| Carmen Mesta | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marisa Ramirez as Carmen Mesta (2006) | |||||||||
| The Young and the Restless | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Marisa Ramirez | ||||||||
| Duration | 2006-07 | ||||||||
| First appearance | May 8, 2006 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | February 17, 2007 | ||||||||
| Cause/reason | Murdered by Jana Hawkes | ||||||||
| Created by | Lynn Marie Latham, Kay Alden and John F. Smith | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Gender | Female | ||||||||
| Cause of death | Bludgeoned to death with a pipe by Jana Hawkes | ||||||||
| Occupation | PR representative | ||||||||
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Carmen Mesta is a fictional character in the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Marisa Ramirez played the role from May 8 to October 30, 2006, and returned several times as a sighting or in a part of a new flashback during the next few months. She last aired as Carmen on February 17, 2007.
Carmen is a freelance public relations consultant that Katherine Chancellor hires for Jabot Cosmetics in 2006 because of Jack Abbott's (Peter Bergman) handling of a scandal that results from Jabot's test release of tainted face cream. Jack resents her involvement but soon becomes attracted to her and eventually he and Carmen have a one-night stand. Afterward, Carmen is hired by Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) to work for Newman Enterprises' new cosmetics division, Beauty Of Nature.
While at Newman Enterprises, Carmen begins an emotional affair with Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John), who is estranged from his wife Drucilla (Victoria Rowell). The physical extent of Carmen's relationship with Neil is a kiss. Believing that the two are having an affair, Drucilla ransacks Carmen's room and cuts her clothing with scissors. Carmen has Drucilla arrested for aggravated burglary and gets a restraining order. Dru violates the restraining order on more than one occasion, even attacking Carmen in Newman Enterprises' break room. Unbeknownst to Dru, the attack is captured on a hidden video camera accidentally left on by Noah Newman (Hunter Allan). The footage is discovered by Dru's enemy Phyllis Newman (Michelle Stafford), who alerts Carmen, who in turn takes the tape to the police, which lands Dru in more trouble.
During these events Neil helps Dru deal with her feelings towards Carmen and tries to act as peacemaker. Carmen can not understand how he can condemn Dru's actions. She informs him she is going to ask the District Attorney William Bardwell (Ted Shackelford) to prosecute Dru. Neil believes that Carmen is overzealous in wanting revenge on Drucilla.
Dru hires Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc) as her attorney, and Michael asks Paul Williams (Doug Davidson) to investigate Carmen's background. Paul discovers that at Carmen's previous job (prior to her arrival in Genoa City) she had an affair with a married executive, and that she left the job after being paid a large settlement. Michael confronts Carmen with this information in an attempt to get her to drop her lawsuit against Dru, but she refuses.
Carmen is found dead behind Neil's jazz club, Indigo, on the club's opening night. Will Bardwell believes that she was murdered and, out of numerous possible suspects, arrests Devon for her murder. Michael Baldwin becomes Devon's defense attorney and looks for other plausible suspects, particularly Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) and Jack Abbott, so that he can establish reasonable doubt as part of Devon's defense.Carmen's murderer turns out to be Jana Hawkes (Emily O'Brien). Jana killed Carmen because Carmen saw Jana looking through a folder containing pictures and facts about the Grugeon Reliquary (a fictional piece of medieval art with foreign letters engraved on it, revealed to be the keys to a massive fortune), which Jana stole from Victoria Newman's car.