Who's the Wisteria Lane Strangler?

[Brian Damage]

Desperate Housewives’ Wisteria Lane hasn’t been this dangerous since Nicollette Sheridan was on the prowl! In addition to Rex Van De Kamp’s creepy illegitimate son, Sam, and Danny Bolen’s psychotic biological father, Patrick, we’re about to learn the identity of the Fairview Strangler, who killed a coffeehouse barista and tried to off Susan’s daughter, Julie, at the start of the season. One of the six suspects below will be revealed as the serial killer in the April 18 episode, when another familiar face is strangled to death. “I thought we could have some fun if the audience knew who the killer was before the rest of the people on Wisteria Lane,” says creator Marc Cherry, who will resolve the story line in May’s season finale—but not before one of our four Housewives’ lives is placed in peril.

Suspect No. 1
Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan), Bree’s bitter husband
“All the women who have been attacked thus far have been redheads, and another girl with red hair will soon go missing,” says Cherry, who had Andrea Bowen dye her hair red before returning as Julie. Could this be the result of Orson’s subliminal anger toward Bree, the reddest redhead of all? Interesting that the strangulations stopped just before Orson was plowed down by a plane at the neighborhood Christmas party and confined to a wheelchair. Is he faking paralysis?

Suspect No. 2
Roy Bender (Orson Bean), Karen McCluskey’s feisty fiancé
The guy’s 81, yet Cherry says, “He is still an incredibly vital man with an eye for the ladies.” But would Cherry seriously load more heartache onto Mrs. McCluskey after her cancer diagnosis?

Suspect No. 3
Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany), Fairview’s AWOL lipstick lesbian
She started the season as a self-hating redhead who stabbed herself to frame Mike before heading to the loony bin. But Katherine seemed to recover (and Delany’s now off the show), though Cherry hints, “We may have shot something before she left.”

Suspect No. 4
Eddie Orlofsky (Josh Zuckerman), the Scavo twins’ goofy friend
The red hair vendetta could in some twisted way relate to the popular Scavo boys. Plus, says Cherry, “Eddie may have resentment against pretty girls who turn him down.”

Suspect No. 5
Dave Williams (Neal McDonough), Edie Britt’s deranged husband
Cherry says one of the suspects is a regular from last season. Though not naming Dave specifically, the exec has previously stated that he’d like to bring back this villain who once plotted to kill Susan’s family. “I might want to wrap up some unfinished business with a character who we didn’t kill, but has plenty of resentment against people on the Lane.”

Suspect No. 6
Someone Who Has Only Been Referenced
Cherry suggests several possibilities, including someone Katherine befriended at her mental institution. He promises, “It would be a total surprise to the audience but would make sense once that person was revealed.”