Days of Our Lives Recap: Johnny's Trial Begins

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Days of Our Lives Recap: Johnny's Trial Begins originally appeared on Daytime Confidential.
On today's Days of Our Lives recap:
Brady Pub: Kate walks in to find Roman in a suit, just before he testifies against Johnny… She grabs an apron and takes over for him while he's going to be gone. Roman doesn't want Kate to bus tables but she's good with filling in at the family business. With that, they kiss.
Philip walks in and says he missed her at the office. They talk about how weird it is for son to be the boss of his mother. Philip says he read a bit of One Stormy Night and thinks it's a best seller in the making. They discuss the pseudonym and Kate says she can't tell anyone who he, she or they is. Philip says he's the boss so she has to tell him.
Kate refuses to name the author of the book and says her son will simply have to deal with it. Philip says he may have recognized some of the passages in the book, which throws Kate for a loop. He simply says Anastasia Sands is Stephanie Johnson. Kate shushes him as she and Alex are trying to keep everything a secret. Kate says there might be some recognizable passages but Stephanie has changed names to protect the guilty.
Kate says she understands Stephanie's difficulties as she once wrote a book of her own about her love affair with Bill Horton, Lucas' father. Philip had no clue and asks for more details. She says Jack found it and tried to publish it. The details came out once again during Curtis' murder trial. Philip feels so badly for his mother and rightfully finds himself so very privileged. Kate says it's all good and simply wants her son to focus on moving forward with his life.
Stephanie's Pad: Stephanie calls EJ to leave him a message. Jada is about to leave and is unsettled to learn her roommate is working for EJ. She isn't certain about working for EJ but needs clients. She took the job to be a buffer between him and her mother. Jada doesn't want to be judgmental but Stephanie gets it.
Jada notices the package that was sent to Stephanie, and she says she has a pretty good idea who sent it and wants to forget they ever existed. Jada thinks she should simply open it but Stephanie is unwilling and throws it in the ill-fitting trash can.
Horton Square: EJ is rushing through when he runs into Chad. He is annoyed to be testifying against his nephew. EJ is cool but wants a favor. Chad says he will not cover the trial to favor Johnny.
Court Room: Outside, Johnny runs into Belle. She tries to be nice, and Johnny says he knows she's just doing her job. Next, EJ rushes by and Belle clearly feels all alone.
Johnny tells EJ about Susan's arrival. They argue a bit about Chanel being the shooter. Everyone takes their seats at their respective tables before the judge walks in and the opening statements proceed. Belle begins saying they are here to find justice and is here to prove Johnny shot EJ and that it was premeditated. She brings up the victim is defending the defendant and how unorthodox it all is. Belle says EJ would do anything to protect his family's name. She vows to prove Johnny's guilt in the act of shooting his father. With that, Belle takes a seat and EJ rises.
EJ says he is the best man to defend his son because he loves him and knows he is innocent. EJ admits he can't remember all the details but says Belle has no significant evidence, which helps define reasonable doubt. EJ says there are oh so many folks who wanted him dead and possibly pulled the trigger. He says his son is innocent and begs them to not punish him for the sins of his father.
Chad takes the stand and testifies about finding his brother bloody and dying on the floor of the living room. Belle asks about the strained relationship between Johnny and his father. Chad admits he spoke to Johnny about the shooting, and he said he didn't care whether his father lived or died. EJ crosses and asks if Chad remembers anything about the state of the house. He says he notices the french doors to the living room were open to the outside but there was no sign of the shooter. EJ asks directly about Johnny and says he only saw EJ in the house.
Jada takes the stand and testifies the gun belonging to Roman was the one which shot EJ. She says Roman turned it in himself. EJ crosses Jada and establishes the gun was never found on Johnny's person. He asks Jada if she had motive to want him dead and the judge allows the question. He brings up all the reasons for which a motive for her to kill him may have existed. Jada sets her jaw and admits she did have motive. Before she can explain, EJ shuts her down.
Roman takes the stand and Belle asks him about his gun. She asks him how he knew his gun was missing. Roman admits mentioning the gun behind the bar to Johnny. Belle wonders if Roman thought Johnny took the gun and asks if he had a reason to believe he was angry with his father. Roman admits Johnny had many reasons to have beef with his daddy. She follows up asking Roman if he ever heard Johnny wanting to hurt his father. Roman admits he did and tells the story of Johnny saying he wanted to take a knife and stab him. Belle finishes by asking whether or not Roman tried to chase down Johnny after he discovered the gun was gone. Roman admits he went to the DiMera mansion and found the gun in the planter outside before he went in. Roman heard the sirens and decided to grab the gun and flee the scene. He admits he brought the gun back to the pub and returned it to the lockbox. Belle asks about the missing bullet and Roman admits he wiped the gun down. When asked why, Roman admits he thought his grandson may have been responsible for EJ's shooting. With that, Belle turns Roman over to EJ.
Horton Square: Chad runs into Stephanie and tells her about testifying at Johnny's trial. Despite the awkwardness, he knows his brother will do whatever it takes to save his son. They chat a bit about her new job and worries Stephanie tying herself to EJ will end badly.
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Endings
Stephanie promises Chad that working around EJ won't make her compromise her values. He asks about Alex and says when you're happy things from the past aren't always that important. Stephanie doesn't seem so sure.
Kate is happy to be working at Titan/DiMera just in case Xander gets out of hand again. She looks around and realizes she needs to cover some customers and heads off.
Stephanie returns home and tells Jada she's ready to open the package. With that, she opens it and finds a tote bag. She realizes she ordered it for herself and now feels silly (really?). Jada wonders what Stephanie was actually worried about and she admits some of the things she wrote in her novel were about this certain guy (who?).
EJ asks Roman if he saw Johnny take the gun. Roman says no. EJ establishes Roman may have wished him dead before and then goes back to discussing what he did with the gun. EJ leans in and says Roman could very well have been the one to shoot him.
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This story was originally reported by Daytime Confidential on Jul 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
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