WINTER AUSTEN
FIRST APPEARANCE: March 1978
LAST APPEARANCE: June 18, 1979
PERFORMERS:
Lori Cardille (March 1978 - April 1979).
Stephanie Braxton (April - June 1979).
EXIT: Died in Monticello General Hospital after falling off a catwalk at WMON-TV.
LAST LINE: (In the hospital, begging Logan Swift to profess his love): "Please, I want to take something with me...I want those to be the last words I hear...say it...say it...say it!"
LOVERS: Logan Swift (fiance, RIP). Wade Meecham (RIP). Tank Jarvis (RIP).
OCCUPATION: Worked briefly at Bennett's department store and WMON-TV. Former star of porno film "Lacy Lady."
LEGAL HISTORY: Tried for the murder of Wade Meecham and found not guilty, even though she actually was the killer.
VILLAINOUS ACTS: Murdered Wade Meecham. Pushed Tank Jarvis to his death off a roof to keep her secret. Attempted to murder Nicole Cavanaugh.
FUN FACT: Actress Stephanie Braxton was married in real-life to Dan Hamilton, who played murder victim Wade Meecham.
WINTER QUOTE: "I couldn't believe that love could be so one-sided."
With a great name like Winter Austen, you just knew she was gonna be memorable, and we weren't disappointed. Like Laura Hillyer before her, Winter was more tragic than intentionally bad. Forced into pornography as a runaway teen, she thought she'd finally found peace and happiness in Monticello with upstanding DA Logan Swift. How quickly things change. First, Winter lost Logan to the seductive, scheming Raven... then former porn producer Wade Meecham blew into town. Wade viciously threatened to destroy Logan's political career by showing Winter's porn debut "Lacy Lady" in a local theater, blackmailed Winter into the sack, then further humiliated her by revealing that he'd secretly videotaped their sexual encounters. Winter commiserated with arsonist/porn projectionist Tank Jarvis, himself a victim of Wade's blackmail. No one in Monticello was really surprised when Wade was discovered shot to death in his residential hotel room.
In typical Edge fashion, it was poor Winter who was arrested and placed on trial for the crime, which had seemingly been committed by Tank. Things looked even worse when the prosecution received a videotape that clearly showed Winter standing over Wade's corpse only seconds after the murder. Then, just as the jury was getting ready to deliver a guilty verdict, Mike Karr noticed Winter was wearing a different kind of coat collar on the tape than eye-witnesses reported seeing. The tape was a fake. It was enough to save Winter, who was the first and only character to actually receive a "not-guilty" verdict. Of course, such a break with tradition seemed too good to be true - and it was. Imagine audience surprise when it was revealed that she and Tank had faked the tape themselves, and Winter really had murdered Wade!
In no time at all sweet, victimized Winter suddenly blossomed into a demented murderess, intent on eliminating anyone who got in her way. To keep her secret safe, she pushed Tank off a roof to his death, then stalked Nicole, who unwittingly had proof of the crime. It all came to a dramatic end at the WMON TV studio, where Winter trapped Nicole, threatening her with a preposterously large pair of scissors. The two fought on a catwalk high above the studio floor, then Winter literally went "off the edge." As she lay dying in the hospital, she told Logan she did everything for him and begged him to tell her that he loved her. He didn't... making Winter Austen the most sympathetic, tragic villainess in Edge of Night history.
FIRST APPEARANCE: March 1978
LAST APPEARANCE: June 18, 1979
PERFORMERS:
Lori Cardille (March 1978 - April 1979).
Stephanie Braxton (April - June 1979).
EXIT: Died in Monticello General Hospital after falling off a catwalk at WMON-TV.
LAST LINE: (In the hospital, begging Logan Swift to profess his love): "Please, I want to take something with me...I want those to be the last words I hear...say it...say it...say it!"
LOVERS: Logan Swift (fiance, RIP). Wade Meecham (RIP). Tank Jarvis (RIP).
OCCUPATION: Worked briefly at Bennett's department store and WMON-TV. Former star of porno film "Lacy Lady."
LEGAL HISTORY: Tried for the murder of Wade Meecham and found not guilty, even though she actually was the killer.
VILLAINOUS ACTS: Murdered Wade Meecham. Pushed Tank Jarvis to his death off a roof to keep her secret. Attempted to murder Nicole Cavanaugh.
FUN FACT: Actress Stephanie Braxton was married in real-life to Dan Hamilton, who played murder victim Wade Meecham.
WINTER QUOTE: "I couldn't believe that love could be so one-sided."
With a great name like Winter Austen, you just knew she was gonna be memorable, and we weren't disappointed. Like Laura Hillyer before her, Winter was more tragic than intentionally bad. Forced into pornography as a runaway teen, she thought she'd finally found peace and happiness in Monticello with upstanding DA Logan Swift. How quickly things change. First, Winter lost Logan to the seductive, scheming Raven... then former porn producer Wade Meecham blew into town. Wade viciously threatened to destroy Logan's political career by showing Winter's porn debut "Lacy Lady" in a local theater, blackmailed Winter into the sack, then further humiliated her by revealing that he'd secretly videotaped their sexual encounters. Winter commiserated with arsonist/porn projectionist Tank Jarvis, himself a victim of Wade's blackmail. No one in Monticello was really surprised when Wade was discovered shot to death in his residential hotel room.
In typical Edge fashion, it was poor Winter who was arrested and placed on trial for the crime, which had seemingly been committed by Tank. Things looked even worse when the prosecution received a videotape that clearly showed Winter standing over Wade's corpse only seconds after the murder. Then, just as the jury was getting ready to deliver a guilty verdict, Mike Karr noticed Winter was wearing a different kind of coat collar on the tape than eye-witnesses reported seeing. The tape was a fake. It was enough to save Winter, who was the first and only character to actually receive a "not-guilty" verdict. Of course, such a break with tradition seemed too good to be true - and it was. Imagine audience surprise when it was revealed that she and Tank had faked the tape themselves, and Winter really had murdered Wade!
In no time at all sweet, victimized Winter suddenly blossomed into a demented murderess, intent on eliminating anyone who got in her way. To keep her secret safe, she pushed Tank off a roof to his death, then stalked Nicole, who unwittingly had proof of the crime. It all came to a dramatic end at the WMON TV studio, where Winter trapped Nicole, threatening her with a preposterously large pair of scissors. The two fought on a catwalk high above the studio floor, then Winter literally went "off the edge." As she lay dying in the hospital, she told Logan she did everything for him and begged him to tell her that he loved her. He didn't... making Winter Austen the most sympathetic, tragic villainess in Edge of Night history.
Lori Cardille as Winter, jailed for the murder of Wade Meecham.
Nicole receives an anonymous poison pen letter signed in blood, while in the shadows, Winter watches. May 1979.
Armed with scissors, Winter chases Nicole onto the catwalk above the WMON-TV studio, and ones goes over the edge. June 1979.