General Hospital spoilers: Sonny killed John, but will this person go down for the crime?

For General Hospital viewers who needed a reminder that Sonny (Maurice Benard) isn’t afraid to get his own hands dirty when it comes to running his criminal empire, they got that with the episode that aired on August 30.

After agreeing to turn himself into John Cates (Adam J. Harrington), Sonny meets the FBI agent at the Quatermaine boathouse. However, John was in for a surprise as Sonny arrived with leather gloves and a gun. John was doubtful that Sonny would shoot a federal agent and kept antagonizing the dimpled kingpin. In response, Sonny made it clear that John made a deadly mistake going after Kristina (Kate Mansi) and trying to lock her up for a crime they both know she didn’t commit.

John continued to poke and prod Sonny, one thing led to another, and Sonny shot him in the chest. Then to ensure the dirty deed was done, Sonny stood over top of a bleeding John and shot him again. This homicide may save Kristina from falsely being prosecuted for the attempted murder of Ava (Maura West), but it is sure to set off a whole new firestorm.

The Port Charles Police Department and the federal government are likely to kick off an investigation with a lengthy pool of suspects. John made more enemies than friends while in Port Charles this go-around, so several people will find themselves in the hot seat as Anna (Finola Hughes) digs deep into what happened. Yes, show fans may know what happened to John, but the rest of Port Charles, sans Sonny, doesn’t. Although judging by the following preview clip, he may loop in Carly (Laura Wright) as he’ll need her help providing an alibi.

Given Sonny's request, he obviously has no intention of turning himself in for murder. Additionally, since an investigation is underway into the death of John, law enforcement is not likely to let this incident go without a murder suspect to try and attempt to convict. So with all of that being said, is someone else about to go down for the crime? If so, then who?

We can imagine a scenario in which Sonny enlists Carly’s help, and either he or Carly loops in Jason (Steve Burton), reuniting the classic trio. Carly and Jason will likely be furious with Sonny for foolishly killing a federal agent, but both will probably understand on some level since they also loathed John. After the initial shock wears off, Carly and Jason (largely Jason) may then look to cover Sonny’s tracks.

With the trio being unable to dump the body before authorities find it, they’ll need to find someone else to pin the murder on. Along this line of thinking, Ava makes the perfect fall guy (woman). She was entangled with John romantically, but lately, he was forcing her hand in making up charges against Kristina, and he hired Agent Boyle (Amor Owens) to dispose of Ava. The art gallery owner would have plenty of motive to kill John.

If Ava is chosen to take the fall for John’s homicide, then it would behoove Sonny to strike a deal with Ava rather than forcing her hand. If Sonny gets Ava to claim she killed John in an act of self-defense, then Ava will have to lie better than she ever has, as she would need to convince people that she wound up at the Quatermaine estate undetected and killed John in cold blood.

For those wondering how this would work, especially given Agent Boyle and Ava were in a car that hit Dr. Isaiah (Sawandi Wilson) around the same time John was being murdered, let’s paint a picture.

Jason and Sonny could probably create a believable story with evidence to suggest Ava was kidnapped by Agent Boyle at John’s request. However, forever a fighter, Ava managed to escape and fled to the Quatermaine estate where John caught up with her and threatened to kill her. Ava remarkably got the jump on him and killed him, fearful for her life. Meanwhile, Agent Boyle tried to leave town after a botched job and hit Dr. Isaiah.

Such a scenario seems plausible for the soap world, but let’s say Ava is not set up to take the fall for the homicide, but rather Agent Boyle herself. Her character seems rather expendable, so pinning the crime on her makes sense.

Should this prove to be the case, then we think Jason and Sonny will attempt to convince Ava to take the fall for running into Dr. Isaiah, but to claim she was trying to flee Agent Boyle and/or John. Meanwhile, Sonny and Jason may create evidence to paint Agent Boyle as having a change of heart about doing John’s dirty bidding before tracking him down to the Quatermaine estate and shooting him. This is plausible considering she was tired of being blackmailed.

Now we’ll admit, both scenarios have some minor plot holes and rest on the assumption Ava won't go to prison for murder or a car accident. However, we just can’t imagine Sonny taking on another murder charge and not being thrown in prison for good this time. Especially, since Sonny already was tried and convicted of murdering A.J. (Sean Kanan) years ago, and it’s a miracle he’s not still locked away in a prison cell.

New episodes of General Hospital air on weekdays on ABC. If you miss an episode, you can catch up on Hulu .