Salem erupted as news spread: the DiMera family was preparing a grand funeral for Stefano – their powerful father who had been presumed dead for years.

But this was no simple farewell.

From the moment his body was found in the DiMera family’s ancient cellar, everything began to turn upside down.

DNA confirmation seemed to confirm it was indeed Stefano, but fans of Days of Our Lives knew – in Salem, “death” never meant the end.

The atmosphere at the funeral was thick with suspicion. EJ DiMera entered the chapel, his cold gaze sweeping across the faces, a mixture of grief and defensiveness. Johnny DiMera sat beside his mother, his hands trembling, while Kate Roberts softly murmured, “He never rested in peace.” The words silenced the entire hall. Shortly afterward, a sudden power outage occurs—and when the lights come back on, the coffin… is empty.

This event turns the funeral into a mass panic. EJ suspects someone took Stefano’s body and begins his own investigation. Kristen DiMera smirks, saying, “Dad’s just playing his old game”—a chilling reminder of the legendary “Stefano resurrected” plotline. Some sources even reveal that in DiMera’s lab, EJ found a mysterious resurrection tube containing DNA that matched a woman—possibly Lexie Carver.

Salem descends into genuine chaos. Rumors spread that someone has “come back from the dead,” and the police seal off the cemetery. Days of Our Lives opens 2026 with the largest funeral in the series’ history—but ends with a question that leaves viewers stunned: “Who really came back?”