Gina Colby is a character appearing in the episode Death in a Chocolate Box of the ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders. She is the wife of Jack Colby. She is a psychotherapist and a former Detective Inspector. She is a close friend of Tom Barnaby.
While Jack and Gina were on the force, Jack was duty sergeant during the time where Maria Godbold, the wife of the Lord Holm himself Victor Godbold, would deliberately get arrested for drunk and disorderlies to be detained by his division. The staff there, later known as the "Friday-Nighters", would sexually compete off of Maria, and Jack was suspected of knowing and disregarding the conspiracy. In truth, he was one of the officers exploiting Maria, which horrified Gina once she found out. Once all the policemen responsible were punished under Jack's testimony, Jack and Gina resigned due to Jack's complicity under the cultures present. Gina retrained for psychotherapy, jack as a probation officer.
Gina was furious at Maria and killed her in a projected rage, using the handle of her home village's camera obscura in the gazebo at the center of the square to strike her hard in her skull. Lord Holm was successfully framed and imprisoned for eight years, Gina even covering for herself by testifying for Lord Holm's early release to return to Midsomer Holm. Some additional years had passed during the Colbys' time in the village's rehab program, and Jack found out Gina was responsible for the murders. Jack, who was also being blackmailed by a parolee, Eddie Marston, was sedated from recurring nightmares of the murder under the same prescriptions Gina manipulated orders for on Lord Holm: Ativan, a potent benzodiazepine which induces memory loss. After Jack delivered incriminating evidence through the post, Gina forced him off the road by running in front of his car, then bashing his head as well with the camera crank. Gina played the oblivious wife while Jack was missing, then faked a full act of grief once he was found dead. Barnaby didn't suspect her because of their shared history.
To divert suspicion, Gina also killed and briefly disappeared recently arriving ex-con Eddie Marston in a similar fashion. He was a liability due to the blackmail and in collusion with one of the Friday-Nighters, Lionel Poulter, then a postman embezzling funds. When Lord Holm professed his love for Gina and tried to aggressively kiss her, he was detained and gave what sounded like a confession, despite him stating he recalled nothing about the three murders, but only trying to force himself at Gina. Barnaby realized from Gina's decision from an early career ending, and finding Jack's confession to him Poulter stole, that Gina was the killer with the present motive. Gina bitterly admitted the truth about everything, and Tom arrested her. When they were driving on a road with train tracks and had to stop when one was passing, Gina beat Barnaby in the head once and ran into the path of the train, despite Tom's screams over the horns.
Victims[]
- Maria Godbold - Killed by a blow to the head with the winding handle of the "camera obscura". This murder took place prior to the events of the episode.
- Victor Godbold - Framed for his wife's murder and sent to prison for eight years; later illicitly drugged with Ativan and again tried to frame for murder; he was released.
- Jack Colby - While he was driving his Land Rover through a forest, a shadowy figure appeared in front of his car forcing him off the road. As he laid injured outside the damaged vehicle, was killed by a blow to the head with the winding handle of the "camera obscura". Previously illicitly drugged with Ativan.
- Eddie Marston - Killed by a blow to the head with the winding handle of the "camera obscura".
- Tom Barnaby -p Hit once in his head to flee his car and run in front of a moving train.