April Fools (2007) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Marlin was the one who accidentally struck Melvin with the football during the prank, causing him to fall onto the rebar and die. While the others seemed to move on from the incident, Marlin's life unraveled under the weight of guilt and trauma. He believed he was the only one truly affected by Melvin's death, and his obsession with the prank's consequences drove him to seek revenge against his former friends.

• marlin
• killer motivation
• revenge
• melvin death
• guilt
• trauma

The prank involved luring Melvin to the school football field where Marlin hit him with a football. The impact caused Melvin to stumble backward onto a piece of rebar protruding from the ground, fatally impaling him. The group panicked and hid his body in the woods, staging it to look like a random gang attack.

• melvin death
• prank
• rebar
• football
• accident

The April Fools Killer is revealed to be Marlin, one of the group members who participated in the original prank on Melvin. He murdered DeAnna, Eva, Diego, a teacher, and Malik over the course of the year, leaving 'April Fools' written in blood at each crime scene.

• marlin killer identity
• hooded killer
• april fools killer

DeAnna was one of the main organizers of the cruel April Fools prank that targeted Melvin. As one of the most directly responsible for the prank that led to Melvin's death, she became Marlin's first target when he began his revenge campaign exactly one year after the original incident.

• deanna murder
• first victim
• revenge target

After witnessing multiple friends die and being chased by the killer, Missy was consumed by guilt. At the police station following the Spring Jam massacre, she confessed to her father that she and her friends were involved in Melvin's death, feeling she could no longer carry the secret while danger surrounded them.

• missy confession
• detective ward
• guilt
• melvin involvement

When Marlin attacked Missy at her home after killing the police officers, she fought back by grabbing a rock and striking him to temporarily incapacitate him. She then turned his own blade against him in self-defense, striking him as he fell. Dazed and bleeding, she escaped and collapsed into her father's arms outside.

• missy survival
• final fight
• self defense
• rock
• escaped

After each murder, the killer wrote 'April Fools' on the wall in the victim's blood. This signature message directly connected the murders to the original prank that killed Melvin one year earlier, serving as the killer's calling card.

• april fools message
• blood message
• crime scene signature

During the Spring Jam, the hooded killer murdered Diego and a teacher inside the school building. Missy witnessed these killings and also saw Malik get fatally stabbed during a confrontation on the dance floor when Malik tried to stop the killer.

• spring jam murders
• diego death
• teacher death
• malik death

Missy attended the Spring Jam despite knowing about the murders because she had seen surveillance footage of DeAnna's killer and recognized him. She went looking for help, specifically seeking out Malik, hoping to find protection and confront the threat.

• spring jam
• danger
• recognition
• malik help

Marlin began his killing spree exactly one year after Melvin's death, on April Fools' Day. The anniversary of the prank appears to have been the catalyst, as he had spent that entire year processing his guilt and anger while watching his friends seemingly move on with their lives without consequences.

• one year later
• anniversary
• april fools day
• revenge timing