Charlotte DiLaurentis hit Alison with a rock and Jessica DiLaurentis buried her alive — but Alison survived. The autopsy later showed dirt in the lungs, meaning the girl actually killed that night was Bethany Young, mistaken for Alison in the dark.
Pretty Little Liars is the I. Marlene King mystery drama based on Sara Shepard’s novels. Five friends — Aria, Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and their leader Alison DiLaurentis — fall apart when Alison disappears. The original Freeform series ran 2010–2017. Max’s spinoff Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (2022) and its second season Summer School (2024) were canceled by Max in September 2024.
Who Killed Alison in Pretty Little Liars
The night of September 1, 2009, played out in pieces over six seasons. Here is the actual order of events:
- Charlotte DiLaurentis (then known as CeCe Drake) hit a girl in the back of the head with a rock outside the DiLaurentis home. Charlotte thought the target was Alison.
- Jessica DiLaurentis, Alison’s mother, found the body and assumed her daughter was dead. To protect Charlotte — her secret biological daughter — Jessica buried the girl in the backyard.
- The girl was still alive when Jessica buried her. The autopsy showed dirt in the lungs: she suffocated, not from the head wound.
- The buried girl was Bethany Young, a Radley Sanitarium patient who had escaped that night. She was wearing Alison’s yellow top, which is how Charlotte mistook her for Alison.
- The real Alison was knocked unconscious by Charlotte but survived. Carla Grunwald — a psychic from Radley — pulled her from the shallow grave and helped her flee.
So Charlotte struck the blow, Jessica buried the body, and Bethany Young died. Alison faked her own death afterward because she was being stalked by “A” and feared whoever attacked her was still out there.
Who Was Wrongly Accused of Killing Alison?
Police suspicion bounced between several characters before the real story came out:
- Toby Cavanaugh — Alison’s ex. He had a tattoo dated to her death with the words “Free at Last.” Toby fled, was caught, and was cleared after fake blood evidence was overturned.
- Ian Thomas — Melissa Hastings’ boyfriend. The Liars confronted him in a church bell tower. He was later found shot, with a forged confession note pinned to him.
- Byron Montgomery — Aria’s father. He had paid Alison off after she threatened to expose his affair, but he was never charged.
When Is Alison Revealed to Be Alive?
In the Season 4 episode “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” (episode 12), Alison is shown alive in a flashback that explains how Mrs. Grunwald rescued her from the grave.
The full timeline of what happened that night is given in the Season 4 finale “A Is for Answers.” Alison meets the four girls in a New York hotel and explains:
- Mrs. Grunwald drove her toward a hospital.
- Alison ran, certain the attacker would finish the job if she resurfaced.
- Mona Vanderwaal found her and drove her to the Lost Woods Resort.
- Mona convinced Alison to fake her death and live under a new identity.
Who Was Buried in Alison’s Grave?
Bethany Young. She was a teenage Radley patient with ties to the DiLaurentis family — Jessica had been visiting her at the sanitarium. Bethany escaped Radley the night of the attack and was wearing Alison’s clothes when Charlotte struck her.
Who Was “A” in Pretty Little Liars?
The show used three different “A” identities across its run:
- Original A: Mona Vanderwaal (revealed end of Season 2). She tormented the Liars to get back at Alison for years of bullying.
- Big A / Charles: Charlotte DiLaurentis (revealed end of Season 6A). Charlotte was born Charles, was institutionalized at Radley as a child, and built a doll-house bunker to kidnap the Liars.
- Uber A / A.D.: Alex Drake (revealed in the series finale, Season 7). Spencer Hastings’ identical twin, raised in England, who came to Rosewood to avenge Charlotte’s death.
In the Max spinoff Original Sin, the killer “A” is Archie Waters, son of Angela Waters and the show’s “Bloody Rose.”
Did Alison Have Emily’s Baby?
Yes — and Emily had Alison’s baby too. Archer Dunhill stole Emily’s eggs and fertilized them with Wren Kingston’s sperm. The embryos were implanted in Alison. Alison gave birth to twin girls, Lily and Grace. Emily and Alison are biological mothers of the twins; Wren is the biological father.
Why Did Alison Fake Her Death?
Alison was being stalked by “A.” After she was attacked the night of Labor Day 2009, she could not tell who in her life was safe. Mona convinced her to vanish, get a new name (Vivian Darkbloom), and run.
Who Is the Main Villain of Pretty Little Liars?
Alexandra “Alex” Drake — Spencer’s twin sister and Charlotte’s half-sister — is the final big bad. She is “Uber A” / “A.D.,” the antagonist of Seasons 6B and 7.
What Is Hanna’s Family Secret?
Hanna’s father Tom Marin had an affair with Isabel Randall while still married to Hanna’s mother Ashley. Hanna covered up the truth and told classmates her parents had simply grown apart. Ashley remarried; Tom married Isabel.
Who Is Alison’s Twin Sister?
In the TV show, Alison has no twin sister — that is a book-only plot. In Sara Shepard’s novels, Courtney DiLaurentis is Alison’s twin, and she is the one the four friends actually knew as “Ali.” On screen the writers replaced this twist with Charlotte and later Alex Drake.
Who Did Caleb End Up With?
Hanna. They marry in Season 7 and are trying for a baby in the finale.
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