There have been many character fatalities in Home and Away that have upset viewers, but it only becomes worse when Summer Bay favourite are slain off-screen.
Like viewers of every other soap opera, Home and Away viewers have been crushed by having to say goodbye to their favourite characters.
Others haven’t been as fortunate, despite the soap opera including some tragic yet unforgettable exits that send characters out with a bang.
Numerous minor and significant characters have been denied the opportunity to portray their final moments on film since the soap opera’s 1988 debut, for whatever cause.
Some of the key characters from the soap opera whose deaths occurred off-screen have been skimmed through by Daily Star.
Inky Burton
Roslyn Oades’ Kylie Burton was the first significant character on the series whose demise occurred off-screen.
In her first appearance, Kylie (played by Ben Unwin), who had a daughter named Rachel (Kelly Glaister) with ex-boyfriend Jesse McGregor (Ben Unwin), arrived in the Bay.
The couple chose to be married after rekindling their romance in 1997.
But just as they were about to exchange vows, the cops showed up and took Kylie into custody for her part in a hit-and-run that left a man dead.
Following a botched attempt to flee with Jesse and Rachel, Kylie was apprehended once more and imprisoned.
In 1998, it was made public that Kylie had developed a drug addiction while she was incarcerated and had overdosed to death.
Larry Fraser
Lachlan “Lachie” Fraser first appeared in Summer Bay in 1997, as portrayed by Richard Grieve.
Initially introduced as a new doctor at the community hospital in Summer Bay, Lachie subsequently started dating Chloe Richards (Kirsty Wright) after a one-night affair that led to her becoming pregnant.
However, Richard gave up playing Lachie in 1998, which began his exit narrative in which he was fighting a brain cancer.
Lachie’s mother, Diana Fraser (Kerry McGuire), showed up after his surgery and sent him to America for more care since she was dissatisfied with how he had been treated in Australia.
A memorial service was held in Summer Bay in 1999 after Lachie passed away from his brain tumour off-screen.
Baker, Dan
Dan Baker’s most notable romance occurred during his three years in Summer Bay with Ada Nicodemou’s enduring character Leah Patterson.
Tim Campbell, an actor, portrayed the role from 2004 to 2007. During that period, his ex-wife accused him of domestic abuse and he battled a gambling addiction.
Dan accepted a position as a camp counsellor in America at the end of 2007, but he couldn’t turn it down. He moved there with the hope that Leah would follow him a few months later.
Early in 2008, Leah learned that Dan had perished while attempting to save a young kid from an abseiling accident.
The Home and Away writers struggled with how to write the character out of the script because Tim chose to leave the part but Ada had no intention of doing the same.
They ultimately decided to kill the character off-screen because they realised there was no other option to keep Dan and Leah together.
Brandon Patterson
Leah was madly in love with Vinnie Patterson, who made his debut in 1997, before she fell in love with Dan.
Vinnie was caught and given an 18-month prison term for fraud shortly after Leah gave birth to their son VJ in 2001 after framing him by his business partner.
Leah was saddened to learn that Vinnie, who was portrayed by Ryan Kwanten, had persuaded her to stop visiting him in jail after he insisted she no longer do so.
Vinnie had survived the fire, it was later discovered, and was currently under witness protection.
Leah contemplated going back to be with Vinnie, but she decided to stay in Summer Bay as she was now seeing Dan.
Elijah Johnson (Jay Laga’aia) told Leah that Vinnie had passed away in a farming accident 18 months earlier when he first arrived in the Bay in 2010.
Italy Smith
After spending four years in Summer Bay, fan favourite Romeo Smith was tragically and somewhat unsatisfactorily put to death.
His on-off relationship with Indi Walker (Samara Weaving) and subsequent marriage to her were his most prominent plot points and an instant appeal with fans.
When Romeo (Luke Mitchell) learned that he had an uncurable skin cancer, he decided to keep Indi in the dark about his condition.
Romeo left the bay without notifying anyone that he was going to die after discovering that he had terminal stage four melanoma.
Indi’s father informed her of Romeo’s condition shortly after he left, and she later learned that her husband had perished dead.
Fans were incensed by Romeo’s sudden departure before the plot truly began and were even more incensed by the fact that they were unable to witness Romeo and Indi say their genuine heartfelt goodbyes.
