Stefano DiMera’s Bones Were Buried In His Own Crypt for Years on Days! Why Didn’t Anyone Look There?!

APPARENTLY, THE DIMERA FAMILY HAS A LACK OF BRAIN CELLS! DEAR OLD DADDY WAS BENEATH THEIR FEET!

TL;DR: Rafe confirms the bones found in the DiMera crypt belong to Stefano DiMera on Days of Our Lives. The Phoenix has been buried under his own family’s feet for years and not ONE of his genius children thought to look. Now EJ is sliding daddy’s ring onto his finger while Kristen refuses his sympathy and wants to join forces with Rafe Hernandez to bring him down.

The Phoenix Was Never Missing After All

Someone needs to explain how an entire family of criminal masterminds managed to miss the fact that their patriarch was buried in their own basement for ages.

On Tuesday’s Days of Our Lives, Rafe Hernandez finally delivers the DNA results everyone has been waiting for. Those mysterious bones Theo discovered while being held captive in the DiMera crypt? They belong to Stefano DiMera. He was RIGHT THERE the whole time.

Let’s be clear about what happened. The DiMera family has held secret meetings in that mansion. They’ve schemed and plotted and betrayed each other in rooms directly above their father’s final resting place. It’s’s a CRYPT, after all! But not ONE of them thought to check whether dear old dad might be chilling under the dirt?

Have theories about who buried Stefano DiMera and why? Write to our editor at amber@soapoperamagazine.com with your wildest speculation!

EJ Is Already Claiming the Throne

The newly discovered body – and who knows if it’s intact – isn’t even properly buried yet and EJ is already positioning himself as the new head of the family. According to spoilers, he’ll be sliding Stefano’s iconic ring onto his finger soon and declaring that the House of DiMera will not fall in short order. Nice try, Elvis!

Kristen DiMera was more specific when she learned the news. Before laughing maniacally, she said, “So, I killed Peter with my father’s femur!?”

Give the writers an award for THAT beauty.

Stefano DiMera, The Phoenix, built an empire on manipulation combined with charm, devilish possessions, and sheer force. EJ seems to desperately want to walk in daddy’s talons. After all, he’s spent the last several months managing a secret lab with Gwen. But try as he might, these are not the same skill sets daddy employed.

Kristen Wants Nothing to Do With EJ’s Sympathy

When EJ attempts to comfort Kristen over their father’s confirmed death, she shuts him down completely. And she has every right to be furious.

Kristen just lost her brother Peter. Her daughter Rachel is currently in Bayview, where she’s eating evidence. Literally. And now she has to process that the father, who favored her, has been dead and buried for years. After learning the truth, she admits she loves him as much as she hates him.

The last thing Kristen needs is sympathy from the brother she blames for Rachel’s breakdown. EJ pushed for Rachel to face consequences after the shooting incident. He didn’t protect his niece. And now he wants to play the role of a comforting sibling? We think not. So she talks to Rafe Hernandez about bringing EJ down.

Who Actually Buried Stefano DiMera?

What nobody seems to be asking on Days of Our Lives: if Stefano has been dead this whole time, WHO put his body in the crypt?

Peter Blake held the family hostage in that exact same location. He clearly knew the layout of those tunnels. Did Peter bury his adoptive father years ago and keep it secret? Was this some twisted form of revenge against the siblings?

Or did someone else take control? Someone like Vivian Alamain, who is the queen of burying people, both dead and very much alive. These folks are notorious for keeping secrets.

The Phoenix was famous for rising from the ashes. But this time, there’s no coming back. Or is there?! For now, Stefano DiMera is confirmed dead, and someone in his own family made sure he stayed buried without a funeral. That’s not just neglect. That’s a statement.

The DiMera Legacy Just Got a Lot More Complicated

With Stefano’s death now official, the family can finally have him declared legally deceased. This means inheritance claims, power struggles, and countless new schemes about to launch simultaneously.

EJ wants to lead. Kristen wants revenge. Chad wants to protect his children from the family’s darker impulses. And somewhere in that mansion, Dimitri is still lurking with his fabulous hair, and waiting to stake his own claim to the von Leuschner fortune that’s tangled up with DiMera money.

The bones in the crypt were supposed to provide closure. Instead, they’ve opened up an entirely new chapter of family warfare. Stefano, and his femur, would surely be proud.

Do you think EJ deserves to wear Stefano’s ring? Drop your hottest takes in the comments!

WATCH THIS: Dear DAYS, let us have nice things…

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