Who Is the Bon Temps Killer? (WARNING: SPOILERS!)

With just three episodes left in this first season of True Blood, Pam and I have compiled a list of suspects for the role of the Bon Temps Killer, along with reasons why and why not each might be the culprit. Take a look at our list, then chime in with your own theories below.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead! Don’t read if you don’t want to know!

Seriously, do NOT continue if you want to remain unspoiled.

Who is Bon Temp’s Serial Killer?

The Suspect: Sam Merlotte
Why: The owner of Merlotte’s Bar & Grill has a secret, a big one, but does shapeshifting into a collie mean he’s capable of killing the women of Bon Temps? It certainly allows him to get in and out of places without humans realizing who he is. The show seems to be wanting us to think he’s the killer, showing him running naked through the woods around the time the vampires’ house was torched, giving us evidence that he and Dawn had perhaps been more than boss/employee, not providing him with alibis for the hours when the women were killed. And Bill’s nightmare vision of Sookie being strangled sure looked like Sam’s hands were doing the deed. Does the vampire sense something we don’t?
Why Not: Is the show trying too hard to make us think the killer is Sam? Now that we know his big secret, can all of his suspicious behavior be explained? Plus, we find it difficult to believe that Sam would kill Sookie’s grandmother, no matter how upset he is that Sookie is with Bill. He simply has no motive that we can see.

The Suspect: Jason Stackhouse
Why: All three women killed so far have a connection to Jason. He was even with Maudette and Dawn the nights they were murdered, giving him plenty of opportunity. We’ve seen his reaction to those who associate with vampires, and it wasn’t pretty, giving him motive. We saw him “strangling” Maudette during sex play, giving him means, at least for the two younger women. That’s pretty damning evidence, so we aren’t surprised that Andy Bellefleur and Sheriff Dearborn hauled him in.
Why Not: Come on, is Jason smart enough to kill three women without leaving tangible evidence that he’s the killer? Besides, we don’t think he’d actually kill his grandmother.

The Suspect: Bill Compton
Why: Maudette and Dawn both had been bitten by vampires before their deaths, and at the time they were killed, Bill was the only vampire in town (that we know of).
Why Not: However, as Bill pointed out, if a vampire killed the women, he’d never leave without draining them and all three women were still, um, juicy.

The Suspect: Terry Bellefleur
Why: Clearly messed up from his time in Baghdad, Terry admits to having suffered from hallucinations and blackouts, and we’ve seen him go into fits of rage. Could his instability lead him to target women he thinks are associating with “the wrong kind”?
Why Not: Terry seemed to connect with Bill, veteran of another war, on a deep level, even hugging him tightly in shared grief. If the killer is targeting women who have associated with vampires, either Terry is one very good actor or he’s not the culprit.

The Suspect: Lafayette
Why: Did the murdered woman discover Lafayette’s dealing ways and threaten to turn him in? We have seen Lafayette lose his temper, but is he capable of more than laying waste with his words?
Why Not: It’s not in his character. Lafayette looks out for numero uno, and that means staying under the law’s radar.

The Suspect: Tara Thornton
Why: Tara is an unhappy, angry woman. Desperate for Jason’s attention, is she killing women who are connected with him, including Gran, whom he loved?
Why Not: No matter how angry or hurt she is with Jason’s behavior, we find it hard to believe Tara would kill the woman who looked after her when her alcoholic mother couldn’t.

The Suspect: Hoyt Fortenberry
Why: Jealousy. He’s Jason’s best friend, but is he jealous of the fact that Jason seems to just breeze through life, getting whatever and whomever he wants, without a care for anyone else?
Why Not: When Sookie listened to his thoughts after Dawn’s death, he was genuinely sad that she was gone, prompting Sookie to thank him for being so nice.

The Suspect: Sheriff Dearborn
Why: To lay blame on vampires, who he cannot accept as being part of society, and run them out of town.
Why Not: He’s a true, by-the-book man of the law; we can’t see him framing innocent vampires, no matter how much he dislikes them.

The Suspect(s): The three redneck trouble-makers.
Why: They hate vampires and anyone who associates with them.
Why Not: Sure, they’re trouble-makers, but could they commit murder? They are no more than bullies, and bullies are generally cowards.

The Suspect: Rene Lenier
Why: Sookie has difficulty reading his mind, but she hasn’t seemed too concerned about that yet. As practiced as she is at shutting out the world, she might not notice if he’s blocking her until it’s too late. The biggest mark against him? Rene is the killer in the novel the series is based on.
Why Not: What’s his motive? So far he hasn’t seemed to be at all threatened by Bill, even urging Arlene to be more welcoming. And word on the street is that the “bookies” (those who have read the novels) will be surprised by the season finale. Could Alan Ball have changed the killer’s identity?

What do you think? Will the TV show stick with the books on this matter? If so, are there clues we’re missing? Or if the show has a different killer, who is it? Post your arguments for (or against) your favorite suspect below.