Dead ?  My ass.  Partridge is alive and Red John. 

I am not gonna repeat everything-ad nauseam.

Red John walks (slithers) - he talks (even when muffled)  - just as Partridge does.  Also been there since the Pilot.

But then, I don't think Kirkland is dead either and several clues point to Virgil Minelli.  WHAT THE HELL DO I KNOW ???