During her original run on Days of our Lives in 2008, Tamara Braun’s alter ego crammed a decade’s worth of havoc into an eventful six-month span. Heck, the gig even earned her a Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2009. During her 2015 run on the soap, she created even more trouble, resulting in her ultimate murder at the hands of Steve and Kayla’s teenage son, Joey. Here are 5 things to know about the crazy and vengeful Ava Vitali.

1. Fatal Attraction

Sheltered Ava fell hard for Steve — the man she knew as Patch — when her late father, Martino, hired him to work for “the family.” The duo dated and planned to marry, but the DiMeras abducted Patch on the day of their wedding. A brokenhearted Ava fell into a state of despair and was diagnosed with a psychotic disorder. Despite medication and therapy, she’s remained obsessed with the man that got away. Over the years, she’s held Patch hostage, drugged him, and even blackmailed him into sleeping with her.

2. She Inadvertently Killed Shawn Brady, Sr.

Ava first surfaced in Ireland, where she was stalking Patch. To delay his trip back to Salem with the Brady family, she arranged for his plane to be tampered with. Unfortunately, the flight still took off, but developed serious problems mid-air. It ultimately crashed, killing three passengers. One of them was Brady patriarch, Shawn.

3. The Enemy Is Kayla

When it comes to getting what she wants, Patch; Ava sees one obstacle in her way, Kayla. She considers her “the enemy.” Ava has made it clear in the past that she’ll do anything and use anyone — all in the name of getting back what is rightfully hers. When she resurfaced in 2015, Steve and Kayla’s unsuspecting son Joey got tangled up in Ava’s web. Ava used him to help reunite the couple, so she could ultimately break them apart. She ultimately took Kayla hostage and locked her away. Then, she blackmailed Steve into having sex with her in exchange for revealing Kayla’s whereabouts. When Kayla learned what Steve had done, she was furious at him, exactly as Ava had planned.

4. A Fling with John

There was another Salem man in Ava’s life at one point: John! The pair met, when John was suffering from amnesia, had separated from Marlena, and believed he was the love child of Colleen Brady and Santo DiMera. Ava encouraged him to embrace his new life as a DiMera and take over the family empire. The power play was a turn on for Ava, and she and John became lovers.

5. The Fugitive

Ava’s attempt to move on with her life was foiled, when she faced charges for causing the aforementioned plane crash that claimed three lives. Her lawyer, EJ, delivered the bad news that the judge presiding over her trial couldn’t be bribed. Hence, she would most likely be convicted of the crime. Unable to face a future in jail, Ava jumped bail and left the country.