Hunter Owen escapes on EastEnders – but why was he in prison?

The jailbreak will result in Hunter finding his way back to the Square before his mum Mel makes plans for the two of them to flee to Portugal. But what was it that put Hunter behind bars in the first place?

What crime did Hunter commit?

Scenes shown on 3rd January 2019 saw Hunter shoot dead his stepdad Ray Kelly (Sean Mahon), who was at that moment trying to strangle Mel.

Prior to the shooting, Mel was seen being lured to local woodland after an on-the-run Ray threatened to kidnap Hunter unless she turned up with a bag containing banknotes and fake passports.

After managing to free Hunter, Mel ended up reversing a car into an increasingly volatile Ray. Believing she’d killed him, she then started to dig a hole and bury him in the earth.

But, in true horror movie style, Ray managed to ‘rise from the dead’ and proceed to start throttling Mel – cue that surprise intervention by Hunter, who ended Ray’s life with a bullet from his hand gun.

When was Hunter arrested?

EastEnders fans saw Hunter put under arrest for Ray’s murder on Thursday 14th February after Jack (Scott Maslen) double crossed Mel by reporting both mother and son to the police, having previously promised to help smuggle them out of the country.

Under police interrogation, Hunter admitted full responsibility for killing Ray despite his mum’s insistence that she would take all the blame. In court, the troubled teen was then sentenced to life imprisonment.

What will now happen to Hunter?

Tamzin Outhwaite’s departure from EastEnders has already been announced and while the details of Mel’s exit have yet to be revealed, rumours have been circulating that screen son Hunter is going to come to a nasty end. A source recently told the Daily Star Sunday: “It’s a big decision to kill off a major character, but producers are confident this will be great telly. Hunter’s death is going to rock Albert Square.

“There will be plenty to keep viewers hooked. Hunter’s final weeks on Albert Square will be anything but dull.”

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