Barbara Ryan, 1987-88
When James died (for the second time) in a fire, Barbara (Colleen Zenk Pinter, r.), Lucinda (Elizabeth Hubbard, c.) and Emily (then-Melanie Smith) were at the top of a long list of suspects in the convoluted 1987 crime. But it was Babs who had the sketchiest memories of that night. She ended up being convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1988. Luckily, Hal was so in love with her that he kept the investigation going, learning later that year that James was (of course!) still alive.

Kim and Frannie Hughes, 1986
Psycho stalker Doug Cummings (John Wesley Shipp) kidnapped his obsession, Kim (Kathryn Hays, r.). and her stepdaughter/niece, his one-time girlfriend Frannie (Julianne Moore), and took them to his childhood home in Colorado, Dream's End, where their nightmares continued. As Bob and Kevin arrived to rescue them, they heard a scream. Kim rushed into Doug's room to find him stabbed to death with a letter opener, and a distraught Frannie on the floor. Kim (thinking Frannie was guilty) told everyone that she had killed Doug, but his ex Marsha and a zealous prosecutor wouldn't let it be a case of self-defense. They convened a grand jury, where Marsha showed up, jogging Frannie's memory: Marsha had slain Doug after finding him trying to rape Frannie. Marsha was sentenced to life in prison, and Frannie was so moved by what Kim was prepared to sacrifice for her that she asked to call her Mom.

Dee Stewart, 1982-83
This photo was taken in 1980, the year John (Larry Bryggman) and Dee (Jacqueline Schultz) were married. By 1981, she had taken him to trial for marital rape, acquired a divorce and announced that she hated him so much she could "kill him right now," so it's wasn't too surprising that when John was presumed dead in 1982, Dee was arrested for the crime. As she was being brutally cross-examined on the stand in early 1983, a man stood up in the back of the courtroom and shouted at the prosecutor to stop, then ripped off his disguise — it was John!

Lisa Shea, 1970
Nasty husband No. 3 Michael Shea blackmailed Lisa (Eileen Fulton) into marrying him by threatening to expose her son Tom's (then-Peter Galman) drug habit. When Tom broke into his stepfather's office a second time to steal narcotics, Michael tried to blackmail Lisa into handing over custody of their young son, Chuckie. That night, Dr. Shea was shot and killed. Tom went to trial and refused to defend himself because he believed his mother was guilty. Tom's father, Bob (Don Hastings), was devastated when Tom was convicted of murder, but luckily he shared his woes with the right person: terminally ill patient Miss Thompson, who confessed that she was the one who had killed Michael.