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"I caught a glimpse of his sleight-of-hand skills earlier, it just didn't occur to me he could kill Jennifer from half a mile away."
Inspector Tom Barnaby on Dominic Jones, "Ghosts of Christmas Past"

Since 1997, the detectives of Midsomer have faced more than their fair share of criminals. Among the long list of villains, some have managed to stand out for their sheer brilliance and charm.

All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!


  • "Death's Shadow": Reverend Stephen Wentworth is a genial, beloved member of the Badgers Drift community, who possess an aptitude for quick thinking and improvising. Discovering the truth of his son's death thirty years previously, he vowed revenge on all involved for taking away "the only good things in my life". Murdering Richard Bayly in a moment of passion, realising he'd be the obvious suspect, following turning back his clock, Wentworth staged a break in his home manipulating his wife into unwittingly giving him a seemingly cast iron alibi. Lying so convincingly that even Inspector Tom Barnaby was completely fooled and hiding in plain sight, Wentworth hosted Bayly's touching memorial for the village. Learning David Whitley was leaving tomorrow, that night Wentworth burned him alive trapped in his caravan. Striking on inspiration the next day he charmed Simon Fletcher into opening the village fete, then sneaking away from the crowds shot him dead and escaped. Finally caught Wentworth politely confessed to everything, then in a final deception managed to escape to the top of the church steeple, jumping off with a smile on his face.
  • "Destroying Angel": Evelyn Pope is an upstanding resident of Midsomer Magna, who hides a devilishly sharp mind behind a warm caring nature. Deducing the truth of murder, incrimination and conspiracy surrounding the inheritance of Karl Wainwright's hotel from the vaguest clues, they vow not to allow the conspirators to get away with it. Armed with only their wits and a natural ability to mimic voices, the murderer masterminds each conspirator's death: be it by agonizing poison, getting crushed to death and finally manipulating the conspiracy's most sympathetic member into killing the ringleader. Each death relying upon being able to accurately predict how each individual would react in the right circumstances, all the while sowing the seeds that cause the remaining member's breakdown and confession to the police. Despite being only a frail elderly woman, even amongst the many murderers to plague Midsomer county, few came close to Evelyn's level of cunning or brilliance which was matched only by her natural charm and kindness, with even Inspector Barnaby admitted to liking them.
  • "Ghosts of Christmas Past": Dominic Jones seeks revenge on those who are responsible for the suicide of their sister and friend. A professional magician and skilled illusionist, who effortlessly charms the other guests, they trap Lydia Villers to recreate their sister's death by car fumes, disguising it to appear a tragic accident. When their attempt fails, they successfully improvise, leaving no one the wiser. Succeeding in their second attempt and once again disguising it as an accident, the murderer also manipulates another guest into developing a false memory to give themselves an alibi. Tricking Jennifer Carter into going shooting whilst seemingly urging her not to, they engineer a Hunting "Accident" that kills her from half a mile away. Fleeing the scene before Inspector Barnaby can figure out the truth, as a final stroke the killer left the Villers family Lydia's diary revealing to everyone the truth about Claire English's and Ferdy Villers' deaths. Visiting Claire's grave one last time, they simply wait for the police to catch them.
  • "Hidden Depths": Nick and Felicity Turner are a loving couple facing complete ruin following falling victim to a con and decide they won't let the conspirators get the last laugh. Timing Jack Wilmot's kidnapping so no one realizes he's missing, they dress him in an identical outfit to Nick's and arrange events so that when Nick drops Jack headfirst to his death, it appears that Nick was murdered and Jack is the prime suspect, fooling even Jack's wife. Putting on a masterful performance as the grieving widow, Felicity manipulates Sarah Hope into letting Felicity stay with her and ensuring she has an alibi for the rest of their plan. Breaking into Otto Benham's home, Nick drugs Otto, traps him on his croquet lawn and kills him using his antique catapult to launch his treasured wine collection at him, murdering him with every one one of his passions. With the police getting too close Nick traps them in a wine cellar, then murders their final target, Mike Spicer by forcing him to compete in a Deadly Game. Meeting to celebrate their success, the couple plan to start again with the life insurance pay-out.
  • "Shot at Dawn": Lionel Hicks, a sociable, friendly Midsomer Parva resident, upon discovering the dark truth about the Hicks-Hammond rivalry origin vows to kill the Hammonds both for revenge and to enrich the Hick family. A skilled electrician and technician, they develop a variety of remote control devices to fulfill their vendetta. Overhearing Mickey Ryan's plan to humiliate Colonel Henry Hammond, they seize the opportunity and kills Henry with his father's revolver. Altering his wheelchair, they remotely drive it into a milk delivery to confuse the crime scene. Targeting themselves with a remote control bomb to throw off suspicion, the murderer lures out and kills Johnny Hammond with a modified machine gun rigged to activate when he opened his garage, and in their "stroke of genius" sprung a trap that almost killed Arabella Hammond with a hay bailer they had modified to operate by radio control, leaving the controls behind in Kate Hammond's horsebox to implicate her. When caught, Lionel took defeat in stride, content with what they had accomplished.
  • "The Creeper": Tallis Filby, the titular Creeper, is the playful, sophisticated daughter of oblivious businessman Jack Filby who turns to the thrill of burglary to find relief from the suffocating frustrations of her life. Targeting country manors of the wealthy members of her father's business and social circles, Tallis carefully studied her targets behaviours, security and situations, often breaking in and stealing from right under their noses. Even successfully stealing from Chief Constable Lovell by patiently hiding inside his home until he'd gone to sleep. Accidentally stumbling into the murder of David Ropper during one of her burglaries, unwilling to let them get away with it, Tallis broke into Inspector Tom Barnaby's home to leave him clues. Agreeing to a deal with Inspector Barnaby, Tallis once again effortlessly broke into Lovell's home and deliberately set off his alarm as she left so he'd find all her loot in his living room, then eloped with her lifelong love Freddy to Scotland, carrying on her cat burgling to fund their life together.
  • "Murder of Innocence": Grady Felton, convinced he was framed for murder of his only friend Daniel Denning spent years devising an intricate plan for revenge. Persuading his cellmate Keith Muloy to impersonate him, Grady ensured he could flawlessly pass for him. Posing as the charming Scottish fitness instructor Gareth Dunbar, Grady returned to the area and spent 18 months preparing, fooling even his former acquiesces with his performance. Having Keith arrive in Binwell to provide him with the perfect alibi, Grady began working through his hit list, disguising the murders of his defence and prosecution barristers as tragic accidents. Their partnership breaking down Grady disabled Keith, framing it to seem that a member of the Binwell estate tried to murder him, and then kills his next target. When Keith miraculously regained consciousness, disguised as a doctor Grady knocked out the officer on guard and killed him. Going after his main target, Grady lured Daniel's abusive father Ted out to the old powerhouse, effortlessly capturing him and Sergeant Jones, planning to disguise their deaths as tragic electrical fire.
  • "With Baited Breath": Artie Blythe is a jovial retired police officer, a brilliant detective in his time, and a good friend of DCI John Barnaby. Having spent ten years blaming himself for the disappearance of his daughter Lola, upon learning the truth Artie vows revenge on everyone involved in covering up her death. Charming Inspector Barnaby into letting him help with investigation Artie subtly undermines them whilst seemingly providing vital assistance, murdering his targets right under their noses. Accidentally killing the wrong person, Artie hides the body in a freezer to confuse the time of death and makes it appear that the victim was still alive several hours later whilst he was having dinner with Inspector Barnaby, giving him the perfect alibi. Kidnapping Blaise McQuinn but unable to find Griffin Twigg, realising that Inspector Barnaby was to close to the truth, Artie decided to cut his losses. Caught, Artie congratulates his friend, admitting he really hated lying to him and then tying them both to a rock in an attempt to drown himself and Blaise.
  • "The Scarecrow Murders": Lisa Jarret and Jack Baldwin had their families lives ruined by the immoral business practices of Ventuity Gambling. Following their attempts to face them legally failing, along with fellow victim Samira Mallick, they turned to revenge against those responsible. Setting themselves up in Midsomer under the unassuming identities of an overly helpful busybody and a homeless lout, the pair carefully studied their targets for several months, right under everyone's noses. Inspired by the local Scarecrow contest, they planned to each kill their targets in one swoop and disguise it as the work of serial killer posing their victims like Scarecrows. Unforeseen difficulties meaning only Lisa succeeded in killing Naomi Ashworth, undeterred after carefully posing for hours as one of the Scarecrows on his lawn, Jack succeeded in disabled the security and killed the selfish Reverend Hayden. Needing a quick alibi for the third murder, Jack improvised pretending to be drunk and disorderly to ensure a night in the cells, whilst Lisa waited at the station for him. Foiled within seconds of killing their final target, Lisa and Jack remorselessly accepted their defeat as "one throw of the dice to many."
  • "For Death Prepare": After learning he is dying, Derek Sharrow goes from a meek worker at The Midsomer Mummers Opera Theatre to a cunning and brilliant killer. He begins a brilliant campaign to pay back all those who have wronged him and kills them in theatrical murders. Going after the owner of the theatre for framing his beloved mother for theft and ruining her life, he secretly switches the theatre owner's medicine with identical-looking tablets that instead induce cardiac arrest. Derek later traps his former school bully and kills him by forcefully injecting him with poison. Tricking his former teacher, who wouldn't help him when he was being bullied, into a death trap, Derek uses this opportunity to seize his performance in the play as he knows the curtain is coming down. Even in defeat, Derek remains composed and affable and simply seeks to say goodbye at his late mother's grave before his arrest.

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