The evil Susanna Williams (aka Kate Dunham)
Susanna Williams, aka Katherine "Kate" Dunham (Jillian Murray), is the main villainess from the 2022 Lifetime film, Killer Stepmom (airdate January 7, 2022).
Backstory[]
Kate Dunham's backstory revealed that she was married to businessman Robert Kulzer, who was a scam artist and embezzler--having conspired with business partner Roxanne O'Neil in running a Ponzi scheme. Regarding Kate, she benefitted greatly from her husband's scams, and she kept her maiden name in her marriage to avoid legal trouble from her husband's criminal activities. However, when Robert's schemes were exposed, Robert committed suicide in response to facing prison time, and as for Roxanne, she spent several years in prison.
As for Kate, she became distraught over Robert's suicide, which was committed while she was pregnant, with the stress leading to a miscarriage. She later found out that his company was bought by Daniel Williams at an auction, and afterwards, Kate changed her name to Susanna Lancaster and tracked Daniel, starting a relationship that led to the renamed Susanna becoming his second wife.
Events[]
However, Susanna's marriage was part of her sinister plan to enact revenge on Daniel's family, namely his ex-wife, Annie O'Dowd. Her introduction saw Susanna display a friendly demeanor towards Daniel's teenage daughter, Brianna Williams, but while they were out shopping, the pair was encountered by Randy McNabb, who called her "Kate," only for Susanna to deny knowing him and claim to Brianna that she was on the receiving end of flirtation. Later on, Brianna spotted Susanna and Randy arguing, as Randy was a private investigator sent by Roxanne to look for Kate, as well as Daniel's stash of money.
Later that evening, Brianna tracked Susanna to a meeting with Randy, where Susanna bludgeoned Randy to death and buried him in cement. Brianna escaped back to her bedroom to avoid being caught by Susanna, who continued being friendly to her stepdaughter to cover up her true identity as a murderess. Brianna's attempts to tell her parents was met with disbelief, though Annie started to suspect that something was off about Susanna. After being told about Randy and learning his identity, Annie went with Brianna to a private investigation firm, where Melody revealed his connection to Kate, whose full name was learned by Annie. After Annie confronted Daniel with the truth about his current wife, Susanna revealed that she was once known as Kate Dunham, but she changed her name to escape her abusive ex-husband.
Later on, the evil Susanna strangled Melody to death outside the agency, and later sabotaged the wiring at the strip mall so she could cause a fire. The villainess also broke into Annie's home and drugged Annie's coffee grounds, leading to Annie nearly being killed while driving once she felt the effects.
Climax & Arrest[]
The film's climax saw Susanna continue her plan to kill Annie, doing so by paying her henchman to carry out the murder and portray it as a home invasion, only for the hired hitman to be taken down by both Annie and her boyfriend, Howie. As for Susanna, she later drugged Daniel and tracked Brianna to the scene of Randy's murder, where she drugged Brianna with a sedative and revealed her plans to portray her stepdaughter as a distraught teen who overdosed and caused Annie to do the same. The deranged villainess searched for Brianna after she escaped, only to be interrupted by her phone ringing, and later expressed shock to hear Annie on the other end.
As Annie checked on her daughter, she asked Susanna for a motive, with Susanna revealing her entire backstory regarding her past husband's crimes and suicide, while also revealing her miscarriage and Annie's family buying Robert's business as motive for her villiainous vendetta. Susanna blamed Annie for destroying her family, and stated that she was returning the favor by taking everything from Annie--including Brianna. The mention of Brianna led to Annie fighting back against Susanna, with the scuffle ending with Annie knocking out Susanna. The villainess ended up arrested, and the final scene showed Susanna in prison being confronted by Roxanne and a pair of inmates.
Trivia[]
- Jillian Murray also played psychotic villainess Alexis Sawyer in 2018's A Dangerous Date, as well as the evil Hailey Michaels in 2021's Deadly Dating Game.
Gallery[]
