The David Kimball Saga

The ruthless David Kimball is at the center of one of the most diabolical and murderous storylines in Y&R history. A stranger with a criminal past, David Kimball worked at Jabot Cosmetics under the unsuspecting Jill Abbott. At first, David appeared kind and good-hearted, but time would expose him for what he was, a master of manipulation with unquenchable thirst for money and blood.

Jill was attracted to the handsome David and the two began a love affair that lasted for several months. David knew that Jill was connected to the Chancellor fortune and he planned to extort the money. When Jill fired David and began a relationship with Michael Crawford, he moved on to the next Chancellor heiress, Nina. Nina eventually gave into David’s incessant courting and the two began a relationship despite opposition from Danny, Christine, and Chase. There was something strange about David that Christine could not trust and she confronted him about his sketchy ways.

When David realized that Cricket was getting in the way of his plans, he threatened to cut her face into pieces if she didn’t stay out of his business. David’s threat confirmed her suspicions and Cricket went directly to Nina to warn her of David’s cruel intentions. Nina, however, was blinded by love and refused to hear Cricket’s warnings. He signed a prenuptial agreement to prove his love to Nina and the couple married soon after. Once married, however, Nina drafted a new will and named David heir to the Chancellor fortune.

With the groundwork in place, David began the second phase of his plan. Nina created a company named David A. Kimball Investments to keep her new husband occupied. David began to have an affair with Diane, the mailroom attendant, who would later become his partner in crime. It was Diane who first discovered David Kimball’s real identity and sordid past.

While working in the mailroom, Diane read a newspaper article about a man named Tom Harper who had been accused of murdering his rich wife, Rebecca. There was a photograph of the couple and Diane noticed that Tom Harper bore a striking resemblance to David Kimball. What’s more, the brooch worn by Rebecca Harper looked exactly like the one David gave to Nina!

David tried to cover his tracks but when a friend of Rebecca’s named Vivian attempted to expose him as the killer, he had to act fast. Vivian was trying to find the brooch to prove that David murdered Rebecca. David reached her first and she was found electrocuted in her bathtub. Christine took up where she left off and began to research the origin of Nina’s brooch. While she was with Danny in New Jersey, she found the jeweler who identified the brooch as belonging to Rebecca Harper. David framed Danny for drug possession to get the couple off his tail but all charges where eventually dropped. Back at the Chancellor Estate, David was having problems with Jill and Katherine too; they were constantly discouraging Nina from letting him adopt baby Phillip.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Nina was still unsuspecting of her husband. The warnings from her friends and family started to bother her and she contemplated moving away Genoa City. Eventually Nina discovered that David had been spying on her for months. Feeling betrayed, she became suspicious and went to his office to search for clues. What she discovered was David and Diane plotting to steal her fortune. She learned that David had framed Danny and that he was planning to murder both her and her son and skip town with her money.

When David got home that night, Nina welcomed him with 5 shots in the chest. David survived the shooting and Nina was arrested for his attempted murder. Out on bail, she fled Genoa City and planned to hide out in Mexico. Christine persuaded her to return home and face the music. Nina was put on trial and found not guilty of the crime.

Meanwhile, David was in the hospital faking paralysis and waiting for the right moment to seek his revenge against Nina, Christine and Danny. He stole a body from the morgue, planted it in his hospital bed and set it on fire thereby faking his own death. He reunited with his partner in crime, Diane, and went to visit a plastic surgeon. David wanted a new identity and asked the surgeon, could you make me look like David Hasselhoff? The surgeon, however, was aware of David’s evil intentions and carved the word KILLER on his forehead instead!

David’s second attempt at disguising himself was more successful. He dyed his hair, grew a mustache, and underwent facial reconstruction to become Jim Adams. With his new look and a southern accent, David/Jim reentered Genoa City on a new mission. He married Flo, Nina’s mom, in order to get closer to his targets. Everything came to a head at Genoa City’s charity event of the year, the masquerade ball (Y&R’s most elaborate staged production to date). David/Jim copied Danny’s costume and disguised himself as a wolf (how appropriate). He waited for the right moment, drew his gun, and then shot Christine, Danny and Nina! Fortunately, his gun had been loaded with wax bullets and all three victims survived. David/Jim quickly jumped into a closet to avoid detective Paul Williams. Unfortunately for him, he had ducked into a garbage chute and was crushed to death by the compactor.