Cheryl Lodge (Murder, She Wrote)

Cheryl Lodge (Stacey Nelkin) is the hidden main villainess from "Reflections of the Mind," episode 2.06 of Murder, She Wrote (airdate November 3, 1985). She is the daughter of Francesca Lodge and the stepdaughter to Francesca's second husband, Scott Lodge.
Cheryl's past revealed that as a teenager, she had a wild streak which was calmed down by Victor March, who was counseling Francesca in the episode. Though she claimed to be saved from that lifestyle, Cheryl had secretly longed to relive her wild years again, which included a relationship with singer Carter Todd, who worked as the family's gardener under the name Carl. To obtain her goal, Cheryl needed access to her inheritance, but knowing that she'd have to wait until the age of 35 to gain her money, she colluded with Carl in a murderous scheme.
As part of her plan, the evil Cheryl laced a bottle of gin with tranquilizers, which incapacitated both her mother and stepfather, with the latter being knocked out while driving and ended up going over a cliff to his death. As for Francesca, she simply fainted, but before that, the villainess enlisted Carl to pose as Francesca's late husband (Cheryl's father) and appear to Francesca in a plan to destroy her sanity and have her committed. The plan also included playing recordings and placing a dead bird in the cage to make Francesca believe that her bird died, only to place the living bird back in the cage.
After Jessica found evidence of the scheme, she and Sheriff Bodine worked together to catch Cheryl and Carl, with the latter falling for the trap and believing that Scott had faked his death. In a frantic panic, Cheryl revealed that she was trying to kill Scott, only for Carl to emerge and reveal himself as Cheryl's lover/accomplice. After Bodine crashes through the window and holds the couple at gunpoint, both Cheryl and Carl ended up arrested (off-screen).
Category:1980s
Category:Brunette
Category:Callous
Category:Conspirator
Category:Deceiver
Category:Greedy
Category:Live Action Villainess
Category:Murder: Poison
Category:Murderer
Category:Villain's Lover
Category:Villainous Reveal
Category:Fate: Arrested