Three months after the teenager vanished from her precinct apartment, the identity of Lauren Bolton’s assailant was made public on Coronation Street tonight.
While Roy Cropper (David Neilsen) has been detained after being charged with Lauren’s (Cait Fitton) murder, Nathan Curtis was charged with her murder in tonight’s episode, with an additional twist to follow.
After Griff Reynolds (Michael Condron) accosted Roy in his cell and demanded to know where he had hidden Lauren’s body at knifepoint, Roy found himself in a potentially fatal predicament.
Roy further irritated Griff by refusing to admit to a crime he did not commit, claiming that Griff would murder him in any case.
As Griff began tying up sheets to hang from the window bars, he suddenly disclosed that Roy was going to take his own life and that he was not planned on killing Roy.
Although Roy managed to alert the prison guard, Griff made Roy compose a farewell note in which he admitted to killing Lauren as he waited for help.
In the meantime, Nathan was taken aback when DS Swain (Vicky Myers) and Detective Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) disclosed that the hair discovered in the rear of Nathan’s van did, in fact, belong to Lauren when he was in the interrogation room with attorney Joel (Callum Lill). And for that, he was accused of killing her.
Watchers had witnessed Sarah (Tina O’Brien) consider planting part of Lauren’s hair in the van using an antique bobble that was discovered in the Platt home, but she had changed her mind prior to Nathan upsetting her. Later, Kit showed up, and she gave him the bobble while he cautioned her to let the cops handle their business.
But as a flashback showed, Kit proceeded to put the hair in Nathan’s van by himself before requesting that it be searched since he had heard a complaint of drug use.
After Nathan was accused, Roy’s attorney, Dee-Dee (Channique Sterling-Brown), moved rapidly to get Roy out of jail.
Having written his “confession” and believing he was nearing the end of his life, Roy was able to persuade Griff to let him call Nina (Mollie Gallagher) first while he was back in his cell. Just as Nina could inform Roy that he was free to go, the riot squad broke into Roy’s cell and grabbed Griff.
After leaving Highfield Prison, Roy sobbed with relief that his experience was finally over. His loved ones then gathered at the café to celebrate with him.
Joel discovered Hope (Isabella Flanagan) waiting by the side of his car when he attempted to leave the café.
While participating in a car wash to raise money for Little Big Shotz, Hope discovered a necklace. After she had shown Ruby what she had discovered, Ruby begged her to give it back or put it back where she had found it.
Hope was unaware that the necklace was actually Lauren’s, a crucial piece of information that had been missing since her abduction and that it had been a present from her invisible boyfriend.
Hope informed Joel that she was giving the jewelry back after discovering it behind a seat in his vehicle.
At this time, the episode finally showed viewers—through a flashback—that Joel had attacked Lauren in her apartment!
There have been hints scattered throughout the episodes, and Lauren was the main focus of Joel’s introduction. The polite attorney initially came in September as the duty attorney assigned to defend Lauren after she had damaged the salon, but he had not seemed to interact with her much since.
Joel proceeded to court Dee-Dee; however, it was subsequently ascertained that she was previously married, albeit divorced, and had a daughter.
Not long after Dee-Dee had discovered a jewelry store receipt, the truth was revealed. Joel originally stated that he had purchased some pricey cufflinks for himself, but he later amended his account to state that he had actually purchased a bracelet for his daughter.
It is now quite likely that the receipt was for Lauren’s necklace, though, as she had gotten it very soon after.
On Valentine’s Day, Lauren also received a sizable bouquet from her unidentified partner; Joel then gave Dee-Dee a bouquet in a box that was nearly identical.
This week’s episodes also showed that Roy was very well-versed in grammar and well-educated, which meant that forensic comparisons could not rule him out. This was discovered through a study of texts Lauren had received from her lover.
However, what happened to Lauren? Apart from blood splatters across the apartment, we saw that Joel had struck Lauren over the head with a chair leg while she lay on the ground, but there isn’t any concrete proof that Lauren is dead as of yet.
Joel, who is now serving as Nathan’s duty solicitor, is in a great position to make sure that Nathan is held accountable should he decide to falsify his defense.
Will Dee-Dee be in danger when Joel makes his proposal to her next week, and when will the truth finally come to light?
Why did Kit feel the need to frame Nathan by hiding the hair in his van? Is there a darker purpose at work here, or is he just hoping to get the former sex trafficker off the streets for good?
Will Hope discover that the jewelry she returned to Joel was, in fact, Lauren’s? Does she risk anything more because of her knowledge?
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