I'm reading some old stuff on SODs' and I have to admit that I am rather confused over the Brownstone murder mystery fall 1985 early 1986: can someone explain the storyline to me?

It's funny that both ATWT and GH had their probably most complex murder mysteries (Marie Kovac's murder and Doug Cummings as Kim's secret admirer on ATWT) at the same time.

I'm reading some old stuff on SODs' and I have to admit that I am rather confused over the Brownstone murder mystery fall 1985 early 1986: can someone explain the storyline to me?

It's funny that both ATWT and GH had their probably most complex murder mysteries (Marie Kovac's murder and Doug Cummings as Kim's secret admirer on ATWT) at the same time.

The Laurelton story got me back into GH in the mid-80s. It was a confusing story, but it was hot on the heels of David Groh's vile "D L Brock" (Bobbie's abusive husband) and introduced Lucy Coe to the show in one of the most fabulous reveals every (mousy librarian becomes sex pot before our eyes).

In reading the 1985/1986 material, I am struck by how much I enjoyed it! So many classic characters introduced (Robin! Sean!). Although GH was already in descent by this period, this time before Claire Labine's arrival was still pretty good in places. But I also see that by 1987 (when my life got pretty busy) I had lost interest, and no interest in the tale of Duke Lavery and all the nonsense that followed.

From this starting link, if you read forward, you'll get the story. I've extracted a few beats here:

Link1

1985

Bobbie Brock and Jake Meyer , platonic friends, bought a Brownstone on Elm Street. They began to assemble tenants for their new dwelling. Among them were Bobbie's stepdaughter, Terry Brock and young Dr. Kevin O'Connor. Kevin and Terry were both from the same hometown -- Laurelton, and they were obviously more than just passing acquaintances. These two youngsters shared a secret past!

The Brownstone gang got along splendidly except for three tenants -- Dr. Kevin O'Connor, his brother Patrick and Terry Brock. Terry had been involved in a long-ago scandal in their hometown of Laurelton. In late fall, Terry's grandmother, Jennifer Talbot arrived in Port Charles, accompanied by her affable lawyer, Ted Holmes. Soon after, a young man was found murdered in the Brownstone - with a sleep-walking Terry, holding a knife, standing over him.

1986

The mysterious murder inside the Brownstone sent shock waves through Port Charles. The victim turned out to be Kevin and Patrick's cousin, Neil Johnson, a man they had not seen in years. Another body, the strangled corpse of Neil's uncle, Earl Moody was soon discovered. Under the influence of truth serum, Terry revealed that she had been banished from Laurelton three years ago because of an incident involving a boy. As Terry got closer to the truth, her worried grandmother, Jennifer, dissuaded her from continuing therapy. For comfort during this stressful period, Terry turned to Kevin, who proposed marriage.

Terry received a chilly greeting from the people of Laurelton when she returned home for her wedding and began having horrible flashbacks. Tormented by her memories, Terry was unable to make love to her new husband on their wedding night. As Kevin kissed and seduced Terry, memories of Patrick seducing her in a sleazy motel room came flooding back.

Frisco Jones became a police officer. While out on police academy maneuvers, Frisco and his blond and curvaceous partner, Samantha Welles, discovered a corpse. The dead body was Terry's grandmother, Jennifer Talbot! When Jennifer's will revealed that Kevin was left half her estate, Anna felt certain she had a motive to arrest Kevin O'Connor for murder! Kevin claimed to have been in the medical reference library at the time of the murder. Only one person could verify his claim -- a mousy librarian by the name of Lucy Coe. With her hair pulled back into a tight, matronly bun, Lucy took the stand and promptly denied seeing Kevin on the morning of Jennifer Talbot's murder! "That's a lie!" screamed Kevin, rising from his seat to attack the witness. Frisco discovered critical evidence -- Lucy's sexy love poems to Kevin, one of which he stole and brought back to Kevin's lawyer, Jake Meyer. Upon reading Lucy's erotic poems, Jake realized he might have what he needed to solve the case.

Back in court, Lucy listened nervously as Jake pulled out a sheet of lilac-scented paper and begins to recite Lucy's love poem. Horrified, the lovelorn librarian's composure crumbled as she told the packed courtroom that she'd "lied about everything!" She claimed that she wanted to get even with Kevin for marrying Terry.

Finally, Lucy admitted that she saw Kevin in the library on the morning of the murder. Lucy's revealing testimony saved Kevin's hide. He breathed a huge sigh of relief when the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty." Charged with perjury, the court slapped Lucy's hand and gave her a sentence involving community service. Then one day, Lucy came home to her neat-as-a-pin cottage and let her hair down! In an amazing transformation from spinster to sex pot, Lucy whipped off her cardigan and tailored blouse, then slithered into a pair of black lace stockings, spike-heeled shoes and a slinky slip of an outfit. She awaited the arrival of her mystery man. The doorbell rang, and Lucy planted a white-hot kiss on the lips of her lover -- Kevin! Her courtroom antics were part of an elaborate ruse designed to set Kevin free! Kevin plotted to kill Terry on their honeymoon in Catalina.

Hot on the case, Frisco engaged in an underwater battle with Kevin that left him hospitalized. Kevin took Terry to the edge of a cliff. Racing to Terry's aid, Jake seized hold of Kevin and a vicious struggle followed. Out of the blue, Terry appeared behind Kevin and struck him with a boulder, sending him sprawling over the edge of the cliff. Kevin was dead -- killed by Terry's own hand! However, Jake persuaded her to let him take the responsibility.

Lucy wrote a juicy book about her relationship with a murderer. She planned to get rich from her tell-all tome! Still looking for love, Lucy ingratiated herself to Patrick O'Connor who was confused and troubled by his late brother's string of cold-blooded murders. Like many others who failed to see Lucy's true colors, Patrick believed that she was sincere in her desire to atone for her past mistakes. Little did they know that the lusty Lucy was just beginning to spin manipulative webs around the people of Port Charles!

Thank you: this is more or less that I knew about the story. I don't understand why Kevin killed Neil Johnson, Earl Moody and Jennifer Tablot. What was the secret Jennifer wanted Terry not to remind?

Thank you: this is more or less that I knew about the story. I don't understand why Kevin killed Neil Johnson, Earl Moody and Jennifer Tablot. What was the secret Jennifer wanted Terry not to remind?

Well, the SECRET (which is what I found compelling) turned out to be a red herring, not really tied to the murders.

The secret was really only relevant from the small-town hyper-Christian (never called that) morality of Laurelton:

From this link:

The victim of the brownstone murder turned out to be Neil Johnson, a cousin of Kevin and Patrick's. Bobbie and Jake Meyer headed to Laurelton to get some clues on the murder and Terry's mysterious background. Kevin and Terry became engaged and Terry started remembering something about a Valentine's Day dance. While hypnotized it was discovered that while at the dance she drank some spiked punch and went to a hotel room with Patrick. She paraded down main street stark naked.

So, that is what led people to think that crazy TERRY was the murderer...because she had been "crazy" all those years before.

In the end, though, Kevin was really just trying to frame others (Terry--whom he eventually married and wanted to kill; brother Patrick) for the murders. Why? Because it would make him heir apparent to the "Purity Water" fortune. It was this prospect for richness that was Lucy's attraction to Kevin (besides his smoking bod). I forget if the plan was to get Patrick sent to prison (so Kevin would inherit) or to get Terry to kill Patrick.

This was such a disconnect from Terry's introduction as the spoiled daughter of wife beater D L Brock. The small town stuff came much later.

SOD/SOW decried that story even then as too long lasting and too convoluted. I guess that was true, in retrospect, but I sure loved it. I had left GH after Laura Weber followed David Gray into the fog, and I stayed away (more or less) until the Laurelton murders. That held me for a year (I went back to daily taping), but as soon as the murder was over, I lost interest. I think when Blackie Parrish left and went to prison (that must have happened shortly after) I was gone too. I stopped taping it, and only kept track from a distance.

Bobbie and Jake couldn't get anything out of the tight-lipped residents of Laurelton but the two fell in love. They did find out about another murder, however; that of Earl Moody, Kevin and Patrick's uncle. Moody was a major stock holder in Purity Water Company and now the stock belonged to Patrick. Patrick became the prime suspect. When Terry remembered Earl Moody's dead body falling on her at the town hall, she soon became the prime suspect.

Jennifer Talbot was murdered and Kevin was suspected when a witness testified to seeing him with Jennifer the day she died. Kevin swore he was innocent and enlisted the aid of his lover, librarian turned nympho, Lucy Coe, to be his alibi.

Terry remembered that Kevin murdered Earl and he whisked her off to Catalina Island for a "honeymoon." He tried to get her to kill herself, but she was rescued by Jake, Anna and Frisco. Kevin fell to his death when Terry knocked him on the head with a rock. Jake testified that Kevin fell in a struggle.

Thank you so much ! The story is so complex that I felt lost. That's clearer now. But wow, this is probably the most weird murder mystery in soap history.

IMO worst story from the classic GH period, and may be the story that ended the classic period prematurely. It went on forever, it was about a town not PC, there were just structural problems with it, beyond the two years of Bobbie pleading "Terri, what is it?!?"

I know this was towards the end of Gloria Monty's run.

Was the headwriter Ann Howard Bailey or Pat Falken Smith/Norma Monty?

I'm quite sure I read something about Pat Falken Smith being HW of Ryan's Hope in one these issues so I guess Anne Howard Bailey was still headwriting and Gloria Monty producing.

I'm quite sure I read something about Pat Falken Smith being HW of Ryan's Hope in one these issues so I guess Anne Howard Bailey was still headwriting and Gloria Monty producing.

I'd love to know, if someone can confirm EP and HW.

In retrospect, it reminds me a lot of LML on Y&R...terrific, attention-getting setup...and horrible, confusing execution.

Mind you, what an interesting pay-off. The mousy librarian who inadvertently gets Kevin off the hook -- revealed to be a conniving, sexy minx!

Don't mind me, I just love Lynn Herring.

I think I may have an episode of this storyline on tape. I found it a few years back at my grandmother's house.

I didn't watch GH back then, I was way too young, but I believe the episode has the characters Terry and Kevin getting married. There was a lot of location shoots and many PC residents were in Laurelton for the wedding (Frisco, Felicia, Bobbie, Anna, etc.) It was a pretty confusing episode and I didn't understand what was going on. I'm pretty sure it's related to this story, so if anyone wants the credits or any other info, let me know.

Edited June 30, 200817 yr by AddictedToSoaps

I would like the credits, thank you!

Mind you, what an interesting pay-off. The mousy librarian who inadvertently gets Kevin off the hook -- revealed to be a conniving, sexy minx!

Don't mind me, I just love Lynn Herring.

The reveal of "the real" Lucy Coe was definitely the highlight that I remember.

Sure, the Laurelton mystery was a clunker that you had to have a degree in rocket science to figure out...but in hindsight most of the action/adventure storylines on GH post Laura's original departure in 1982 were also.

However, credit must be given to Gloria Monty and the talented ensemble cast of the early-late 80's. Even when the action stories seemed to make no sense and/or became convoluted, GH was still a great show to watch. This was due to three important elements: the superb production values that were hands down far above anything else in daytime; the fast-pace of the storytelling that made one have to watch daily so as not to miss any of the action that usually always resulted in a wallop of a climax; and most importantly characters who for the most part was strongly written with clear motivations and identities, heroes and heroines the audience could identify with and root for, characters played by capable and engaging actors able to make connections with the audience.

For example, the Laurelton mystery kept me guessing daily about what in the hell was going on, but it wasn't a feeling of frustration and despair and the urge to just turn the channel (as one feels watching the present-day version of GH). The various beats of the story were able to hook viewers, and sure enough at the tale's climax the show treated the audience to a gorgeous and action-packed location shoot that ended with Kevin taking a nasty plunge off a cliff on Catalina Island.

Even though the emphasis of the show at the time was on action and adventure, the hospital itself was always front and center, and it was Monty's golden rule the action was never to get in the way of what the audience truly wanted: romance.

I would like the credits, thank you!

Here you go. I believe this episode aired on Tueday, February 18, 1986.

Created By

Frank and Doris Hursley

Executive Producer

Gloria Monty

Directed By

Marlena Laird

Remote Material Directed By

Gloria Monty & Marlena Laird

Written By

Pat Falken Smith

Norma Monty

With

James E. Reilly

Patrick Smith

Maralyn Thoma

And

Robert Guza, Jr.

Doris Silverton

Robert Soderberg

Story Consultant

A.J. Russell

Coordinating Producers

Jerry Balme

Joe Willmore

Location Material Taped In

Charleston, So. Carolina

GENERAL

HOSPITAL

Copyright 1986 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

All Rights Reserved