Martha Huber

Martha Huber
File:Martha Huber.jpg Christine Estabrook as Martha Huber.
First appearance	Pilot (episode 1.01)
Last appearance	Fear No More (episode 1.20) (flashback)
Created by	Marc Cherry
Portrayed by	Christine Estabrook
In-universe information
Alias	Martha Tilman (maiden name)
Gender	Female
Family	Millicent Tilman (mother) Felicia Tilman (sister)
Spouse	Mr. Huber (husband; deceased)

Martha Huber (née Tilman) is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was played by Christine Estabrook.

My idiot husband died and left me with a worthless pension. I was desperate for money, and it's better to take it from a bad person than a good one. How was I supposed to know she'd shoot herself?

— Martha Huber

First appearance

Martha Huber first appeared in Desperate Housewives' pilot episode as the snoopy neighbor who first discovered Mary Alice Young's suicide. Martha discovered the body after hearing a loud sound which she investigated, pretending to return Mary Alice's blender. In the end, Martha Huber kept the blender.

When Edie Britt's house burns down, Martha discovers a measuring cup that doesn't belong to Edie in the ruins. When she snoops through Susan Mayer's groceries and discovers a new measuring cup, she jumps to the conclusion that Susan burned Edie's house down in order to kill Edie-- her romantic competitor for Mike Delfino's affections.

Martha, who was undergoing financial difficulties because of her husband's death and her mother's hospitalization, consequently blackmails Susan. Martha pressures Susan to stop dating Mike Delfino, pay for her groceries, and buy her a new water heater. Susan and her daughter Julie break into Martha's home, steal the measuring cup and destroy it.

Blackmail and Death

On a visit to her sister Felicia's home, Martha discovers a picture of Mary Alice. In a conversation with her sister, Martha refers to the photograph's subject as "Mary Alice Young." Felicia, however, insists that "Mary Alice's" name is Angela. Martha tells Felicia that "Mary Alice" lives on her street, with her husband and 16-year-old son. However, Felicia tells Martha that "Mary Alice's" real name is Angela Forrest, and that she stole a baby in Utah and moved to Wisteria Lane to escape her past.

Martha Huber decides to solve her financial difficulties by blackmailing Mary Alice. Martha sends Mary Alice a note on purple stationary which reads:

I know what you did. It makes me sick. I'm going to tell.

After Mary Alice receives the letter, she commits suicide. The housewives of Wisteria Lane find the note in Mary Alice's clothing and give it to Paul Young. He hires a private eye/hitman to discover who sent the note and to kill him or her. Paul discovers that Edie Britt has the same stationery, and a misunderstanding ensues until it becomes clear that Edie stole the stationery from Martha.

Paul confronts Martha at her home, and Martha explains that she was desperate for money and that Mary Alice killed herself because of what she "did to that poor baby." The "poor baby" is her 16-year-old son Dana, whose true identity is Zach Young. In a rage, Paul hits Martha in the head with the blender she borrowed from Mary Alice. Martha falls and Paul Young strangles her to death.

Afterlife

Paul Young buries Martha in a local park. He puts her in a plastic bag, along with the blender he used to kill her. Days after Martha's death, her sister, Felicia Tillman, comes to Wisteria Lane and initiates a police investigation into Martha's disappearance. Feeling the heat, Paul Young digs her up and tries to frame Mike Delfino for her murder, by placing her ring in Mike Delfino's garage. Her body is found by a jogger and his dog.

Martha kept a detailed journal about her life and the lives of everybody in Wisteria Lane. Felicia tells Susan Mayer that she plans to give it to the police. Susan fears Martha wrote something about Susan having burned Edie's house down. Susan tells Edie the truth just as Edie is scattering Martha's ashes in the lake. This upsets Edie, who tosses the ashes at Susan. Edie promises Susan that she will not report her to the police on the condition that she always be invited to Susan's poker games.

Revenge

Felicia Tillman discovers by reading Martha's journals that Paul Young killed her. She then blackmailed Paul Young into entrusting Zach to her care. Zach attacked her with a hockey stick and pushed her down the stairs, injuring her neck. She then becomes a nurse for Noah Taylor, and informs him in an anonymous note that he has a grandchild. She returns to Wisteria lane to witness Paul Young's undoing, but he escapes Noah Taylor's assassins.

Felicia Tillman tries to kill Paul Young by spreading shortening on his front step, replacing the lighter fluid for his grill with gasoline, and ordering a fumigation for his house while he and Zach are still home. Finally, in a chillingly executed plot, Felicia arranges an elaborate frame job for which Paul is arrested on suspicion of murder: liters of her blood are pooled on the Youngs' kitchen floor, on which Paul slips during the night and gets all over the doors and counters. A bloody trail leads into the garage, where a blood-stained hacksaw is in plain view. Two of Felicia Tillman's self-severed fingers are found in the back of Paul's SUV.

Felicia Tillman disappears to an isolated cabin, and changes her name to Martha Huber--- thus completing her revenge on her sister's behalf.

Trivia

• Martha was originally meant to be called 'Edith Huber'.
• Initially, the nosy neighbor was supposed to be an Asian lady named Mrs. Chang.
• According to the Desperate Housewives Season One companion book, Martha was not originally intended to die. Instead, Paul Young was going to 'murder' her, but she would reappear alive and well in Season Two. The idea was scraped because the network felt it was unrealistic and didn't want martha as a regular in Season Two.
• 'Martha', was given the same name as Marc Cherry's mother, Martha Cherry.
• An extended version of the episode Who's That Woman? reveals that her mother's hospitalization is the reason for Martha Huber's financial difficulties.