Gerald Hadleigh (born Liam Hanlon) is a character appearing in the episode Written in Blood of the ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders. His hidden and tragic life history drives the crux of the story.
He was born as Liam Hanlon circa 1942. He lived at a farm near Durrow, Southern Ireland with his father. The life at the farm was horrible given to the fact that he was sexually abused by his father. One day in 1955 when he was aged 13 he decided that he had enough and he shot his father with his own shotgun.
He runs away and meets an artist with whom he travels around the world, first in Europe and then Turkey. The artist painted him many times in historical dress and the paintings sold for a fortune. It was potentially during this time he took the name Gerald Hadleigh.
At some point he became officially a transvestite and meets Ralph Lyddiard in Turkey. The two became lovers, fact that remained unknown. As a transvestite he went to a psychologist which happend to be Max Jennings. In their sessions he told Jennings everything about his past life, but Max betrayed him and put all of Gerald's secrets in his novel which became a bestseller, Far Away Hills.
Hadleigh was the chairman of the Midsomer Worthy Writers Circle, which were hosted in his home. Gerald was writing a spy thriller featuring a hero named Phoenix.
Gerald was murdered in his home on the night of July 1st following a Writers Circle meeting. The group had invited the author of Far Away Hills, Max Jennings to be a guest at the meeting.
Victims[]
- Mr. Hanlon Shot with his own shotgun while laying in bed. This occurred in 1955 in Durrow, Southern Ireland.
- Max Jennings Given a poisoned drink. [1]
References[]
- ↑ the Script mentions the poison as Valium Sulphate, however it is more likely Thallium Sulphate