Under Salt Marsh: More bombshells in episode 2 including real identity of Cefin's dad, and all the new suspects
Who would kill a nine-year-boy?
Under Salt Marsh episode 2 answered some questions from the previous instalment, but threw in a couple of new twists too.
For starters, we discovered why everyone in hates
Now, back in town looking into the death of Cefin Hill, it’s looking more and more likely that the two crimes are connected.
In episode 2 of Under Salt Marsh, viewers discovered Cefin’s dad wasn’t who we thought he was. Meanwhile, Eric and Jackie reluctantly started working together to investigate Cefin’s death, and found the likely place where the young boy was killed… Here’s the events unpacked.
***Warning: spoilers from Under Salt Marsh episode 2 ahead***
Who is The Bee Man?
Before he died, Cefin Hill had drawn a picture of a figure in a white protective hazmat suit. This spooked Jackie, as she’d seen almost exactly the same picture before… Her niece Nessa Taman had drawn a near identical picture just before she went missing three years before.
When questioned about the drawings, Cefin’s best friend James told Jackie the pictures were of “The Bee Man”. The same man had given Cefin a present for his birthday. Jackie recognised the description of the man as beekeeper Kieran Benbow, who lives on the isolated Spider Island (which only has 16 residents).
Add that to the fact Cefin had a bee sting on his neck when he died, and Jackie had every reason to suspect Kieran. Not to mention, Kieran was also questioned in relation to Nessa’s disappearance. Witnesses saw him un the woods on the morning Nessa went missing.
Who is Cefin Hill’s real dad?
All became clear when Jackie travelled to Spider Island to snoop on Kieran. As she arrived, she saw Kieran and Cefin’s mum Shell together.
We later learnt that Shell and Kieran had been seeing each other “around the time Cefin was born”. So it didn’t take a genius to work out Kieran was actually’s Cefin’s dad. Shell had had an affair with him nine years ago.
And that explained why Cefin visited Spider Island, and spent time with Kieran. Of course, when a devastated Danny Hill – already deep in grief – discovered he wasn’t Cefin’s dad, he became inconsolable. He travelled to Spider Island with a gun, but ended up turning it on himself.
Luckily, both Jackie and DI Eric Bull managed to save him from himself and stop him pulling the trigger.
Is the murder of Cefin Hill linked to Nessa Taman’s disappearance?
Well, there are several connections, apart from the fact they both lived in the same town. Cefin and Nessa both drew the same picture three years apart. Whether The Bee Man – aka Kieran – was involved or not, this is more than a coincidence.
Both were nine-year-old children. However, Nessa’s body was never recovered. It was also believed that Nessa had been in the woods the day she disappeared. But Jackie discovered this might not actually be true.
Kieran had been in the woods that day, with his son Cefin. He insisted that Nessa had NOT been there. This turned the whole investigation into Nessa’s disappearance on its head. It also meant that the Bevan cousins had lied about seeing Nessa there. But why?
All the suspects in Under Salt Marsh
In Under Salt Marsh episode 2, the pathologist told DI Eric Bull that the hair found on Cefin’s dead body was NOT his own. Described as short and brown, the hair didn’t match any other on the police database. We also discovered that the killer wore protective gloves and a suit.
Tragically, the killer held Cefin under the water until he drowned. There was proof that he’d struggled, with bruising on the back of his neck, and finger marks from the pressure.
But crucially, we learnt that there’d been sodium hydroxide in the water in which he was drowned – most likely from a landfill or site of industrial waste. This also means that the killer could well have some burns on his skin from the sodium hydroxide.
Jackie and Eric, forced to work together, discovered that there was waste buried at the old quarry on Solomon Bevan’s land. Viewers also knew that Cefin and his mate James would often go to Bevan’s farm after school. So the Bevan family, killers or not, seem to be connected in some way…
Of course, Kieran ‘The Bee Man’ Benbow could well still be a suspect. Although it’s less likely he’d kill his own son.
What else did we learn in under Salt Marsh episode 2?
- We learnt that the police suspended Jackie Ellis for “gross misconduct”. But, as for why, we’ll have to wait to find out.
- Cefin’s best friend James was the last known person to see him alive. He seems scared and reluctant to help the police. Seems like he’s hiding something.
- Dylan, Jackie’s lover, was working on the sea wall the night Cefin died. We also learnt that he has a police record for petty offences such as drug possession.
