, she was screaming at him to get off her property, horrified that she ever let someone who exploits children for a living near her kids. Ray’s not the kind of man to take no for answer. Who knows what Laure is capable of when she’s pushed to breaking point.

In the special episode, viewers will see Laurel reeling to discover Ray’s true colours.  

After she slams the door in his face, Ray bursts back into Mulberry, begging Laurel to forgive him by raking up his traumatic past. But when Laurel refuses to let Ray play the victim, her decision to walk away has deadly consequences – especially when her furious son Arthur (Alfie Clarke) resolves to make Ray pay for terrifying his mother.  

Urged by her best friend Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) to lure Ray into a trap, Laurel must decide if she’s prepared to risk everything to ensure justice is finally served.

Next up is Rhona Goskirk. She’s gone through hell and back over the past few months as April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan), was coerced into Ray and Celia’s drug trafficking ring.

When she and Marlon tried to confront Ray, he extorted them into pay two thousand pounds a week in return for leaving their daughter alone. How far would Rhona go to protect April?

In, Rhona’s episode, she sits at home alone despair over April’s disappearance. Suddenly, a shadowy figure looms behind her! Is it Ray?

Or is it Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough), Rhona’s recently resurrected old boyfriend fresh from the Corriedale spin-off to pay his old flame a visit. We don’t know which is more terrifying!

Then we come to Marlon. The doting Dingle dad would go to any lengths to save his daughter from Ray’s clutches, and was devastated to learn that April ran away from home to stop Celia from hurting her family.

The last time we saw Marlon with Ray, he was all up in the drug dealer’s face angrily demanding to know where his little girl was. But Ray threw him to the ground and sneeringly told him his little girl was gone forever.

Normally Marlon wouldn’t hurt a fly, but we’re betting he’d make an exception for a worm like Ray.

Finally, the grand reveal – what really happened. Thursday’s episode replays Ray’s final moments, as he stands over Celia’s body, wracked with shock and remorse. Pulling himself together, he grabs a distinctive red sports bag and leaves, making sure to wipe the fingerprints off the knife in Celia’s back.

Before leaving, Ray’s compelled to check upstairs, where he is grief-stricken to realise that Celia truly has killed Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) when he discovers the lifeless body of his father figure. Then he prepares to dispose of Celia’s body.

But there’s another potential suspect that Ray hasn’t counted on – Arthur. Raging over the pain Ray caused his mum, Arthur snatches the criminal kingpin’s distinctive red holdall…

And sure enough, Laurel is aghast when Arthur returns with Ray’s stolen bag and the shock of finding drugs leads to a confrontation. 

Was little Arthur responsible for Ray’s demise? Say it ain’t so!

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