Netflix’s The Residence proved itself to be quite the whodunit, and the eight-episode-long series naturally boiled down to a final big reveal. What made this comedic mystery so unique was its setting, as a murder unfolded at the famed home of the President of the United States—the White House. The person whose body was found in the luxury game room was White House Chief Usher A.B. Wynter, who was responsible for managing the staff and keeping the peace with the First Family and their personal employees. Called in to solve this mystery was Detective Cordelia Cupp, the best of the very best.

Wynter’s murder happened on the upper floors of the White House in The Residence while a disastrous state dinner went on below. Cordelia had the tough job of discovering which of the 157 guests and house staff could have done it and in which of the 132 rooms they did it in. This became all the more complicated when Cordelia discovered that a large handful of people had declared Wynter their enemy that night. So, was it the violent, rival White House chefs in the Blue Room? Perhaps the engineer or the housekeeper? Naturally, The Residence revealed it was none of the above.

The Residence season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.

Who Killed A.B. Wynter In The Residence

Cordelia Cupp Solved The Mystery

Detective Cordelia Cupp revealed at the end of The Residence that it was White House social secretary Lilly Schumacher who murdered A.B. Wynter. In the final episode of the Netflix series, Cupp led the final key players through the White House as she retraced Wynter’s steps and interactions with the various staff members—each of which she knew could have murdered the usher. It wasn’t until they landed in the Yellow Oval Room that she could observe the reactions of each “interesting” party (Cordelia never liked to say “suspect”).

Lily Schumacher did her best to cover up her crime, going as far as to admit some truths that made her look like a compassionate accomplice to murder. She claimed that she had seen engineer Bruce Geller and housekeeper Elsyie Chayle murder Wynter and that she tried to protect the lovebirds. However, Cordelia knew better. The detective recognized that Lilly had revealed a “blink,” indicating that she herself was guilty and had hidden the evidence of her crime behind a now sealed-up secret door.

How Detective Cordelia Cupp Solved The Mystery

Lilly Gave Herself Away

Part of what made Wynter’s murder so tricky to solve in the Netflix series is just how many people had a reason to kill the man and just how many people seemed to have interfered with his body. The corpse had been moved twice, but Cordelia deduced that the murder had happened in the Yellow Oval Room. This is where the detective had discovered the burned flowers and the small nicks in the drywall where a vace had been thrown and smashed. In the next room, Cordelia found the tumbler from the greenhouse, which she discovered had been used to bring poisonous paraquat into the White House.

All of these clues led Cordelia to the conclusion that someone had attempted to poison Wynter by pouring paraquat into his drink. However, after a single swig, the man quickly realized this and poured the liquor and paraquat mixture over a flower arrangement. This led the killer to throw a vase, which missed and smashed against the wall (though it left cuts on Wynter’s face). Finally, the killer used a clock from the mantle to bash in the back of Wynter’s skull. They hid the clock in the secret compartment and then arranged for the hidden door to be sealed off.

Cordelia needed only to reveal the hidden clock within the compartment to confirm that Lilly was guilty.

Lilly herself admitted to having the secret door sealed, though she claimed it had been to protect Bruce and Elsyie. However, the White House social secretary didn’t know that Cordelia had found and read Wynter’s journals detailing Lilly’s various crimes (establishing a motive). Cordelia needed only to reveal the hidden clock within the compartment to confirm that Lilly was guilty.

Lilly Schumacher’s Motive For Killing A.B. Wynter Explained

Why A.B. Wynter Was Killed In The First Place

It was quickly clear in The Residence that Lilly Schumacher was an awful person. As Cordelia pointed out, the White House social secretary had no respect for how things were done in the POTUS’ home, and she did all she could to turn everything upside down. Wynter was a traditionalist, but, above this, he loved everything the White House stood for. This naturally meant Lilly and Wynter butted heads. Lilly hated the usher, and with essentially no moral code whatsoever, the woman had no issue with getting rid of an adversary. Still, there was a bit more to it.

Wynter’s journals contained extensive lists of various numbers and acronyms, which Cordelia worked out to be a record of all Lilly’s money laundering within the White House. She had been stealing a little (or a lot) here and there, and Wynter threatened to tell the POTUS everything. Lilly couldn’t accept this, and, in a rage, she ripped a page out of the usher’s journal. It was only after she left Wynter’s office that she realized the page she had stolen read like a suicide note. This sparked an idea, and Lilly set a dark plan in motion—one that the White House staff and family unknowingly aided in.

Why Each Person Moved Wynter’s Body Or Evidence In The Residence

The White House Staff Made Things Even More Complicated

Lilly Schumacher killed Wynter in the White House’s Yellow Oval Room, but she was shocked later when she discovered that the man’s body was no longer there. She began to buzz around the mansion, asking people—even Cordelia—if they had seen A.B. Wynter. It’s for precisely this reason that Lilly hadn’t seemed like a suspect since she genuinely had no idea that Wynter was lying dead in the game room. In this way, the various people who moved the corpse from place to place nearly helped Lily get away with it. Each person who moved Wynter’s body or evidence is as follows (in order):

Elsyie Chayle – Elysie had been fighting with Wynter only moments before and returned to find him dead. She, unthinking, grabbed the fallen candlestick and ran off with it, realizing it made her look guilty.
Bruce Geller – Bruce saw Elysie run from the Yellow Oval Room with the candlestick and assumed that she had killed Wynter. Since he loved her, Bruce dragged the body to Room 301 and cleaned up the remaining mess.
Tripp Morgan – Trip had been napping in room 301 and woke up to see Wynter’s body on the floor. In a panic, he dragged the body to the game room, where he used one of Chef Didier Gotthard’s knives to slice Wynter’s wrists to make it look like a suicide.
Chef Didier Gotthard – The pastry chef found Wynter’s body in the game room and recognized his own knife on the floor. He grabbed it, stuffed it in a box from the kitchen, and threw it into the broken incinerator, where Detective Cordelia later found it.

How The Residence Season 1’s Ending Sets Up Season 2

There’s Room For More Adventures To Come

With Wynter’s murder solved and Lilly arrested, things seemed to settle down at the White House at the end of The Residence. Cordelia came back for one last visit, dropping in on Nan Cox, the First Gentleman’s mother (turns out she knew who killed Wynter all along). From there, Cordelia left and would seemingly have no reason to return. Of course, it’s perfectly possible that the next POTUS and First Family would bring a new set of problems. This might not be the last murder at the White House, and there is no doubt that Cordelia would be called again.

The Residence didn’t explicitly set up a second season, and if one happens, it wouldn’t necessarily have to be set at the White House.

Still, The Residence didn’t explicitly set up a second season, and if one happens, it wouldn’t necessarily have to be set at the White House. Perhaps The Residence season 2 would be set at another famed home, like Buckingham Palace or even Graceland. The possibilities are essentially endless. Wynter’s case was put to rest, but Detective Cordelia Cupp is sure to be needed again—somewhere.