I wanted a place where we could discuss the TMK without having to black bar the entire post. (It gets so wearisome typing those spoiler tags every other word.)

So here's a spoiler that is really a rumor: sources close to the set say a GH alumni has been visiting. Other sources say this alumnus is the text message killer.

Well, that was all people the web needed to start the rumor that Diago Alcazar is the TMK which doesn't work well for me so I wanted other thoughts.

Here are the suspects I know of so far:
Cooper
Logan
Weasel-diner-guy
Jerry/Craig/Morreaux
Diego

GH Police say it's Cooper, ergo ipso facto we know it cannot be him. ;o) Also since St. Jaysus is doubtful, it's doubly sure it cannot be Coop.

Current fave suspect is Logan, especially with the release of a bunch of ABC MediaNet pics which show him grappling with Lulu, then decked out cold/dead on the floor with Johnny comforting Lulu. I just don't buy it. First off, it's way too obvious. Second, I think LL3 is still Guza's end game (he wants to prove he can do a Luke/Laura better than the original ... just one more way to crap all over Genie Francis when she's not invited back to her daughter's wedding). It will all be proven a misunderstanding and Lulu will go back to Logan once she realizes she's misjudged him. (Hey, Guza's using the same thing for a Sam/Lucky reconciliation and we know he loves to regurgitate dialogue.)

Weasel-diner guy is also a bit too obvious for my taste although they've given him a motive for a lot of the killings -- Sam brushing him off when he wanted her autograph, Georgie and/or Coop getting suspicious of him. But what was his motive for Letitia? Doesn't make sense.

Jerry/Craig/Morreaux also doesn't make sense to me. They've made a long-term committment to this character and I can't see them axing him by making him the TMK. Also if he wanted Carly dead, he wouldn't have killed Letitia because he seems to be a better hitman than that (except when bouncing bullets off St. Jaysus).

Diego would have motive against a lot of these guys but since we saw his body and Sam went on trial for his murder I have a tough time believing he'll return.

My personal new fave, given the Alumni spoiler, is Diego's papa -- Ted King's Lorenzo Alcazar. First off we never saw the body which is a pretty big anvil in soapdom. Second, he has motive against nearly everyone who was killed. Letitia was probably a mistaken attempt to kill Carly -- and after all, the TMK engaged Carly on her phone time after time. Sonny has always been his enemy and what better way than to go after his wife. Alexis killed his brother, so he'd have a very strong motive for killing her. (I've always been surprised he didn't arrange an "accident" long ago.) Sam, because she thwarted him so he changed his mind (as he said in his message) but also as a way to torment Alexis -- what better way to make her suffer than to kill one of HER relatives as she did his? Emily is also a revenge killing because she's the one person Alcazar knows that Jason truly loves. Again, what better way to torment the guy who botched your own assassination? He even has a motive for Georgie since she was one of the people who tied up Alcazar's niece, Sage, (the one person HE loved before he found out about Diego) and locked her in the boathouse to be slaughtered by bloody Mary. I think it could work.

On the negative sides, it would mean Jason botched a hit and I have a tough time believing Guza would allow Jason to botch anything. Also Alcazar loved Carly, so I have a tough time believing he would have tried to kill her, even with the nasty breakup, which would make Letitia's death superfluous (unless he was trying to kidnap one of the kids or something and she prevented him). It would also make Alky a complete sociopath who targets women, which he generally didn't do previously. (Well, except kidnapping Carly to use her against Sonny.) I mean, he let Alexis live for years -- unless the strain of a botched hit and being dumped in a bog for dead made him snap, why go after her and Georgie now? Last but not least, Ted King was pretty vocal about why he left so why would he want to come back? (Although unemployment tends to temper pride.)

So that's my thoughts. If it's a straight sociopath, my money's on diner-boy because he doesn't need motive. If they're motive-driven killings, my money's on Papa Alky.

I've long believed that Jason intentionally botched the hit. Call this unwarranted optimism, but I think Jason is losing his edge and has been for sometime. He regularly disobeys orders to kill Johnny, for example. I would not be surprised if Alcazar turns up alive very soon.

In Friday's episode, when Sam was battling with the TMK, it seemed that he was not that much taller than her. So, unless the writers are totally bamboozling us, I still think it's weird diner guy.

I think it would be silly to be dropping off hints left and right and then introduce someone random - even if he is an alumnus. But then again, I shouldn't think so highly of the writers.

Some other names to throw out there:

Cody (unless he's still in jail - hi, let's introduce a character and then promptly forget about him)
Manny Ruiz -- we never saw his body, did we?
Smarmy Dr. Devlin -- though I have no reason for this

I thought Coop said all of the victims had something in common -- do we think that's different than the TMK having a motive for killing each one? The only thing I had is that they spend a lot of time at Kelly's, but, sheesh, who in PC doesn't?

I'm thinking Mateo the priest/ Manny's twin....they made a freaking big deal about bringing him back...was he evil..was he not...he heard some confessions from some people (including those who aren't Catholic.....)..was in teh hostage crisis and then...nada.....

Or Mateo really was Manny...and he fooled everyone including JAson....

I would love Alcazar...but yeah I highly doubt Guza would allow Jason to botch a hit.

OMG, that's a great guess, BethR! I forgot all about Manny's "twin." It was bizarre how they just dropped that whole storyline. (Guza logic, go figure.)

Refresh my memory -- how did Manny die and did they ever have the body? If so, then we're dealing with brother-revenge motives instead of personal revenge motives (either works for me).

Let's see, given that Manny continually targeted Sam, he definitely has motive to go after her. And Sonny (via Carly/Letitia). And Emily to get back at Jason. Did he have any interaction with Georgie though?

Georgie's kind of an odd target when it comes to motives. If it was a psychopath like diner-boy then all bets are off and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If it was Papa Alcazar then it's pretty obviously revenge for Sage's death. If the TMK is someone else, then motive is probably that she learned something that might point to his identity.

Coop's another problem target. If the killer is Logan (which I soooo doubt), then it makes sense because of the Iraq/strangler clues and the fact that Coop knew Logan well enough to possibly figure out it was him. Also if the killer turns out to be Jerry/Craig/Morreaux, then it also makes sense to kill of Cooper since he knew the dirt on Morreaux. If the TMK is Alcazar, it's a bit more problematic but I can see a case for Alcazar being the power behind Craig/Morreaux so if Coop figured that out, he'd be a danger. (But if Alcazar was the power behind Craig/Morreaux, why would he need the docks that were already his? Well, unless he was trying to get them back from Sky but I think he'd just threaten her directly.)

They also showed that Coop was suspicious of Diner-boy. But if it's diner boy why would Coop bother to call Jason? He would go to his bosses at the police station. The only reason I can think of that he'd involve Jason with his suspicions is if the killer was mob related, like Manny/Priest or Alcazar.

You know, at first I was writing off Alcazar, but then looking at kazou's reasoning behind it being Alcazar, I remembered something. When Dillon found out about Georgie's death, he was said something along the lines of the fact that it seemed to be his destiny to witness the senseless deaths of young women, and he mentioned.... Sage.

At the time it crossed my mind as being random, but now I can see if they wanted to tie Alcazar in as being the killer, a reminder of Sage would explain why he killed Georgie.

AND, they could also bring in the fact that Jason decided secretly to let Alcazar live on the condition that he left town. So if he was the killer, it would mean that Jason was indirectly responsible for Emily's death, and we all know how the show loves Jason's Inner Torment.

good point good point filegirl....that would allow for the return of the oh so popular SECRET PAIN!!!!

Instead of Mob War INFINITY...if that was true...we could be totally preparing for SECRET PAIN INFINITY!!!

Woo hoo! can't wait!

I dont think we ever really saw manny's body...and someone did vow revenge.....

Georgie...ummmm ok..Georgie...she was close to Diego....Manny/Mateo may have chose her for revenge towards Alcazar...ok that's a reach...but its something!

But wasn't Maxie sort of the target for the TMK? He did try to kill her and then taunted Georgie with messages asking where Maxie was. Georgie tried to foil the TMK, which is why she was killed, so I don't think she was necessarily on the TMK's radar.

So, in that case, do Manny/Mateo and/or Alcazar have a beef with Maxie?

If it's Manny/Mateo.....Manny had a soft spot for Elizabeth...it was obvious during the hostage crisis and before that there was no love lost between Maxie and Elizabeth. If the TMK is Manny or Mateo....the attack on Maxie was sort of an honor attack to avenge the wrongs Maxie did on Elizabeth. (and with Guza's trend of justifying everything any female in Jason's orbit ever has done as right and good....well its not that far of a stretch really)

Alcazar? Well if you buy the theory that Cooper really did know who TMK was...then the attack on Maxie was a "back off" warning to Coop. He was getting too close and if he continued, he'd loose more than just his girlfriend...the daughter of the police commissioner....a show of "See how no one is safe near me? You can't protect them all" taunt....Kinda how Faith and AJ did in kidnapping Kristina first from Sonny's house and THEN getting Michael and Morgan.

These are all really good, well thought out theories. My worry is that the posters on this board have given more thought to GH history and relationships than the writers will.

Your worry? That's just the fact of life in the GH-verse......please...we have great theories...and it will be either random dude from Kelly's or some random returner with no more thought than a Passions "Wouldn't it be cool if it was HIM?" story to tie up the whole thing.

So while I dream it will be Manny/Mateo or Alcazar...I totally expect it will be someone that was probably employed by the PCPD so Guza can further run down police officers in honor of the mob.

i actually heard speculation that it was that new detective guy, I think his name is Harper...??? He was on the scene at the park where Georgie died. ISOHATETHISEFFINGSHOW!

Actually my friend floated out a theory that it would end up being Cruz since we hadn't seen him since Jake's kidnapping...and GH never brings in another police officer without killing one or making them a dirty cop....which i really hope she's wrong about because I LOVE me some Cruz and find the Spencer/Rodrguez partnership HAWT...........

And if it is....I HATETHISEFFINGSHOW INFINTY!!!!!!!!

At least we now know the killer cannot be Jerry (at least in the flesh) since he was evesdropping outside Coop's room at Kelly's at the same time the killer was waking up and hotfooting it from the scene of the car accident. Of course, he could still have hired someone but I doubt it.