Days of our Lives has had several serial killers in Salem, from The Salem Strangler of the ’80s to the soap’s latest, Killer Connie. Let’s take a look back at some of the best serial killer storylines throughout the years.
Salem’s Serial Killers
DAYS has had six major serial killers over the past six decades, starting with The Salem Strangler in 1982, who killed three women while harboring an obsession with Marlena (Deidre Hall). He was followed by Andre (ex-Thaao Penghlis) as The Salem Slasher in 1993 and Jack’s (ex-Matthew Ashford) stepfather as The Riverfront Knifer in 1987.
Salem didn’t see any more serial killing until the early 2000s when The Salem Stalker arose for a murder mystery that ended with a major twist. Next came The Necktie Killer, who offed several beloved Salemites in 2015, followed by Salem’s newest crazy killer, Connie (Julie Dove, who just exited DAYS).
The Salem Slasher
It was only a year after The Salem Strangler murders that The Salem Slasher wreaked havoc on the town. When Stefano’s (ex-Joseph Macolo) son Andre arrived in Salem, he proved himself to his father by committing several murders and framing Stefano’s nemesis, Roman.
Long before Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) wore a Nicole (ex-Arianne Zucker) mask, Andre was running around Salem in a Roman mask as he killed Daisy Hawkins (ex-Winnie Gardner). After killing another four other women, Andre wound up fleeing Salem to escape the murder charges.
The Salem Stalker
Like an ’80s slasher, The Salem Stalker wore a hockey mask and black hood as they began killing Salem’s finest one by one during the 2003 storyline. Arguably the worst serial killer of them all, The Salem Stalker killed beloved characters like Maggie (Suzanne Rogers), Roman (Josh Taylor), and even matriarch Alice (ex-Frances Reid).
It wasn’t until the following year that the killer revealed to be Marlena, and in an even bigger twist, every one of her victims were found alive and well on an Melaswen Island. Things only got twistier when everyone found out that Marlena had been brainwashed into the killing spree by Andre, who was posing as his identical twin brother, Tony (ex-Thaao Penghlis).
The Necktie Killer
Although strangling had been done before, DAYS put a twist on it in 2015 when they introduced The Necktie Killer. This serial killer murdered his victims by strangling them with a tie, and was behind the devastating deaths of Will, Serena (ex-Melissa Archer), and Paige (ex-True O’Brien).
It was revealed to viewers early on that the killer was Ben (Robert Scott Wilson), who was later redeemed after learning that Will (ex-Chandler Massey) was actually brought back to life after his strangling thanks to Dr. Rolf (ex-William Utay).
Killer Connie
Although Salem’s latest serial killer only had two murders under her belt, it’s not for lack of trying to Killer Connie. After it was revealed she was the one who killed Li (Remington Hoffman) in 2023 and framed Gabi (Cherie Jimenez) for it, when the walls started closing in on her, she began her murderous escapade and shared every detail of her plots with a cardboard cutout of Li.
After poisoning and killing Everett (ex-Blake Berris), stabbing Rafe (Galen Gering) in the back, setting a bomb off at the DiMera Mansion with Gabi and Melinda (Tina Huang) inside, and attempting to slash Ava (Tamara Braun) and Stefan (Brandon Barash), Connie was finally caught and sent to Bayview.
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