who was the murderer in the movie in the heat of the night
In the Heat of the Night (film) Tibbs visits a backstreet abortionist, who reveals that someone paid for Delores to have an abortion. When Delores arrives, Tibbs follows her outside and is confronted by the murderer, Ralph. Purdy's mob tracks down Tibbs and holds him at gunpoint; he responds by proving that Ralph got Delores pregnant. Ralph shoots Purdy dead before Tibbs disarms him. Ralph is arrested (presumptively for both murders) and confesses to Colbertâ€™s: he robbed Colbert to fund Delores's abortion but accidentally killed him.
In the Heat of the Night (TV series) Season two premiered on December 4, 1988 due to a writers strike; the season introduced a new look and set of executive producers, with on-location shooting moved from Louisiana to Covington, Georgia. The season premiere was aired as a two-hour TV-movie, "Don't Look Back"; the plot revolved around a copycat murder of one that Gillespie had investigated 20 years earlier. Also introduced were two new regular characters—Joanne St. John (played by Lois Nettleton), the chief's sometime girlfriend and owner of the local diner, "The Magnolia Cafe"; and Officer Wilson Sweet (played by Geoffrey Thorne), fresh out of the Police Academy. The episode also introduced the first of several new recurring characters, including Doctor (or, "Doc") Robb, the county coroner (played by veteran actor Dan Biggers). "The Creek" saw the introduction of the first new police character and the second prominent Georgia performer to claim a regular role on the series, "Officer Randy Goode" (1988–1993) played by Randall Franks, who was cast following the show's move to Covington, Georgia.