Harold Winstanley is a character appearing in the episode Death of a Hollow Man of the ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders.
Background[]
Harold is vain, extremely theatrical, and is Artistic Director of the 'Causton Amateur Dramatic Society' (CADS), despite also working in the import/export business. He lives with his wife in Martyr Warren, drives a Morgan Plus 4, and wears a trademark 'thespian' outfit complete with his fedora hat.
He finds the incompetence of his cast and stage management team, especially Deirdre Tibbs, to be tedious and regularly reminisces of his greater times working with 'theatrical greats', such as 'Sir John' and 'Scofield'.
He belittles those around him, and views himself as having true authority - demanding to be seen first by Tom, after Esslyn's death.
He is married to Doris Winstanley and treats her in a similar way to his cast and crew. She acts as his servant by sticking-up posters, calling newspaper companies, and preparing his food - he regularly chides her mistakes and seemingly forgets her at Causton Playhouse after Esslyn's death.
Crimes[]
It is unknown how he came to meet Agnes Gray, but they were involved in smuggling religious artefacts from predominantly Europe, such as the statue of the Madonna found in Agnes' garage. Gray used her expertise from her degree in Religious Art, and we learn that Harold's true profession in imports/exports helped with freight and transport.
When Agnes found out that she had cancer, she wanted to make things right, and left a package for her closest living relative, Esslyn Carmichael, containing details of the crimes that she and Harold committed. Harold couldn't let this information come out, so he beat her to death with a crowbar in her garage, and dumped the body in a lake. It is assumed that he returned to her house, broke in, and attempted to find the documents.
However, Esslyn received the documents from his solicitor, and he copied them to his computer, placing them on a disc, which Kitty Carmichael later gave to the police. Esslyn phoned Harold, attempting to blackmail him into giving him the rights to the theatre. He gave him until Monday.
Prior to the curtain-up of Amadeus Harold brought in a replica of the razor that Salieri commits suicide with, and took the real razor to the bathroom, where he displaced the tape with a Stanley Knife, and replaced the real, now deadly razor in the interval, when Deirdre was in the bathroom. Esslyn then, unknowingly, slit his own throat with the razor.
Harold returned home, the next day, to find Doris in the bathroom, having found the replica razor, hidden in the cupboard. She promised to leave and not tell anyone, but he attacked her with the razor, slashing her wrists, after saying he would be "changing his life quite considerably" and that "there would be no place for (her) here". Luckily, Barnaby and Troy arrived in time to save her. Entering a fugue state, Tom led him outside to a police car, with promises of reporters outside come to see Harold. Apparently, Harold confessed to everything, "in his last lucid moments".
Health[]
It is suggested by Tom Barnaby that Harold may suffer from mental issues, when he tells his family that Harold confessed "in the last of his lucid moments" and that "he won't come to trial", which implies a medical assessment may find him unfit to plead.
We never know the validity of Harold's claims to have worked with John Gielgud and Paul Scofield, or that he "directed the original cast of 'Spider's Web'", so it is entirely plausible that these are figments of his imagination. When confronted by Tom, before he can murder Agnes, he is told that Michael Billington and the Press are waiting for him in order to get him to the police car, to which Harold replies "I knew they would remember me" - another potential marker of his madness.
He also displays a lack of understanding of the severity of his crimes when speaking to Tom, claiming that the "two stupid women and a man with delusions of grandeur" all tried to stop him, but at least "all (is) back to normal now". His obsession with his productions leaves him oblivious to anyone else's situations, and ignores the news that Nicholas Bentley has gained a place at drama school, because of his own intention to train him as his new leading man. Before accompanying Tom to the police cars, he initially refuses, saying he's "casting Vanya tonight".
Victims[]
- Agnes Gray - Struck on the head three times with a crowbar, put in a car, then taken to and thrown in the lake.
- Esslyn Carmichael - Slit own throat during the opening night of Amadeus, with a prop razor (taped) that was tampered with prior, exposing the blade.
- Doris Winstanley - Attempted to slash her to death with a razor; was rescued with wounds to her arms.