Emmerdale viewers have been playing detective ever since Emma Barton, played by Gillian Kearney, fell to her death. With a number of residents acting suspiciously and the police believing that her suicide was in fact murder, there is still a lot more to unfold in the sinister storyline. Luckily for fans of the ITV soap, all is set to be unveiled in the next few weeks, with a special flashback episode set to take place on Friday 3 November during the Emmerdale village bonfire. Those in the firing line include Emma's sons Ross and Pete Barton, her nemesis Moira Barton, schoolgirl Gabby Thomas, Cain Dingle, Laurel Thomas and Adam Barton.
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Emmerdale's Ross Barton
It certainly seems as if Ross - who walked away from Emma's dead body on the day she died and later burnt her bag - has something to hide. Actor Mike Parr believes that his character is "more than capable" of murdering his mum. He said: " Ross clearly had his reasons for wanting Emma dead. He was furious when he discovered she had killed his dad so in essence it would have been for revenge. Ross never wanted Emma in their lives again. So killing his dad and his brother would have definitely pushed him to the edge of his tolerance of her. Ross is more than capable of murder. Not only because he had so much loathing for his mother but he has had a dodgy past."
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Emmerdale's Pete Barton
Ross' brother Pete, meanwhile, has also been seen acting suspiciously since his mum's death. Actor Anthony Quinlan observes that he is "not himself" right now." Pete is not himself at the moment. He and Ross have absolutely no trust between each other and are both suspicious of each other. Finn was his adored younger brother so he would never forgive Emma for killing him and his dad. Plus, she had taken his baby so yes he’s got more than enough motive. Also, don’t forget that Pete did leave Ross for dead. So he does have it in him."
Anthony then teased: "Everyone is accusing everyone at the moment. Pete is accusing Gabby and framing up Adam but is he diverting attention from himself? You will have to wait and see."
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Emmerdale's Moira Barton
Moira Barton, played by Natalie J Robb, has been finding it hard to bond with her baby Isaac, who Emma kidnapped shortly after she gave birth. The new mum was also acting suspiciously prior to Emma's death, and even grabbed her gun. "Moira is very maternal but also as hard as nuts," Natalie explained. "She always puts her kids first. It is a year since she lost Holly, then she has a new baby and within minutes Emma has posed a threat to her new child. Moira would not have tolerated that. Moira will protect her kids at any cost and could well have seen Emma off but you will have to wait and see."
Emmerdale's Gabby Thomas
Schoolgirl Gabby Thomas is the bookies' favourite murder suspect, and has been acting guilty ever since Emma's death. On the day she died, Gabby left the pub to charge her phone, only to return with her phone uncharged. Rosie Bentham, who plays the teenager, teased of her character: "She's acting very guilty and perhaps has something to confess."
Emmerdale's Cain Dingle
Cain Dingle, played by Jeff Hordley, is also in the suspect line-up, with Jeff believing that his character could well have killed Emma to protect Moira's baby. "Cain wants to protect Moira. Emma putting Moira in danger could probably be enough motive for Cain to finish her off. When Emma stole the baby, he would’ve seen red and thought; there’s a problem here and I need to go and sort this."
Emmerdale's Adam Barton
Adam Barton ran after Emma into the woods with a gun, and has already been suspected by Cain. Even wife Victoria is having doubts over whether he killed Emma – plus actor Adam Thomas is due to leave the soap. Adam said of his character's motif: "Adam is so protective of his mother he will have taken that really badly. Plus, he feels aggrieved that because Emma killed his dad he never got the time to get to know him. Adam was taking it slowly regarding building bridges with his dad but Emma denied him that."
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Emmerdale's Laurel Thomas
Laurel Thomas is the final suspect, with her whereabouts unknown after viewers realised she hasn’t been away visiting her sister after all. "Every fibre of Laurel hates what Emma did to Ashley," explained actress Charlotte Bellamy. "And then, of course, there’s what Emma did to Arthur. Finding out she mentally tortured a 10 year old boy who was totally vulnerable was Laurel’s worst nightmare."
