If thereโs one thing that Desperate Housewives taught us, itโs that things arenโt always as they appear. This iconic soap opera, which spanned eight seasons from 2004 to 2012, was full of twists, turns, deception, and a whole hell of a lot more violence than one would expect from a primetime soap about a quiet street in suburbia. In fact, the entire series starts off with the showโs narrator committing suicide in the very first scene.
From there, the violence and drama never waver throughout the entire eight seasons of this masterpiece of primetime television. Marc Cherry, the showโs executive producer, keeps the audience on the edge of their seat with reveals that are entirely unexpected. Yes, at any moment, your favorite character might meet their maker, the housewife that you thought was the most morally sound is having an affair, and the peaceful neighbor next door is actually a cold-blooded murderer.
Letโs not sugarcoat it: there are a lot of murders throughout the eight seasons of Desperate Housewives. There are so many, in fact, that it gets pretty hard to keep track of them all. So, in honor of this amazing show and all of its fallen characters, letโs look back on every murder throughout the eight seasons of Desperate Housewives.ย
And, if you havenโt seen the show, then just be aware that this article is just one massive spoiler.
Martha Huber Is Strangled by Paul Young
The first person we see murdered on-screen in Desperate Housewives is Martha Huber. Martha had been blackmailing Mary Alice Young with the information that Mary Alice and Paul had bought a child and then killed the childโs mother. This drove Mary Alice to kill herself (which we see in the very first episode of the show).ย
When Paul Young discovers that Martha Huber was responsible for writing the blackmail notes that drove his wife to suicide, he strangles Martha Huber to death.ย
Deirdre Taylor Is Stabbed by Mary Alice Young
As I just touched upon, Mary Alice Young illegally purchased a child to โrescueโ him from his birth mother Deirdre Taylor, who was a drug addict at the time. However, three years later, Deirdre tracks them down and demands her child back.ย
Unwilling to give up the son she had been raising and grown to love, Mary Alice stabs Deirdre and then puts her body in a toy chest with the help of her husband.
Rex Van de Kamp Is Poisoned by George Williams
When Bree and her first husband Rex Van de Kamp hit a rough patch in their marriage, Bree is courted by a sneaky pharmacist named George Williams (who, in my opinion, is the biggest creep in the whole show).
However, George knows that he can never be married to Bree while Rex is still in the picture. So, since George is Rexโs pharmacist, he poisons Rexโs prescriptions and, ultimately, kills him.
Bree Lets George Williams Die of an Overdose
Perhaps this isnโt legally considered murder; however, in Season 2, Bree Van de Kamp discovers that George Williams has taken a lethal dose of sleeping pills in a ploy to get her attention. George was banking on the fact that Bree would come to his rescue and call an ambulance for him.
Unfortunately for George, this isnโt how it goes down. Bree chooses to do nothing and watches as George dies. Again, I donโt know if that meets the legal definition of murder, but Iโd say itโs close enough to make this list.
Melanie Foster Is Beaten by Matthew Applewhite
The Applewhites made a quick entry and exit from Desperate Housewives, but not without causing some deaths. Betty Applewhite had been keeping her son Caleb chained up in a basement because she believed that he had killed a girl. However, in a flashback, itโs revealed that Matthew Applewhite was actually the one who murdered Melanie Foster.
Unfortunately for Melanie Foster, her role in the show was pretty much just โThe Girl Who Got Killedโ.
Matthew Applewhite Is Taken Out by Police Snipers
I never thought Iโd use the words โpolice snipersโ in reference to Desperate Housewives. Nevertheless, when Bree discovers that Matthew Applewhite (whoโs dating her daughter Danielle) is a murderer, she comes home to confront them and finds Danielle and Bree stealing her money.ย
Things get tense when Bree refuses to let the two of them leave the house and Matthew pulls a gun on Bree. However, just as it seems like Matthew is going to shoot, he gets shot through a window by a police sniper.ย
Zach Young Pulls the Plug on Noah Taylor
Noah Taylor is the father of Deirdre Taylor (Zach Youngโs birth mother), making him Zach Youngโs grandfather. Noah works with Mike Delfino in order to take down Paul Young and reconnect with Zach.ย
However, things take a bad turn for Noah when Zach decides that he wants to protect Paul Young and pulls the cord on his grandfatherโs life support. As a result, Zach inherits his multimillion-dollar estate.ย
Monique Polier Is Hit With a Wrench by Gloria Hodge
Gloria Hodge, the mother of Orson Hodge, was a big fan of her sonโs wife. So, when she found out that her son was cheating with a woman named Monique Polier, she went over to Moniqueโs house to warn her to stay away from her son.ย
But, things got a little out of hand and Gloria ended up killing Monique with a wrench, a wrench belonged to none other than Mike Delfino.
Carolyn Bigsby Shoots Nora Huntington (And Then Gets Shot Herself)
When Carolyn Bigsby finds out that her husband is cheating on her, she goes all the way off the deep end and decides that the best thing to do is hold up a supermarket at gunpoint. During the hold-up, Lynette mentions to Carolyn that Nora Huntington had been seducing her husband.ย
Carolyn, whoโs not a fan of husband-stealers, shoots Nora in the chest and kills her. Not long after, Carolynโs gun is wrestled away from her and she get shot in the head.
Wayne Davis Shoots Ellie Leonard (And Then Gets Shot by Katherine Mayfair)
Ellie Leonard is another character that had an incredibly brief stint on Desperate Housewives. In Season 4, Ellie moves into the Solis familyโs spare room and starts selling drugs out of their house. Eventually, Ellie is forced to run from the cops and takes refuge in Katherine Mayfairโs house.
Unfortunately, Katherineโs crazy ex-husband Wayne Davis is there and heโs got a gun. Wayne hides the gun at first but, eventually, puts a cushion over the gun and shoots Ellie in the lung. Wayne is then planning to kill Katherine until Katherineโs new husband Adam rushes in a saves her. Realizing that the police will never lock up Wayne forever (becuase heโs a cop), Katherine decides that her only option for peace of mind is to shoot Wayne.
Dave Williams Strangles Samuel Heller
Dave Williams (who is also in the running for biggest creep ever on Desperate Housewives) returns to Wisteria Lane in order to exact his revenge on Mike Delfino for the accidental death of his wife and daughter.
However, his old doctor Samuel Heller is interfering with his plan. When Samuel Heller tracks him down to a bar in Fairview, Dave strangles him in the barโs storage closet and then burns the entire bar to the ground. Several other unnamed characters also died in the fire.
Bradley Scott Is Stabbed in the Back by His Wife
Bradley Scott was Carlos Solisโs boss for a brief period of time before Gabrielle learned that Bradley was cheating on his wife Maria. After pretty much extorting him for a while, Gaby tells Bradley that he needs to tell his wife about the affair or she will.
After Bradley comes clean about his affair, his wife Maria goes into a fit of rage and stabs him in the back. Gaby and Carlos go over to their house to visit and find Bradleyโs corpse on the floor.
Eddie Orlofsky Strangles a Bunch of Women
Season 6 was all about the so-called โFairview Stranglerโ who turned out to be a very confused and tormented kid named Eddie Orlofsky that was friends with the Scavo twins. Throughout the season, he killed a barista, he tried to kill Julie Mayer, he killed Preston Scavoโs ex-girlfirend Irina, his own mother, and some random girl in a flashback.
In terms of the character who claimed the most lives in Desperate Housewives, Eddie Orlofsky, the Fairview Strangler, was the unexpected frontrunner.ย
Patrick Logan Kills Irene Beckley and Then Gets Blown Up
In an effort to reclaim his son, psycho eco-terrorist Patrick Logan is tracking down Angie Bolen and her family. At one point, he gets a tip of Angieโs whereabouts from a New Yorker named Irene Beckley and then proceeds to kill Irene for almost no reason.
After that, Patric arrives in Fairview and tracks down Angie. However, Angie (who somehow knows how to make bombs) tricks Patrick into detonating a bomb thatโs inside the car heโs sitting in. Patrick Logan is blown to smithereens.
Alejandro Perez Is Smacked in the Head With a Candlestick
When Gabyโs child-molesting stepfather arrives in Fairview, he starts stalking Gaby and threatening her. He breaks into her house and, just when it appears that heโs going to sexually assault her again, Carlos comes into the house and bashes him over the head with a candlestick.
Unfortunately, as much as Alejandro may have deserved it, this was still a murder, and Carlos and the โCore Fourโ women spend the rest of the series trying cover up the crime.
Chuck Vance Gets Run Over by Orson Hodge
Chuck Vance, Breeโs brokenhearted detective ex-boyfriend, was close to solving the case of Alejandro Perezโs disappearance, which would have put Carlos, the โCore Fourโ women, and possibly several other characters in prison. However, in an effort to keep Bree out of jail, Orson ran him over with a car and killed him.
This wasnโt the first time Orson had done this. He also tried to run Mike Delfino over with a car once as well.
Mike Delfino Gets Shot by a Loan Shark
The final murder of the show is perhaps the most devastating. Mike Delfino stands up to a loan shark in an effort to defend his friends Renee Perry and Ben Faulkner. Unfortunately, after the two of them get into a fistfight, the loan shark retaliates by drive-by shooting Mike and killing him.ย
This death was so devastating because it left Susan widowed and MJ without a father. Plus, Mike was a pretty likable character that never really stirred up unnecessary drama on Wisteria Lane.