Caught season 1 ending explained: Is Leo dead or alive at the end of the series?
Caught season 1 premiered on Netflix on March 26, 2025. Directed by Hernan Goldfrid and Miguel Cohan, the Spanish-language thriller is written by Miguel Cohan and Ana Cohan. It is an adaptation of the eponymous novel published by Harlan Coben in 2010.
The six-part mystery series delves into the disappearance and murder of a 16-year-old girl, Martina Schulz. While searching for her killer, the investigative journalist Ema Garay discovers a sinister plot of corruption and deceit involving Leo Mercer and his friend, Marcos Brown.
Early in Caught season 1, Leo is shot dead after being accused of abusing children, but he survives and is seen living far away from Bariloche by the end of the series.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Caught season 1.
A look into Leo Mercer's fate in Caught season 1
At the start of Caught season 1, Ema Garay is seen hunting down a se*ual predator who lures teenage girls into sending him n*de pictures before assaulting them in person.
After the attack on the 16-year-old Camila Costa, Ema engages with the groomer online by pretending to be a teenager herself. The two agree to meet at the Bariloche park, but he escapes before Ema and the police can get a hold of him.
During their second meeting at a secluded house, Ema shows up with a cameraman. As she waits inside, Ema is surprised to see Leo Mercer, a respectable member of the community, enter the house.
Leo runs the Fronteras Foundation, which takes care of vulnerable boys and girls. Ema knew Leo as Camila's family friend and first met him while visiting her house after her assault.
The cameraman records Leo as Ema asks him point blank, "Did you come here to abuse a child?" The video goes viral after being uploaded on social media, and Leo is termed a pedophile by his community members.
Leo later meets Ema alone to prove his innocence and explains that Martina Schulz had called him to the location, saying she was in dire need of help.
After seeing the viral video, Camila’s father, Facundo, is convinced that Leo assaulted his daughter. He shows up at the meeting place and shoots Leo in the neck, with his body falling into the nearby river.
Facundo is charged with attempted murder as Leo's body is never recovered. Despite being considered dead, the show's ending sequence reveals that Leo survived the attack and is indeed alive. He is seen riding a horse, along with five other people, and is shown to have started a new life far away from Bariloche and the lies that destroyed his reputation.
With regards to the real culprit, Caught season 1 reveals his identity as Fabián Ramos, a 38-year-old resident of Neuquén. He is caught after the young girl he tries to r*pe escapes the hotel room and alerts others. Many young girls also come forward, identifying him as the online groomer.
Also read: Where was Netflix's Caught season 1 filmed? All shooting locations explored
Who frames Leo as a se*ual predator in Caught season 1?
In Caught season 1, Leo reunites with his childhood friend, Marcos Brown, who returns to Bariloche after working in Buenos Aires for several years. Marcos plans to reclaim his family’s land that was in contention with the powerful Briguel family in the past but is now owned by Leo's Fronteras Foundation.
Marcos urges Leo to open a trust fund with the businessman Fran Briguel, as it will be lucrative for both of them. However, Leo rejects his offer, forcing Marcos to speak to Fran directly.
Almost 30 years ago, Marcos's father was fighting against the Briguels, who own half of Bariloche, for control over his family land. The young Leo and Marcos decide to help by breaking into Briguel's family home to steal evidence they can use to blackmail them into giving up the land.
However, Marcos is caught by the housemaid, Margarita, and his father is forced to sell the land to save his son from legal troubles. Since then, Marcos was determined to reclaim the land to restore his family's honor. To fulfill his mission, he travels to Buenos Aires to meet Fran and ends up meeting Martina, who is also there to visit Fran.
After returning to Bariloche, Marcos and Martina stay in touch and get close over time. When Marcos learns that Martina is Leo's neighbor, he hatches a plan to frame Leo as a se*ual predator and get his family land back.
Firstly, he emails Ema by posing as a young victim who fell prey to the online groomer's abuse. He adds the real abuser's username to catch Ema's attention, prompting her to investigate the case. He then convinces Martina to call Leo to the abandoned house under the guise of needing his help.
Ema's investigation into Leo's false accusations lead her to suspect Fran as the main culprit. She meets up with Marcos to take his help in exposing the businessman.
While speaking to him, Ema gets a call from her coworker Vicky and discovers Marcos's shady past as a scammer while working in Buenos Aires, which got him fired.
She finally realizes that Marcos, not Fran, is the one who wrongfully framed Leo. Ema starts recording while accusing him of destroying Leo's foundation to clear his path to reclaim the land. He tries to drown Ema before escaping, but she survives and exposes Marco's evil deeds in a live broadcast.
Feeling like he cannot escape the consequences anymore, Marcos deliberately rams his car into a truck and dies instantly.
How does Martina Schulz die in Caught season 1?
After calling Leo, Martina Shulz goes missing, and her dead body is found in the woods a few days later. Ema sets off on finding the 16-year-old girl's killer and revealing his motives.
Despite being a talented violinist, Martina posts se*ually explicit content online to grow her following. Fran is one of her followers and invites her to Buenos Aires to spend time with him. She boards the same flight as Marcos to the capital city.
When Fran touches her inappropriately in his hotel room, she storms out in anger. Martina considers reporting the incident to the police, but Marcos talks her out of it at Fran's insistence.
After calling Leo without understanding its implications, Martina attends a party where she connects with Armando, the son of Leo's ex-girlfriend Juliana.
In episode 6 of Caught season 1, Ema finds a picture of Martina from that party and realizes Armando is somehow involved in Martina's death. She heads to his house to confront him and finds out what truly happened on that fateful night.
After the party, Martina and Armando go back to his place and sleep together. However, a few hours later, Martina watches the viral video of Ema confronting Leo as a child abuser. She tells Armando that Leo is innocent and expresses guilt over unknowingly setting him up.
However, Armando is enraged and accidentally pushes her down the stairs, which ends up killing her. His mother, Juliana, helps him dispose of the body in the woods, and they hide her phone at a campsite that was frequented by Leo.
In the end, Armando and Juliana confess their crimes at the police station and readily accept the consequences of their actions.
All episodes of Caught season 1 are available to stream on Netflix.
