Did Superman kill Zod in Superman II?

One of the things that always bothered me growing up was that Superman defeats a de-powered Zod in the final few minutes of the movie and throws him down a pit.  Being an idiot, Non falls down himself.  And Lois punches Ursa into the pit.  Did Lois and Superman murder these villains?   

Here’s where things get complicated.  There are at least 3-4 cuts of the film that have completely didn’t endings and subplots.  The Lester cut clearly has the three villains disappear from the movie through the pit, thus meaning they’re dead.  And, given Lester had the three villains murder a young child, and a whole of people, it is a fitting end.  And, Zod does die by Superman’s hands in the comic book.  Actually, Superman kills all three villains using Kryptonite.  The Lois smiling is a bit strange considering that she “killed Ursa”.  

 

The original Donner ending for the villains (Zod) was to have them de-powered, fall down the pit, and get arrested by the police.  You can see them getting arrested in the ABC cut of the movie, but with Donner’s footage because Gene Hackman is all over that scene. Hackman refused to return for the Lester footage.  

You also have the Richard Donner cut that uses the “re-set” time thing, so the three villains are forced back into the mirror prison.   

From the Wiki site, ((Lex's negotiating with Superman after they leave the fortress is longer. 

Zod and his cronies being arrested by Arctic Patrol officers.)) 

For the longest time, I always thought Superman just murdered these villains, but know the troubled production I’ve changed my mind.  Clearly, Donner intended to have the de-powered villains arrested and thrown in jail.  When Lester took over the directing duties, he threw out the arresting scene/with Gene Hackman.  It is funny that it took me nearly 30 years to realize that that Donner never intended to have us believe Superman killed Zod.   

Side note: Depending on which cut you watch, Zod and the others kill a lot of people.  Zod even picks up a machine gun and guns down soldiers and Secret Service people in the invasion of the White House.  

BTW, here it the different takes and cuts of the same scene from the Lester and Donner cuts.