Some “SpongeBob Squarepants” episodes have been known to go too far. While the long-running Nickelodeon series is aimed at kids, it contains plenty of disturbing moments that have shocked adults, including storylines about itchy viruses, kidnappings, prison sentences, slasher villains, cannibalism, and jellyfish alien dystopias. As such, the death of a supporting character like Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) probably wouldn’t shock viewers, and there are some fans out there who believe he passed away. However, there’s more to this story than meets the eye. 

Thanks to the power of the internet, a rumor spread that Krabs had been murdered, with SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) named as the top suspect. Known as “The Trial of SpongeBob Squarepants for the Murder of Mr. Krabs,” it sounds like a believable title of an episode for the often-twisted Nickelodeon cartoon. However, the story in question stems from a critical thinking exercise for educational purposes, albeit one that’s very entertaining and could inspire some compelling television. With that in mind, let’s dig into Mr. Krabs’ history and find out how he was “killed.”

He was born Eugene Harold Krabs, but his friends and fans know him as Mr. Krabs, the anthropomorphic crustacean with an entrepreneurial mindset. He’s the owner of a fast food restaurant known as the Krusty Krab, which employs fan-favorite characters like SpongeBob Squarepants and Squidward Tentacles (Gavin Lee). Krab isn’t the greatest boss in the world, though, as he’s obsessed with money, extremely cheap, and has a reputation for mistreating his employees.

Fortunately, Krabs isn’t always bad. When he isn’t working, he hangs out in his anchor house and raises his teenage daughter, Pearl, who’s a member of the whale species. He also has a romantic side, as evidenced by his on-again, off-again relationship with Mrs. Puff, a porcupine pufferfish who owns a boating school. Krab’s feelings for Puff arguably eclipse his love of money, which is really saying something. 

Some theorists argue that Mr. Krabs is the most tragic character on “SpongeBob Squarepants” based on his origin story, but that’s open to interpretation. Despite this, Krabs has enough negative traits to make him unsympathetic, and some viewers probably wouldn’t mind if he became a Bikini Bottom death statistic. Could this be why some fans believe that he met his demise?

“SpongeBob Squarepants” is full of dark details, so it’s understandable why some fans might accept that Mr. Krabs is canonically dead. The rumor started after a document uploaded by Leon County Schools presented a scenario in which the Krusty Krab owner was found dead in his restaurant with his throat sliced. The coroner later discovered that a metal spatula was used to commit the gruesome act, which sounds like a scene lifted straight out of a horror movie.

All of the evidence pointed toward SpongeBob as the killer, as his fingerprints were all over the spatula, and his employee status meant that he had easy access to the Krusty Krab after opening hours. That said, Mr. Krabs’ mortal enemy Sheldon Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) was also named as a potential culprit due to his longstanding feud with the victim, and the fact that he sold a recipe similar to Krabs’ Krabby Patty burger shortly after the murder. 

This scenario could inform a “SpongeBob Squarepants” episode about a murder-mystery, and it wouldn’t seem out of place in a series that’s been inspired by everything from alien invasions to contagions and other gruesome scenarios. The fake document duped many fans, but they can rest assured knowing that Krabs’ death was nothing more than an internet rumor.

Mr. Krabs is alive and well in the lore of “SpongeBob Squarepants.” The document isn’t associated with the Nickelodeon cartoon franchise in any way, even though it shares its twisted sense of humor and paints a believable scenario for one of the series’ darker episodes. There are many fans who would undoubtedly love to see “The Trial of SpongeBob Squarepants for the Murder of Mr. Krabs” brought to the screen, but that seems unlikely.

For the sake of discourse, however, let’s imagine a world where Krabs is dead. The beauty of the aforementioned exercise is that SpongeBob and Sheldon Plankton could have killed him. The task allows participants representing the prosecution and defense to build their own cases based on the nuggets of information given to them, meaning that the best argument wins at the end of the day. As such, “SpongeBob Squarepants” fans with legal aspirations will probably get a kick out of it, but the show’s creators have yet to kill off the character.