The evil Lavinia Sills
Lavinia Sills (Rosemary Murphy; 1925-2014) was the main villainess from "Murder on the Rocks," the first half of Thriller's penultimate episode, "The Lethal Ladies," (airdate April 16, 1962). She is a geologist and the wife of Myron Sills.
Introduction[]
The segment opened with Lavinia on the phone with Myron, who informed his wife that he was investing his savings on a stock tip, which would prevent him from borrowing money from Lavinia. As the scene showed, Myron was engaging in an affair with his mistress, Gloria, as well as discussing knocking off his wife; leading to Myron planning a trip to Granite Lake. Lavinia was told by Myron that he was with Albert White and his wife, Flo; only for Albert to reveal to Lavinia that he hadn't seen Myron.
At Granite Lake, Myron makes his attempts while Lavinia performed her duties, and it was at that moment that Lavinia informed her husband that his stocks sank, leaving him broke. In addition, Lavinia also revealed her knowledge of Myron's affair, leading to Myron shoving his wife off the cliff and into the pool.
Heel Turn & Death[]
A vengeful and villainous Lavinia tormenting Myron
Unbeknownst to Myron, Lavinia had actually survived the fall, and in the segment's climax, Lavinia turned heel and set her plan in motion to kill Myron, with the scene revealing that the villainess had duct taped Myron's mouth shut and tied him up. She stated that she didn't scream when she was pushed, and added that she fought for her life so she could see Myron and kill him, after which she took her husband to Granite Lake.
The sadistic villainess voiced her plan to make Myron's death look like an accident, while advising Myron not to scream, as it would take a lot of his oxygen. Just as Lavinia was about to toss Myron over, she noticed that her husband keeled over, leading the villainess to believe that Myron fainted and telling him that he wasn't going to get out of his predicament. However, Lavinia would learn that Myron actually died due to suffocation, and in response, the evil Lavinia lashed out at Myron for dying, ranting and snarling that he had cheated her. During her outburst, Lavinia suddenly fell over the cliff and into the pool, where she drowned.
Trivia[]
- Rosemary Murphy played villainess Alice Quimby in the second half of the same episode.
Videos[]
Boris Karloff's Thriller S02E29 The Lethal Ladies