How Many People Has Nikki Newman Killed On The Young And The Restless?
Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) is widely considered to be one of the pillars of "The Young and the Restless." Her epic marriage to business titan Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) is one of the greatest love stories told by the soap, and the couple is widely respected by the majority of their community. Beyond her marriage to Victor, Nikki has also cemented herself as a power player in business. Her current title is the Chief Operating Officer at Newman Enterprises under her daughter Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle).
However, Nikki wasn't always the upstanding member of society she is now. Viewers first met Nikki as a wayward stripper from the other side of the tracks who was "saved" partly by Paul Williams (Doug Davidson) and Victor, who helped shape her into who she is today. Typically, Nikki is written as a fierce mother to Victoria and Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect them from harm.
Despite Nikki's obvious charms and standing within the community, she's left behind a staggering trail of bodies throughout her many decades on the show. Nikki is tied to a slew of deaths, even if they aren't all entirely her fault. Whether it be circumstances beyond her control or the result of her struggle with alcoholism, Nikki has a body count higher than most in Genoa City. Nikki was only a child when she claimed her first "victim" — something most people would never suspect.
Nikki accidentally killed her childhood friend Joshua Cassen
It's important to note that Nikki Newman isn't a villain, and she's not a cold-blooded killer either. Under no circumstance will Nikki ever be compared to the likes of Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown), whose reign of terror has lasted over three decades on "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful."
Regardless, Nikki didn't recall her first brush with murder until well into her adulthood when she experienced flashbacks of playing with a childhood friend, Joshua Cassen, at five years old. Like something out of a parent's worst nightmare, Nikki and Joshua encountered his father's firearm and tussled over the weapon, resulting in the little boy being shot and killed. If Joshua's death due to his and Nikki's negligence wasn't horrific enough, Nikki's actions on the day set off a chain of events that claimed the lives of many more people.
Naturally, Joshua's parents were facing tremendous grief following his death. The boy's father developed a heavy drinking problem and got behind the wheel of his vehicle, crashing the car and killing both himself and Joshua's mother. At age five, Nikki's body count had already reached three, but that number was destined to grow much larger.
Nikki killed her father Nick Reed in self-defense
Unlike Joshua Cassen's death, the next person in Nikki's life who suffered a murderous fate seemed to have it coming. Nikki Newman's father, Nick Reed (Quinn Redeker), suffered from alcoholism and, as a result, did horrible things to those around him. After years of enduring Nick's torture and abuse, things finally came to a head between him and Nikki.
Nick Reed had a history of abusing her other daughter, Casey Reed (Roberta Leighton). When Nikki discovered his heinous actions, he turned his attention to her and made her his next target. One night shortly after Nikki arrived in Genoa City, Nick took things further than ever before when he attempted to sexually assault her while in a drunken stupor. Despite being battered and bloody, Nikki hit her father over the head with a lamp, killing him. She later went on trial for Nick's murder even though it was clearly an act of self-defense committed under duress.
Luckily, Nikki didn't commit any other acts of murder until she was well into her adulthood. However, her next "victim" would become the first of two that didn't actually perish from her actions, despite what they desperately tried to make her believe.
For years Nikki thought she killed Diane Jenkins
Currently on "The Young and the Restless," Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters) is a persistent thorn in Nikki Newman's side. Nikki, along with Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) and Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson), have unsuccessfully gone out of their way to drive Diane out of town and out of their lives for good. However, long before Diane came back from the dead in 2022, she was believed to have been murdered by Nikki — something that Diane and Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan) sought to.
When Diane was supposedly killed in 2011, there were multiple suspects because of how many enemies she made throughout Genoa City. However, the truth was revealed — or so they thought — when a video surfaced showing Nikki attacking the other woman in self-defense. The showdown caught on camera clearly showed Diane as the initial aggressor, attempting to inject Nikki with a syringe. Nikki was able to fend her off by picking up a nearby rock and bashing her in the head with it. Nikki once again went on trial for murder, but she was acquitted when the judge agreed it was self-defense.
It took many years before anyone learned what really happened the night of Diane's "death." In fact, it wasn't until a recent "Y&R" and "B&B" crossover episode featuring a Deacon-Nikki reunion that the truth that Diane had actually faked her death with Deacon's help was revealed.
Nikki was blamed for the death of Christine Williams' unborn baby
The next death Nikki Newman was involved in was extremely tragic, and it wasn't even remotely her fault — she was trying to do the right thing by helping a friend in need, but her good deed backfired.
Like Nikki, Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) also struggled with a drinking problem. When Nikki found him in a drunken state one night, she tried to help him by sneakily bringing him to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. However, while driving to the meeting, Neil became privy to what was going on and reacted poorly. He seized control of the vehicle in a rage, inadvertently hitting a pregnant Christine Williams (Laura Lee Bell) with the car in the process. As a result, Christine and Paul Williams lost their unborn baby, and Nikki was blamed for the incident. While it's true that she was behind the wheel, Neil was ultimately at fault for what happened. Thankfully for Nikki, Neil eventually came forward and took responsibility for the accident.
Following that situation, Nikki stayed "murder free" for a while, but once she discovered that her daughter Victoria Newman was being abused by her beau, the devoted mother decided to protect her at all costs.
Nikki thought she killed Victoria's ex-husband J.T. Hellstrom
Victoria Newman has had a troubled past with men, and even though things were looking up for her when she reconnected with her ex, J.T. Hellstrom (Thad Luckinbill), it was anything but a fairytale. Slowly but surely, J.T.'s obsession with taking down Victoria's father, Victor Newman, consumed him and became his entire identity. Unfortunately, Victoria ignored all the red flags that suggested something wasn't right.
J.T. started to abuse Victoria both verbally and physically, but she withheld the truth from her close friends and family. However, at a girl's night gone wrong, Nikki, Phyllis Summers, and Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) witnessed his abuse firsthand. Nikki reacted instinctually when she saw him attacking Victoria, picking up a fire poker from the fireplace and striking him on the head with it — seemingly killing him. Afterward, the group of women worked together to bury J.T.'s body.
J.T.'s death haunted Nikki more than the rest because he had actually survived the ordeal and was playing mind games with everyone involved — including planting the clothes he was wearing that night in Nikki's bed. That, combined with Tessa Porter (Cait Fairbanks) blackmailing her after discovering footage of the burial, Nikki became increasingly paranoid. Eventually, things went to trial, and Phyllis sold everyone out, getting a slap on the wrist while the others were sentenced to prison time.