Remember the time Stefano moved into a small coastal town and his greed almost got everyone eaten alive by a great white shark because… Wait, no, that’s the plot of Jaws 2. But it’s something Stefano totally would have done.
Does it count as Stefano’s crime if he was already dead? Eh, we’ll make it work. After all, it was Stefano’s digitally copied mind, or essence, or… something that was implanted into Steve, taking over his life and his body and turning him into Stefano 2.0. At least he got to use both eyes for once?
No, Stefano did not invent Carpool Karaoke. Brainwashing, though… OK, technically, EJ was the one who brainwashed Steve into becoming a DiMera henchman, but let’s be honest — he learned it by watching you, Stefano! Plus, the Phoenix was the one who had Steve kidnap his own pal, John, so Stefano could carve out his kidney and take it for himself. Gross.
After Tony “died” during a spat with Philip, Stefano took out a hit on the Kiriakis heir. Twice. Once the conventional hitman and the psychotically plucky Nurse Camille both failed, Stefano gave up. That, and he was kidnapped by his intended victim’s father, Victor.
This one was… brutal. When Stefano learned of Rafe’s affair with Kate, he decided dead was too good for “the other man.” So he hired a hitman to ambush Rafe in the hospital and, er, “cut it off.” Yes, “it” is exactly what you think it is. Stefano might have gloated a little early, though, because to this day, Rafe’s still, um, fully intact.
… or not. Roman (then Wayne Northrop) fell to his apparent death after a tussle with Stefano on some cliffs, but he survived, unbeknownst to anyone in Salem. The good news is, we got John Black out of it! When he showed up a few years later with no memory, everyone thought he was Roman. Spoiler alert: He was not.
After one of Stefano’s returns, he kicked the Brady/DiMera feud into high gear, which culminated in John’s death — at least until Rolf got his hands on the body. Stefano had his personal mad scientist revive his nemesis and brainwash him into being the DiMera assassin, soldier and all-around pawn. Because why mess with a classic?
Stefano was in rare form when he created Princess Gina. No, not that Princess Gina. When the real one died, he implanted her mind into lookalike Hope, creating the unstable Princess Gina II. Brainwashing is one thing, but replacing a person’s mind? Downright fiendish. Which means it soon became a favorite Phoenix trick!
The doppelgänger Stefano hired to take over Rafe’s life was particularly heinous. He impersonated the cop in order to break up Rafe’s marriage to Sami, both terrorizing her and sleeping with her. Which is rape. Consent isn’t just sexy, it’s mandatory. Ultimately, the abuse worked, and Sami decided to split from her husband — at least until the real Rafe came back.
After Stefano awakened from the coma Marlena in which Marlena had put him, he went scorched earth on Salem. He trapped virtually everyone (including Tony, EJ and Anna) on the seventh floor of the hospital and prepared to unleash poison gas. It didn’t work, but just trying to kill your own family (and the others, we guess) is downright diabolical.
Unlike the weak-willed Tony, Andre was the son Stefano always wanted. So, it’s a good thing he did turn out to be Stefano’s son instead of his nephew! Ruthless and cruel, Andre chained Tony up and took over his life for a time and masterminded the whole Salem Stalker/Melaswen mess. Kidnapping, murder — Andre did it all. And Stefano couldn’t have been prouder.
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