Notice! This article contains spoilers for Outer Banks Season 4, Part 2.
One of the greatest mysteries External Banks Season 4 Part 2 was how Larissa Genrette really died, with the answers provided by the show’s conclusion. The end of External Banks Season 4, part 1 revealed that JJ’s biological father was not the abusive Luke, but rather Chandler Groff. This meant that Larissa Genrette was JJ’s biological mother, the woman whose death started External Banks‘last treasure hunt.
Larissa is said to have drowned, brought on by a supernatural curse placed on the Genrette family that dates back to the days of Edward Teach, the infamous pirate also known as Blackbeard. However, as External Banks As the Season 4 Part 2 finale unfolded, it was revealed that no curses nor ghostly premonitions were committing murders. Instead, a more realistic but equally sinister plot surrounded Larissa’s death – a plot that will even lead to External Banks season 5’s story as the culprit remains at large.
Larissa Genrette was killed by her husband, Chandler Groff
Groff killed Genrette and made up a story to get away with it
In External Banks In Season 4, Part 2, it was revealed that Larissa Genrette was killed by her husband, JJ’s real father, Chandler Groff. During a climactic confrontation aboard Groff’s boat during External Banks Season 4, Episode 8, JJ asks if he killed Larissa. Groff continues to deny it and claims that Larissa drowned, although a brief flashback shows him hitting Larissa with a candlestick. This happens before Groff tries to kill JJ, proving his murderous nature, if it wasn’t already evident.
Why Groff Kills Larissa Genrette
Groff’s personal gain outweighs his love for family
The burning question following this revelation is why Groff killed Larissa, as well as her father, Wes Genrette. Groff invented the idea of the ghostly curse placed on the Genrette family as a means of not only linking it to his family’s history as descendants of Edward Teach, but also so that he would not be suspected. Groff used dummies and other tricks to make Wes think the curse was real, before killing him. Wes, believing in the curse, did not suspect that Groff killed Larissa before his own death.
Groff believed he would be next in line to receive his ancestral home and a huge piece of land on Goat Island…
By killing the two members of the Genrette family, Groff believed he would be next in line to receive the ancestral home and a huge chunk of land on Goat Island, situated in External Banks‘holder OBX location. This also explains why he tried to kill JJ multiple times throughout External Banks Season 4, as Pogue was next in line to receive the house and land. Eventually, Groff’s plan hits a snag when Wes’ will reveals that Goat Island will be turned into a nature preserve, leading to his manipulation of Rafe and the search for the Blue Crown in External Banks season 4.