Harold Winstanley is a character appearing in the episode Death of a Hollow Man of the ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders.
Harold is seen as eccentric and extremely theatrical, considering himself way above the standard of his fellow actors in the 'Causton Amateur Dramatics Society.' He looks down on the cast and crew, regularly blaming them for problems. One example of this, is Deirdre Tibbs, the assistant stage manager, who he chides and is heard calling her a 'stupid girl.'
It is revealed that his real profession is in the imports/exports business, however he frequently reminisces on past times working with 'theatrical greats', such as 'Sir John' and 'Scofield'.
He is married to Doris Winstanley and treats her in a similar way to his cast and crew, making her stick-up posters, and call newspaper companies, after Esslyn is murdered, he drives off, leaving her at the Causton Playhouse.
It is unknown how he came to meet Agnes Gray, but they were involved in smuggling religious artefacts. Gray used her expertise from her degree in Religious Art, and Harold's imports/exports business helped with freight and transport.
When Agnes Gray 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 pond. 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. 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".
Victims[]
- Agnes Gray - Struck on the head three times with a crowbar, put in a car, then taken to and thrown in the river.
- Esslyn Carmichael - Slit own throat with a prop razor (taped blade) 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.