Who really killed Heather on The Young and the Restless

On The Young and the Restless, Heather Stevens (Vail Bloom) tragically died one night in September when she was struck on the back of the head with a heavy object in her home.

Since then, viewers and Genoa City residents have been wondering what really happened that night. We only know what we've been shown, and there have been little to no clues outside of what we have seen with our own eyes. But what if the answer to the mystery is more obvious than we thought?

The Young and the Restless Murder Mystery

Since the moment we knew that Heather had died, there was one surefire suspect: Sharon Newman. Sharon had spent weeks before Heather's death accosting the Romalotti family in public, was off her meds, and was hallucinating on a near-daily basis.

Sharon was in the Romalotti apartment because she had tried to poison a bottle of whiskey in hopes of killing Daniel. In a lucid moment, Sharon had a change of heart and returned to the apartment to dump out the bottle. However, Heather came home, saw that Sharon had broken in, and they argued.

When Heather prevented Sharon from leaving and wanted to call the police, Sharon physically attacked Heather. Sharon then went blurry-eyed, and the last thing she saw was Heather crawling backward into the back of the sofa, looking scared. When Sharon awoke on the couch, Heather's body was in a different spot, sprawled on the floor with a fatal head wound.

Sharon wrapped up the body, carted it down to her vehicle, and drove to a bridge where she dumped it into a river. She returned to the apartment to clean up the mess, taking bloody towels, Heather's purse, and her phone. She later returned to frame Daniel by planting the evidence back in the apartment.

The lingering doubt that it was Sharon is because of one factor that only the viewers (and potentially, the real killer) know is that Sharon does not remember actually killing Heather. She stood with her back to the door and later woke up on the couch. Heather had died at some point between those two moments.

Possible suspects of Heather's murder

Sharon Newman: The time frame that Sharon does not remember could very well be filled with memories of her killing Heather. That has yet to happen, but it is not impossible.

Daniel Romalotti: Daniel was definitely framed by Sharon, and although the D.A. thinks he's the most likely suspect, Daniel did have an alibi (or three) the night that Heather died. Unless the text Heather supposedly wrote to her dad (claiming that she was afraid of Daniel's temper) was a well-hidden secret all these years, nobody in Genoa City seems to think that Daniel is capable of such an act.

Sheila Carter: Okay, so we're used to blaming things like murders on Sheila Carter, but she's a busy and presumably happy newlywed on The Bold and the Beautiful and doesn't have a motive here.

Daisy Carter: Some fans suggested that the real killer would turn out to be Daisy, Lucy's biological mother. For that to happen, Daisy's back story would need to be brought up and explained. With Lucy currently out of town with Danny, there isn't a focus on Lucy's connection to Daisy (or her grandma, Sheila Carter), but that doesn't mean it can't happen. It's unlikely at this point, but not impossible.

Lucy Romalotti: Sharon wasn't the only one acting hostile towards Heather in the weeks before she died. Lucy had been drinking and verbally attacking Heather about everything from not being able to hang out with Faith Newman to being offered a family vacation. Lucy was flip-flopping between a spoiled brat and a rebellious teen quicker than her hormones could handle, but that doesn't make her a killer. Lucy was with Daniel the night that Heather died; they were one another's alibis for part of the evening. If she were guilty, it would mean he was, too, and they covered for one another. At this point, we're going to rule out that possibility.

Someone with a grudge: Heather put away a lot of criminals behind bars; surely there's someone out there with a vendetta. Christine noted that the ones most likely or capable are still incarcerated. But that doesn't mean they couldn't have hired someone. However, given the info we've been shown, that scenario would be better suited if she had been handling a nefarious case that endangered her life trying to prosecute someone. Since Heather was unemployed, that doesn't add up.

Someone she knew: When she had last seen Daniel, Heather had mentioned that she had a meeting with an old colleague, and she was hoping he could help her find new work. We didn't know his name or see their meeting, and we know that she made it home after. The only possibility here is that the guy had some reason to follow her home, possibly attack her, and bolt after killing her. Since neither he nor their meeting has been mentioned since her death, we'll rule it out.

What are the chances it's someone we know

The frustration for viewers (and some GC residents) has been in handling Heather's case. Immediately upon hearing of Heather's death, Chance called the police station and had a former colleague share what he knew. Of course, he only knew that Heather's body had been found in the river and that an autopsy had been requested. Chance thought that was disturbing news, so he told Phyllis and then raced over to Daniel's to tell him. Daniel had just come home from identifying Heather's body and had just told Lucy her mom was dead when Chance unnecessarily insisted on sharing what he deemed would be disturbing information.

Within the hour, Chance rejoined the police force and asked to be assigned as the case's lead (and only) detective. He then spent all of his time at Daniel's, suggesting — without evidence — that Heather had a lover who might have murdered Heather for some unknown reason. Daniel was struggling enough and asked him to stop. Still, Chance repeatedly insisted that his theory was correct, based on nothing.

Chance insisted that he wanted to search the apartment, but Lucy had just found out her mother had died, and it didn't really make sense at that point. Chance wanted to find evidence of a lover, or rather, as he put it, he wanted to find something that would prove whether or not Heather had a secret boyfriend. Why would he be drilling that into Daniel's mind while he was trying to process that Heather had even died? It hadn't even been 24 hours when Chance was constantly in Daniel's ear with his unfounded theory.

Chance has tunnel vision

It's been frustrating to watch Chance's handling of the case, especially when people comment how good he is at his job. Is he actually as good as they say, or is there something else going on?

If anything, Chance has been mishandling the case since he requested to be on it. He ignored Daniel's alibis, seemed to be telling Daniel theories and facts only to upset him, and glared at Daniel as though he secretly suspected him from minute one.

Chance has dismissed Sharon's lies, her behavior, and everyone's concerns about her mental state, including the attacks she made on Heather. Sharon even placed herself at the scene of the crime and was the last person known to see Heather alive. However, Chance had one conversation with Sharon and didn't even get a written statement. Was any of that information shared with the D.A.? Or did Chance position the information like Daniel was and could only be the sole suspect in the case?

Clearly, some effort went into the writing of this storyline, but was it really intentional to have Chance be this clueless, or did he quickly take down Daniel because he himself has something to hide? He had a history with Heather — something he wanted Lucy to know the moment her mother died. And when he was searching the apartment, he stopped to stare rather intently at a picture of Heather and Daniel. Was there more going on there than we realized? Did Chance have a bone to pick with Daniel for being with Heather?

On the surface, it may not make sense to consider Chance a suspect, but there is nothing rational about his handling of the case, either. We're watching him ignore the obvious that is right in front of him regarding Sharon — or is it us who are doing that with Chance?

Sure, it's soapland, but too many details have lost their definite distinction solely because Chance refuses to consider any possibility other than Daniel.

Then again, we can't rule out the possibility that Sharon hasn't woken up yet and that this is all just another one of her dreams.

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