Who killed Tom King? One of Emmerdale's biggest whodunnits explored and the killer revealed
Tom had a LOT of enemies who wanted him dead!Tom King was pushed from an upstairs window in Home Farm and plunged to his death in Emmerdale in 2006. The scenes are currently airing in Classic Emmerdale on ITV3 as Matthew, Carl and Jimmy King have been arrested for their dad’s murder – and now one of them has confessed! Once again the storyline has everyone gripped. So who killed Tom King?
His shocking murder sparked one of the biggest whodunnits in Emmerdale history and set off a chain of events that still has repercussions today – almost 20 years after the episode first aired!
In the episode of Classic Emmerdale, patriarch Tom was getting ready for his Christmas Day wedding to manipulative Rosemary Sinclair.
But the groom had made a lot of enemies in the village from his own three sons – Matthew, Jimmy and Carl – to disgruntled pensioner Len Reynolds.
So the scene was set, and the enemies gathered at Home Farm for the wedding celebrations
Tom King is murdered in Emmerdale!
Even on his wedding day, Tom didn’t shy away from upsetting people so after a few confrontations with various family members, he suggested to his bride that they sneak away from the party to spend some time alone together.
But in his bedroom there was trouble for Tom as Bob Hope was lurking! That lead to another confrontation – and little did Tom know, but Bob’s son Jamie was sneaking around too.
As the wedding guests gathered outside to watch the fireworks, they were horrified when Tom was shoved through an upstairs window and plunged to the ground in a shower of broken glass.
What a drama!
But with so many enemies, there were many local Emmerdale residents who could be guilty.
Here’s how the suspects lined up.
Who killed Tom King in Emmerdale?
Jamie and Bob Hope, and Terry Woods
Heartbroken Bob and Jamie were grieving the death of Dawn – Bob’s daughter and Jamie’s sister – in the run up to Christmas. She was killed when the show home on the King family’s new housing development exploded. Bob and Jamie blamed the Kings for the explosion – which was fair enough really, because it was their fault.
Terry was Dawn’s ex-husband and dad to her son TJ. He was devastated by the death and together with Bob and Jamie, hell-bent on vengeance. He also blamed Tom for TJ being snatched and taken to live abroad. Tom had paid Dawn’s mum, Jean, off and she had taken the little lad and fled to Morocco.
The death of Tom King in Emmerdale: Carl King
The youngest of the surviving King brothers, Carl was set to take over his dad’s business. But just before the wedding his fiancée Chas Dingle called off their engagement.
Heartbroken Carl discovered Tom was responsible – he’d manipulated Chas into calling things off. And as Tom’s wedding day dawned, Carl really wasn’t happy about it!
Jimmy and Matthew King
The other King brothers had beef with their dad, too. They were furious that he’d offered the business to Carl and their years of built-up resentment was about to bubble over!
Chas Dingle
Carl’s ex-fiancée had been passing information about the house explosion to Jamie Hope. When Tom found out he was furious and that led to him forcing Chas to break up with Carl.
Chas arrived at the wedding, drunk and shouting the odds about Tom’s manipulation. What did she do next?
Grayson Sinclair
Tom’s new stepson was hiding a big secret – he was gay, but living a lie with his wife, Perdy. Rosemary revealed that Grayson was seeing men on the side, and Tom was cruel about it.
On the wedding day, Grayson was still upset and worried his secret was going to come out.
Len Reynolds
Loyal Len was fiercely protective of his friend Edna Birch. She’d been an unlikely friend to Tom King until he blackmailed her to keep quiet about the house explosion, used devastating family secrets against her, and broke her heart, too. With Edna struggling as the wedding approached, Len was out for revenge…
Rosemary King
On the wedding day Tom announced that he was actually giving the business to his new wife, Rosemary. Obviously, his sons were all raging about that, but was Rosemary also ready to get rid of her new husband?
After his death Matthew discovered Rosemary’s first husband had died in mysterious circumstances in a shooting accident. He made Perdy tell the police what she knew and felt sure Rosemary was going to be hauled in. But there was a shock coming Matthew’s way when DCI Barraclough arrived at Home Farm to make an arrest…
So who killed Tom King in Emmerdale?
Emmerdale actually filmed several possible endings and while we were all kept guessing for weeks evidence was eventually presented that the three brothers – Matthew, Carl and Jimmy – had all conspired together to murder their father. It was them who Barraclough arrived to arrest, not Rosemary!
The brothers were taken to the police station and charged. Kelly Windsor gave Jimmy a false alibi, but Pearl overheard them discussing it and told the cops. Under police questioning Kelly admitted that she’d lied – and ended up getting arrested herself!
The evidence against the three brothers was strong – mainly because of more false statements.
Louise Appleton and her boyfriend Hari Prasad were paid by Rosemary to put forward fake evidence confirming the brothers’ guilt. Hari said he’d heard them talking about how they’d killed Tom and Louise backed up his story.
However, Louise couldn’t go through with it and withdrew her statement, confessing she had lied. Hari was arrested and the brothers were aquitted.
Carl killed Tom King!
In the 500th episode of the soap, which has just aired on ITV3, Carl confessed to Matthew and Jimmy he had killed his dad. Despite the brothers getting away with it in court they were stunned when Carl revealed he did it.
Carl explained that he and Tom had argued over Chas. Carl had discovered that Tom had blackmailed his ex-fiancée. Tom then laid into her, calling her horrible names and Carl flipped.
Enraged, Carl whacked his father with the horse’s head statue and then pushed him away forcefully. The push caused Tom to fall out of the window to his death.
But despite Jimmy and Matthew now knowing the truth, they didn’t report Carl. And in fact, Tom’s killer was never exposed to the village – or the police. Well, not really…
Carl was never found out
Things turned messy when Carl started dating DCI Grace Barraclough, who was trying to find out who killed Tom. She ended their relationship when she got nothing from Carl and his brothers were horrified to find out who he’d been seeing.
Carl then got himself arrested for drink driving so he could see Grace again. He confessed he had killed Tom. As they were going to the police station so he could tell the truth, Grace was hit by a lorry and died. Despite Carl telling the police he was a killer, they ignored him as they tended to Grace.
Over the years Carl told several people in the village what he had done. Chas knew and so did Carl’s ex-wife Lexi Nicholls. Jimmy is the only person remaining in the village who knows the truth. To this day, Carl was never punished for his dad’s death. Unless him also being brutally murdered counts!
Similarities between Tom King’s death and Joe Tate’s window plunge
In May 2025 Emmerdale paid homage to Tom’s death by sending Joe Tate plunging out of the same window. It also happened during a glamorous event at Home Farm.
Joe’s wrongdoings finally caught up with him as he was caught out over spiking Noah and causing the deaths of Amy, Leyla and Suzy. He had also blackmailed Dawn’s daughter Clemmie, not to mention stolen a kidney from his half-uncle, Caleb Miligan.
Much like Tom King, Joe’s list of enemies was wrong and there were multiple suspects in the frame. DS Desari was the police officer investigating – and he had also investigated Tom King’s case alongside Barraclough.
However it was quickly revealed Joe’s lover Dawn Fletcher had shoved him in a crime of passion. But Joe was so desperate to be with her, he lied to the police he had tripped and fallen and now they are back together living in bliss.
One huge difference was that Joe actually survived the same plunge. He broke his pelvis, but was up and about walking around (even going on hikes) in no time – not a hint of physio in sight. Joe Tate is a walking miracle, it seems!
Love Is Blind: Amber Morrison’s daughter Emma pictured as Jordan Faeth prepares to meet her for first time
Amber, 33, is engaged to Jordan Faeth, 34, in the Netflix series and they are now just days away from their wedding.
But as the penultimate two episodes drop on the streaming service, Jordan still hasn't met seven-year-old Emma.
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Love Is Blind fans can see what Amber Morrison's daughter Emma looks like before Jordan meets her on the show (Credit: Netflix)[/caption]
Jordan does not have any children of his own and Amber has reassured him that he doesn't have to step up as a father figure.
Emma has a very close relationship with her dad and Jordan has even met him. He's still nervous, though.
Love Is Blind: Amber's daughter Emma pictured
Love Is Blind viewers are yet to catch a proper glimpse Amber's daughter Emma. She will be at the wedding in the finale episode of the series and does feature very briefly in the trailer for next week.
But while we wait to meet here, along with Jordan, Amber has kindly done the honours and given us a look at her little girl on social media.
Taking to Instagram, Amber has shared a picture of herself and Emma as they posed in front of neon lights. She captioned the shot: "'Mommy can we go on an adventure?' Obviously."
Emma has been described by fans as Amber's "twin" in another sweet photograph of them together. The proud mum had captioned that one: "My strength."
Fans of the Love Is Blind have been quick to reply on the snaps, with one telling Amber in the last few days: "Love love love! You are such a good role model for her."
Another wrote: "Oh she’s precious!!!!" And a third gushed: "You guys are twins. She’s is beautiful and so are you!"
Echoing the sentiment, someone else penned: "Awe she's your mini, beautiful ladies."
View this post on Instagram
Jordan and Amber's final date
In episode 11 of Love Is Blind, Jordan and Amber head off on their final date together. They go to Otherworld, an immersive art experience in Ohio.
Amber admits it is hers and Emma's favourite place to go together. She says they will return with Emma once they have met.
The couple win a large cuddly toy during their date. Amber says she is going to give it to Emma. She then suggests: "Maybe I'll have you bring it to her on Saturday."
Jordan admits he has "another little thing for her", which is a bag of colouring books and pens.
"Getting to meet Emma finally. It's going to be awesome," Jordan says.
We have a full week to wait now to see if Amber and Jordan go through with the wedding and each say "I do".
We're rooting for them!
Love Is Blind, episodes 1 - 11, are available to stream now on Netflix.
Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns
