Photo: NBC (Getty)
The Office may have technically been off the air for five years now, but that doesn’t mean old and new fans alike aren’t still obsessed. Particularly in regards to a certain murder case introduced midway through the series, loyal viewers weren’t especially greeted with a satisfying conclusion. Seeing as how a revival of the show would still likely never delve back into the Scranton Strangler case which played in the background for years, a guy by the name of Spencer McClure decided to take matters into his own hands, pleading his case to Twitter for all to nitpick.
That said, we think he makes some pretty solid arguments for a case against Dunder Mifflin’s resident sad sack Toby Flenderson. We will now hear his opening statement:
‼️Conspiracy Theory‼️
For my fans of The Office… Toby Flenderson is the Scranton Strangler. And I’ll tell you why… pic.twitter.com/DYuUb1q3NY— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
Motive (Pt. 1):
Toby works in a low paying job, where all of his coworkers are tremendously rude to him. Michael being the worst of the bunch. pic.twitter.com/alzExQXf7w— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
Motive (Pt. 2):
Toby had a failed marriage, was divorced, and struggles to form a relationship with his daughter. He developed a crush on Pam, and felt optimistic after she split with Roy and even asked her out. However, he was forced to watch her fall in love with Jim. pic.twitter.com/iwemPnDTq3— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
Motive (Pt. 3):
Finally, Toby was fed up. He decided to move to Costa Rica for work, which resulted in him being hospitalized after a zip lining accident and was stuck there for months. This was the breaking point for him. pic.twitter.com/c9wDOSnBZC— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
From there the twists and turns flow rapid-fire. However, we’ll just give you the highlights. You’re free to go as batty as Mr. McClure from there:
This is where things get good… The Scranton Strangler was introduced in Season 6, when Pam and Jim have their baby. An obviously frustrating day for Toby.
— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
The very next day, Andy brought in a present for Cece. A copy of the newspaper that reads “Scranton Strangler strikes again” pic.twitter.com/HXciMS5tLB
— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
Fast forward some more to “The Viewing” episode. This is when the chase down between the police and the Scranton Strangler happened. Everyone was there watching. That is, except Toby… pic.twitter.com/VwOTNX7go6
— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
But wait a minute… We’ve seen that car before. Not just anywhere, but in the Dunder Miflin parking lot itself… pic.twitter.com/mitnc7IP2y
— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
Wrapping things up, Toby got summoned for Jury Duty to be on the Scranton Strangler cade. He came across as very confident that they got it right, that the real Scranton Strangler was behind bars pic.twitter.com/xCeVRHpfnJ
— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
Consumed with guilt, Toby goes to visit the man he deemed guilty. The seen of the interaction was never shown, but instead had Toby leaving in a neck brace. Viewers assumed that this meant it was really the strangler, yet I disagree pic.twitter.com/SUEOCG1RJ6
— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
Toby either faked the attack, or he confessed to the man in prison that he was the real Scranton Strangler, and the man attacked him out of anger for his false imprisonment.
— Spencer McClure (@spencermcclure_) March 11, 2018
While none of that is necessarily ironclad, it certainly makes a convincing case. But obviously, since this is Twitter, there were also plenty of detractors, with one common belief being that just because a guy is a depressed loser, that doesn’t make him a killer. And of course, there’s the whole Creed did it theory, too.
But since it’s just us here, you can go ahead and play jury. GUILTY or NOT GUILTY? What do you think?