Who Killed Sara? It's not just the title of Netflix's breakout hit, it's the core question that drives the twists and turns of Season 1. By the end of the first season, what started as a vengeance plan against the powerhouse Lazcano family after Álex Guzmán (Manolo Cardona) paid the price for his sister’s death might now have a UNO reverse card. The search for the killer’s identity made Part 1 a bingeable journey, but after all the theories were on the table, the end hinted that there is a lot more to the story. With that in mind, here is a handy breakdown of Part 1, from what happened at the scene of the crime to everything we know about the characters’ involvement in the murder, and what the end indicates about Part 2.
How Did Sara Die?
Sara Guzman (Ximena Lamadrid) was on a yacht with her brother Alex, her boyfriend Rodolfo Lazcano (Andrés Baida), his brother José Maria (a.k.a Chema, played by Polo Morín), and Nicandro (Martin Saracho). This is right after a conversation Sara has with Mariana Lazcano (Claudia Ramirez) about appreciating life to the fullest. Fueled by adrenaline, Sara was the first to test out the parachute. Little did she know that the parachute was sabotagedand quickly ripped apart mid-air before Sara was able to get down safely. Given that all the boys were drunk during the incident, they did not take Sara's cries for help seriously until it was too late to stop the boat. At first glance, Sara seemed unconscious from falling flat on the water from a sky-high distance, with no signs she might still be alive. However, we later learn through flashbacks that she was able to get to the hospital and died in surgery.
But did she really die on the operating table? The Season 1 cliffhanger leaves doubt, but whether it was in that moment or another, there are a lot of suspects involved in the case. Let's break down the innocent, the guilty, and the ones who remain a mystery.
Who Is the Killer?
Despite the fact that Álex Guzman had no motivation or intentional involvement in Sara’s death, he took all the blame! In the past, he agreed to lie in court after the Lazcano patriarch, César Lazcano (Ginés García Millán), convinces Álex that the Lazcanos' wealth and power can protect him from a prison sentence. Lazcano even promises to take care of Álex’s mother, who suffers from a terminal illness. Yet, the aftermath proves quite the contrary. Álex ends up serving 18 years in jail, from the 30 years he was sentenced to, and his mother died soon after his arrest without receiving the help Álex was promised. Clearly bitter about the crime he did not commit and perplexed at the Lazcano family’s untarnished reputation, Álex is eager to plot out a whole scheme against them while trying to solve the mystery behind the murder. So by all means, it’s safe to say that Álex is innocent. And he is not the only one that we are sure about.
Elisa Lazcano (Carolina Miranda) was just a toddler during the event and years later, she even decides to partner with the “enemy” in order to find out all that had happened. Fearless about contradicting her family and their questionable actions, Elisa also gets romantically involved with Álex. This demonstrates that she is not only invested in finding the truth, but she is also one of the victims of the toxic reality within this whole scenario.
Now, who could actually be the killer? Everyone who was present at the crime scene is a possibility, but that's certainly not the end of the suspect list. Let’s start with the most likely options. César Lazcano is the patriarch and probably the one who has more to lose than anyone else here. Not only did he have a secret affair with the teenage Sara, and was revealed to be the true father of the child she was pregnant with, but he also runs a prostitute lounge underneath his casino empire. Towards the end of Part 1, we find out that Sara discovers his maleficent nature and she also sees a disturbing tape of one of the prostitutes that was killed in his brothel. Since she knew a lot of compromising details about him, César has plenty of reasons to be the killer.
But there is another guilty individual that Sara was aware of: Sergio (Juan Carlos Remolina). He is César’s ally and co-owner of the brothel, which means that if César goes down, so does he. On top of this, Sergio was the one slapping the prostitute in the tape that Sara saw before her death.
Setting these two options aside, there is a high chance that Mariana Lazcano might be a suspect. Before the incident, the Lazcanos' trusted employee Elroy (Héctor Jiménez) tells her that Sara is expecting her husband's child, which obviously makes her furious. With this in mind, she commands Elroy to damage the parachute and takes Sara on a walk in order to talk about the importance of living each day as if it were her last. This pep talk was enough to make Sara eager to use the parachute in the first place. After the accident, Mariana goes down to the yacht in order to clean up any evidence that her sons were drunk or had anything to do with what had happened. But that's not the end of her suspicious behavior.
Just like César and Sergio, Mariana has her own partner in crime. She adopted Elroy after his parents were killed when he was just a child. However, the viewers find out through flashbacks that Elroy killed his parents at an early age. This is already enough proof to make his innocence questionable! It also shows that because of his past, Mariana has total control over him. He is basically her slave and is obligated to follow through with any of her commands. Ultimately, we never see if Elroy actually sabotaged the parachute, but he struggles with his guilt so much that he tries to commit suicide publicly and winds up in the hospital, where it appears Mariana kills him to keep him quiet. Even though he dies in Part 1, it is evident that he knows the dirty secret that everyone is longing to uncover.
Are there more suspects here? You bet! José Maria was just a teenager when Sara was killed and he was harboring a secret crush on her brother, Álex. At the time, no one knew he was gay other than Sara, and she clearly wanted him away from her brother, causing a lot of hostility — and even a violent confrontation — between the two. Due to this, Chima could have killed Sara because she threatened to out him and was an obstacle to a possible romantic relationship he could have with Álex.
José Maria’s brother, Rodolfo, was Sara’s boyfriend and was in love with her during the yacht incident. But according to the ending, Sara didn’t die immediately after falling from the parachute. This means that he could have found out that Sara’s baby wasn’t his, which would give him a motive. After all, once Sara died, Rodolfo made a vasectomy to prevent him from having children in the future. That’s why years later he was so certain his wife’s pregnancy was from an affair - like Sara, before her, Rodolfo's wife had an affair with his father and is carryingCésar's child.
Finally, there's the mysterious figure known as Diana the Huntress - an anonymous "helper" who digitally feeds Álex bits of information throughout his investigation. That turns out to be none other than Sara's childhood best friend Marifer (Litzy), who wasn't present at the scene of the crime, but is revealed in flashbacks to have her own issues with Sara. Just before the parasailing accident, Marifer called Sara begging for help with a mysterious crisis, but Sara brushed her off. By aiding in the investigation, Marifer seems like an innocent, but there are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding their falling out and it's possible she was just trying to manipulate Álex.
Season 1 Ending Explained
Now that all the motivation behind each character’s involvement in the murder has been revealed, it’s time to reflect on the ending. In the final minutes of Part 1, we were left on a cliffhanger after Álex discovers a hidden journal that confronted everything he thought he knew about his sister. The discoveries he makes in that journal lead him to a mysterious body buried in his yard that could potentially be Sara's corpse. In flashbacks, we see Sara struggling with an unseen attacker. Then we see César firing a gun. The season ends as Álex digs up a skull with a bullet hole in the forehead.
Combined with the revelation that Sara didn't die at the scene of the crime, the new mystery body raises a lot of questions. Not only could she have survived, but she also had a fraught personal life and a hidden dark side than Álex ever knew. This leads us on a rabbit hole of questions. Did she kill herself? Could she still be alive? All there is to know is that, now thatWho Killed Sara Part 2 is streaming on Netflix, you can definitely look forward to even more shocking revelations.