Did Lloyd actually murder Elwyn?

SPOILERS AHEAD The reason I ask is the flashback of Elwyn's death shows the two struggling. If Lloyd had not finished off Elwyn then Elwyn would have killed Lloyd. It's not like Lloyd crept up behind Elwyn and stabbed him. Yet the film keeps talking about Lloyd murdering Elwyn because he was a Satan worshiping menace, and in the end both Elwyn and Lloyd die, seemingly to fulfill the production code edict that all murderers must pay for their crimes. Is this just the inconsistency you'd expect from a poverty row studio or am I missing something?