Before him true crime went trending and swept almost every streaming platform with titles like Dahmerwas another killer who captivated The Office fans. It might seem odd that the popular sitcom is tied to something as turbulent as a serial killer, but if you’ve seen it, you’ll surely know who I’m talking about. I’m talking about scranton stranglerthe bloodthirsty criminal who appeared in several seasons of the popular sitcom.
Who is the Scranton Strangler in The Office?
- throughout the seasons 6, 7, 8 and 9 the name is mentioned several times a dangerous serial killer who terrorizes the town of Scranton.
- Due to the way he kills his victims, he is known as scranton strangler.
- This character appears for the first time in a diary which holds Andy Bernardwhere you can read the following: “The Scranton Strangler Strikes Again”.
- Later there are many allusions to him, from the involvement of Toby at his trial until Dwight dresses up as him for Halloween.
- Despite all these references, the true identity of the murderer is never revealed.
Due to this mystery, fans have come up with several theories:
Theory 1: Toby Flenderson is the Scranton Strangler
It’s the most accepted theory on the internet and even among The Office cast. There main test which points to Toby comes from the episode “TV Reunion” of season 7. In this chapter, all the members of the office together watch a chase in which the police follow the strangler. While this is happening, the only employee not in the office is Toby Flenderson.
- In addition to the above, the Strangler’s car looks a lot like a vehicle in the office parking lot at the start of Season 6.
- Many fans think that This car belongs to the character of Paul Lieberstein.
- Finally, when Toby is summoned to judge the alleged strangler, he ends up saying that he believes himself innocent.
- The human resources representative repeat over and over that they caught the wrong mancoming to visit him in prison.
- Finally, note that the actor who gives life to Toby affirms in an interview that think Toby could have been the murderer.
Theory 2: Creed Bratton is Scranton’s Strangler
The second theory that has the most followers on the Internet revolves around the Creed’s strange behavior. In the office, this character is in charge of quality control, but several times it becomes clear that he is quite crazy and does not understand very well what is going on around him. Additionally, there are many occasions when say very scary things. More specifically, there 3 very suspicious moments:
- First there is a chapter in which Creed of: “No one steals Creed Bratton and gets away with it, the last person who stole it is gone. Your name? Believe Bratton.
- This sentence would suggest that the character killed the real Creed Bratton and stole his identity.
- Another time he comes to the office with a bloody shirt, everyone thinks it’s a costume as they celebrate halloweenbut it is later revealed that he had no idea.
- Finally, during an episode where they play a kind of Cluedo, flees after Michael tells him he is a murder suspect.
Theory 3: David Wallace is Scranton’s strangler
The most recent theory, and in my opinion the least likely, is that David Wallace, former CFO of Dunder Mifflin was the killer. This new hypothesis emerged following a tweet from actor Andy Buckley, in which he said that the character “I had everything to simply explode”. He claims that Wallace spent his days drinking and found no meaning in his life. Finally, he mentions that in the penultimate or penultimate episode of season 8 Andy meets him at a benefit dinner and it doesn’t make sense for David to be in Scranton..
To be honest, I think it’s highly unlikely that this character had anything to do with it, since David Wallace I was bored but never seemed aggressive or depressed. The first two options seem much more likely to me, and I don’t think the writers at any point specified who the Scranton Strangler really was. And you, What is your opinion? Which theory do you think is more accurate?