All 8 Characters Tony Kills In The Sopranos (& Why)

The Sopranos never shied away from the violence of the mafia world it was depicting, and the many people Tony Soprano killed cemented him as a truly unique — and dangerous — television protagonist. Throughout The Sopranos‘ six seasons, Tony Soprano authorized the deaths of twelve people from his offices at the back of Satriale’s Pork Store of the Bada Bing strip club. These murders were carried out by loyal lieutenants like Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri (Tony Sirico) and Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt).

Tony Sopranos’ Kills:

However, Tony Soprano wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and often took matters into his own hands. As a result, he’s directly responsible for eight murders, the second highest after Paulie’s surprising Sopranos kill count. Sometimes these murders were committed in the interest of Tony maintaining his criminal lifestyle, but other times the mafioso would kill out of anger, ignoring the chain of command and the privileged position of his victim. The Sopranos may have ended almost two decades ago, but Tony Soprano’s kills ensure he’s remembered as one of the most watchable fictional gangsters ever.

8 Willie Overall Was The First Person Tony Killed

Killed Before The Events Of The Sopranos, Discussed In Season 6, Episode 15, “Remember When”

Willie Overall was the first person that Tony killed, taking Willie’s life when Tony was a young man coming up in the DiMeo family. Tony and Paulie killed Willie on Labor Day 1982 and buried him in the basement of a house. 25 years later, they had to lie low in Miami when Larry Barese told the FBI where Willie was buried. Luckily for Tony and Paulie, Larry told the authorities that Tony’s close friend, Jackie Aprile, killed Willie Overall. As Jackie’s death from cancer begins The Sopranos, no charges could be brought against him.

When Tony looks back on the murder, he is not filled with pride at it being his first kill, and a brief flashback shows that Paulie had to encourage Tony to pull the trigger as he was “a little shaky.” However, it is interesting that when Paulie brings up an address and the name “Willie Overall”, Tony doesn’t immediately recall the killing despite it being his first. It is perhaps an indication that Tony killed so many people that he grew numb to even the ones that were hard for him.

7 Strangled Fabian “Febby” Petrulio To Death

Killed In Season 1, Episode 5, “College”

Tony Soprano changed the way protagonists on television can be portrayed, as he was a main character who was capable of terrible acts of violence. One of the earliest examples of this was in season 1, episode 5, “College,” in which Tony Soprano takes his daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) to various college open days while tracking a known FBI informant.

Tony bumps into Febby Petrulio (Tony Ray Ross), now living in witness protection as Fred Peters, at a gas station in Maine. After a game of cat-and-mouse between the two men, Tony finally strangled Febby to death outside his travel agency to send a message that his former life in the mob had caught up with him.

Seeing the protagonist of a television show murder a man in cold blood was a shocking television moment, added to by the fact that Tony carries out this murder while on a trip with his daughter. He is not urged to do it and could have forgotten that he saw Febby in the first place. However, it is clear as he kills him that Tony is filled with anger towards a “rat” like this and is happy to kill him.

6 Shoots At The Marina Chucky Signore

Killed In Season 1, Episode 13, “I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano”

The climax of The Sopranos season 1 revolves around the failed hit orchestrated by Tony’s Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) against his nephew. Tony survives both attempts on his life. After consulting Silvio and Paulie, he decides to remove Chucky Signore (Sal Ruffino), one of Junior’s trusted lieutenants, before Junior can make a third attempt.

In a moment that will mirror one of Tony’s later kills, he surprises Chucky by arriving at the Jersey City marina with a pistol hidden inside a fish. Tony shoots Chucky dead, then he and Sil attach him to a cinder block and dump him in the river. It is one of the more theatrical murders Tony carries out in the series.

He takes Chucky by surprise, seeming to enjoy putting him on edge before executing him. It is a murder that shows Tony’s anger towards her uncle, making it clear he would have killed Junior as well had the older man not been arrested.

5 Shoots Matthew Bevilaqua After He Attempted To Kill Christopher

Killed In Season 2, Episode 9, “From Where To Eternity”

In The Sopranos season 2, the release of Richie Aprile (David Proval) leads to a clash with his brother Jackie’s successor, Tony Soprano. Matthew Bevilaqua (Lillo Brancato Jr.), an ambitious young upstart, and his partner Sean Gismonte (Chris Tardio) decided to throw their lot in with Richie. To impress Richie, they attempted to whack Tony’s “nephew” Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) for hitting Richie’s niece Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo).

The hit failed, and Christopher was able to kill Sean before passing out from his injuries. Tony and “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero (Vincent Pastore) tracked down Matthew and questioned him. The young thug is terrified for his life and badly beaten, but Tony takes a soft approach to questioning him, promising that he’s not going to kill him and even gives him a soda. However, after Matthew tells him everything, Tony coldly tells Matthew he’s going to kill him, then shoots him in the head as the young man begs for his life.

With the killing being in retaliation for the attempt on Christopher’s life, Tony’s actions here show how much Christopher means to him. Pussy points out to Tony that he doesn’t need to be a part of it, solidifying the fact that Tony doesn’t get his hands dirty often given his position of power. However, Tony’s insistence that he wants to and the cruel way he deals with Matthew shows that it is personal.

4 Killed Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero After Finding Out He Was An Informant

Killed In Season 2, Episode 13, “Funhouse”

Tony realized that Pussy was an FBI informant in a vivid dream involving talking fish while struggling with food poisoning. It’s later revealed that Pussy had been informing on the DiMeo crime family from as far back as Christmas 1995 when Tony remembers how shifty his former friend was when he arrived at their traditional Christmas celebrations. Realizing that their friend has betrayed them, Tony, Paulie, and Silvio take Pussy out to sea on Tony’s new boat and confront him for being an FBI informant before shooting him dead and dumping his body overboard.

While Tony’s kills up until then had been cold-blooded and ruthless, this is one that he is clearly having difficulty with. Paulie and Silvio are equally troubled by having to kill their friend, reluctant to believe that he is really an informant. While they all gun him down, they seem to honor his request not to harm his face, perhaps showing some lingering respect despite Pussy’s betrayal. Further highlighting the impact of the murder, all three men are haunted by the memory in later episodes.

3 Strangles Ralph Cifaretto After He Killed Their Horse

Season 4, Episode 9, “Whoever Did This”

When Tony kills Ralph Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano) in The Sopranos season 4, episode 9, “Whoever Did This,” it comes after a whole season’s worth of tensions between the two men Before his final confrontation with Tony, Ralphie has murdered one of the strippers at the Bada Bing, and disrespected both the wife of Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola) and the mother of Paulie. However, aside from a beating from Tony outside the Bing, Ralph’s made man status and high earnings protected him from more violent recriminations.

The final straw is when Ralphie orchestrates the death of his and Tony’s horse, Pie-Oh-My for the insurance money. Tony, who has a well-documented affinity for animals, is furious about this and confronts Ralphie at his home, resulting in a brutal fight between both men. Tony ends up strangling Ralphie to death, in clear contravention of the Mafia code. It’s a moment that shows how hypocritical Tony is, because he had previously forbidden Paulie from killing Ralphie for disrespecting his mother.

Tony is a very careful and cautious man when it comes to his murders, but this is an instance in which he is out of control. It is a heated moment of brutality from Tony. In subsequent episodes after his death, Tony dreams of Ralphie and hints that he might regret killing him in that enraged moment.

2 Executes Tony Blundetto To Spare Him From A More Brutal Death

Killed In Season 5, Episode 13, “All Due Respect”

When Tony Soprano’s cousin Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi) was released from prison, he was courted by his cousin and Little Carmine’s crews. Frustrated at his low status in Tony’s crew, Blundetto accepted a contract from his prison buddy Angelo to kill Johnny Sack’s aide Joey Peeps. However, he went too far when he killed the brother of Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) in revenge for the Leotardos’ murder of Angelo.

To avoid war with Johnny Sack’s crew, Tony was forced to give up the location of where his cousin was hiding out so that Phil could exact his revenge. That is what makes it a different killing than the rest of Tony’s murders as it was done, at least partially, out of compassion. Rather than let Phil get his hands on Tony B and subject him to a long and painful death, Tony executes his cousin quickly, even knowing that it will anger Phil.

1 Suffocates Christopher Moltisanti After He Gets Them Into A Car Crash

Killed In Season 6, Episode 18, “Kennedy and Heidi”

The relationship between Tony and Chris is one of The Sopranos‘ most compelling arcs, as both men grow further and further apart as the show continues. Tony clearly favors Christopher, causing tensions between his cousin and Paulie, but by season 6 of The Sopranos, Tony has no qualms about killing his cousin. Tony and Christopher’s appears irreparable after Christopher’s Saw rip-off, Cleaver premieres and is clearly Christopher’s revenge fantasy against Tony following the death of Adriana.

This plays into Tony’s reasons for killing Chris in the episode “Kennedy and Heidi” because he realizes his cousin is a liability that could jeopardize Tony’s criminal operations. Relapsing from sobriety, Christopher crashes the car he and Tony are traveling in while under the influence. Furious that Chris would be so reckless and noting the baby seat in the back of the car, Tony suffocates his cousin so that it looks like the crash killed him.

Though he shares his sadness with his family and other mourners, Tony is also relieved that he no longer has Christopher as a constant problem in his life. However, a dream sequence shows him confessing to Dr. Melfi that he killed Christopher, showing his guilty conscience. As Tony’s last direct kill in The Sopranos, the tragedy of the decline in his and Christopher’s relationship makes it one of the most memorable deaths in the whole series.