Over the years, The Office has been a fan-favorite sitcom, even though the sitcom did not age well. From that’s what she said to Jim’s recurring prank on Dwights, fans have loved and cherished every moment of the show. Also, the entire show was filmed in a documentary style, there are few things that ‘The Office’ never revealed to their fans.
Pam’s self-illustrated book for Jim, Jim’s letter to Pam, and the pictures of Michael Scott’s children have been kept away from the fans. But the most interesting secret that the show managed to hide is the identity of the Scranton Strangler. However, there are theories as to who might be the criminal.
When Did The Scranton Strangler’s Attack Begin?
Scranton seemed to be a low-lying, not quite happening town with the employees of Dunder Mifflin living a monotonous life. Not until season six, the town was terrorized by the wrath of the Scranton Strangler. The emergence of the criminal is strangely linked to the life of Jim and Pam involving Toby as well.
The HR of the branch made no effort to hide his crush on Pam and the attacks began after she gave birth to the first child, Cece. However, multiple staggering pieces of evidence point towards Toby being the Scranton Strangler. Also, there are chances that Creed might also be the criminal, based on his sketchy character arc.
Evidence Point Towards Toby As The Scranton Strangler
Toby is the HR rep at the Dunder Mifflin, Scranton, who was the target of Michel’s hatred. Divorced from his wife, leading a sad and lonely life, Toby most often sucks the fan out of the room. However certain evidences point out that Toby might be the Scranton Strangler.
His crush on Pam and her evolving relationship with Jim might have infuriated him to commit crimes. Also, not everyone from the office was welcoming towards Toby and constantly criticized him.
Toby Was Suspiciously Missing During The Scranton Strangler Car Chase
During the season seven, episode ‘Viewing Party’, all the co-workers gathered around watching the live footage of the Scranton Strangler’s car being chased by the police. However, Toby was nowhere to be seen during the segment.
Also, the description of the car matches the car that normally is parked at Dunder Miffilin’s parking lot. The employees watch the car chase from Toby’s desk and as his desk phone rings, Kelly picks it up and immediately hangs up to not disturb their viewing of the chase.
Normally phone calls in the office go through reception, so whoever was calling knew Toby’s direct extension. This segment convinced viewers at the time that Toby was on the line, calling his coworkers to confess to his crimes as the Scranton Strangler while being chased.
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Toby Doubted George Howard Skub’s Arrest
George Howard Skub was found guilty for the Scranton Strangler killings, and sentenced to death. Eventually, Toby started questioning if the suspect was truly innocent. This might be because of the guilt Toby has been carrying for the wrong person being arrested for the crimes Toby committed.
In season nine, episode Moving On, Toby decides to visit the man he helped send away to confront his uncertainty surrounding Skub’s guilty verdict. However, Toby felt attacked with a neck brace and damaged vocal cords.
There might be a two-fold explanation for this. The first is that George Howard might have been infuriated with Toby’s confession and might have attacked him. Or maybe Toby might have attacked himself, just to prove his innocence as he met Nellie and imagined a happy life with her.
Development Of The Chad Flenderson Novels
Toby never sparked any interest in writing a novel, but eventually developed over the seasons. There is a high possibility that the truth might be hidden in the Chad Flenderson Novels.
As Toby knows that no one in ‘The Office’ is interested in his novels, he tries to make it look seemingly natural by bragging about the novel but often gets shot down by his colleagues. And this way he can hide in plain sight.
Is Creed The Scranton Strangler?
If anyone in ‘The Office’ has a sketchy character, it has to be Creed. Hiding from the police by pretending to talk to the documentary crew, suspiciously runs away when Michela says murder has happened. The most famous episode suggesting Creed was the Scranton Strangler is ‘The Office’ season nine, episode, ‘Here Comes Treble’.
However, a minor moment occurs that amps up suspicion around Creed significantly when he shows up at the office covered in blood — revealing that it’s not a Halloween costume. The notion that Creed has killed a man and even taken over the real Creed Bratton’s identity might throw off suspicion from Toby.
Paul Lieberstein Revelas If Toby Was The Scranton Strangler?
During an interview, Paul Lieberstein finally addressed the secret identity of the Scranton Strangler. When asked if he believes that Toby is a criminal, the actor neither confirmed it nor denied the accusation.
Instead, he said, “Oh yeah. There’s a lot we didn’t get to do with this Scranton Strangler. We had a lot of designs, and it was never quite mentioned that he wasn’t a murderer. He would strangle you until he passed out.”
However, a plethora of evidence points towards Toby being the Scranton Strangler, but there is no telling for sure unless the show officially reveals the identity of the killer.
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