John Stape is a fictional character from Coronation Street who became a serial killer on the show, responsible (directly and indirectly) for several deaths. The key people he killed were Charlotte Hoyle and Joy Fishwick, and he was also involved in the death and cover‑up of Colin Fishwick.

Main victims

  • Charlotte Hoyle – John killed Charlotte by striking her with a hammer after she tried to attack him and threatened to expose his stolen identity as “Colin Fishwick.” Her injuries were later passed off as a result of the famous tram crash on the Street.
  • Joy Fishwick – After confessing his role in Colin’s death to Joy (Colin’s mother), John panicked when someone approached the house, put his hand over Joy’s mouth to silence her, and she suffered a fatal angina attack, for which he was responsible.

Colin Fishwick and John’s role

  • Colin Fishwick’s death – Colin confronted John and Charlotte about John stealing his identity, then suddenly collapsed and died from a brain haemorrhage during the argument.
  • John and Charlotte hid Colin’s body instead of reporting his death, meaning John did not physically murder Colin but was central to the cover‑up and the chain of crimes that followed.

Quick recap in one line

In-story, fans generally list John Stape’s “kill list” as Charlotte Hoyle and Joy Fishwick, with Colin Fishwick counted as a victim of his actions and cover‑up even though Colin’s actual death was from a natural brain haemorrhage.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.