Matlock Writes Off David Del Rio's Billy In Shocking Fashion — The EP Explains

Now we know why David Del Rio's Billy is leaving "Matlock."

Del Rio was fired from the CBS legal drama in October, so we knew his character Billy would be written off the show soon, and Thursday's fall finale explained why. We didn't actually see Del Rio as Billy in the Christmas-themed episode, but Leah Lewis' Sarah called Billy early in the episode to check on him after he took a "personal day," leaving him a voicemail and assuring him: "I hope you're OK... I don't wanna bother you, I don't wanna pry." (She then deleted the voicemail.)

Later in the episode, Sarah got a call from Billy — we only heard her side of the conversation — and she learned what he was going through: His girlfriend Claudia, who was pregnant with his baby, had a miscarriage. 

"A miscarriage? Oh no, no, no. Oh, I'm so sorry," Sarah said through tears on the call. "Yeah, I can imagine. Send her my love... I'm just so sad that this happened."

Billy wasn't mentioned again in the episode, but it sounds like the tragedy will lead Billy to leave the firm — and the show.

"Matlock" executive producer and showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman explained the thinking behind the tragic plot twist in an interview with Variety, pointing out that Del Rio's sudden exit forced them to switch up their original plans: "I'll just say there were creative changes that we had to make, and we made them. We're ending up in a different place than what our plans were, but we really stopped and tried to think about how we can have an exit that makes sense in the world of our show and for the character."

As for Billy, "his exit will be explained in the course of the next two episodes, and it is really in line with the character and in line with what's happening with the firm at large," Urman adds. "We want to remain true to the character." ("Matlock" returns from its winter break with new episodes on Thursday, Feb. 26.)

Del Rio, who was a series regular as associate Billy Martinez, was fired after an investigation into an alleged incident. No details about the incident have been officially released, but TMZ said at the time that Del Rio was accused of sexually assaulting his co-star Lewis on Paramount property. (Del Rio and Lewis' characters Billy and Sarah were often paired together on the show as the firm's young associates.)

There might be more to the story, though: TMZ reports that show producer CBS Studios has reopened the investigation into Del Rio, which is still ongoing, conducting a new interview with Del Rio along with his attorney Shawn Holley. (When reached by TVLine, CBS declined to comment as they do not discuss legal matters.)