The evil Lydia Winthrop
Lydia Winthrop (Marian Seldes; 1928-2014) is the main villainess from "The Witch's Curse," episode 8.12 of Murder, She Wrote (airdate January 12, 1992).
The wife of Charles Winthrop, Lydia went into a jealous rage when she discovered that he was having an affair with their secretary, Monica Walker. As payback, Lydia framed Monica for the theft of her necklace, and with the help of Circuit Court judge Willard Clinton, Monica ended up arrested and jailed for the crime, and later died in prison.
Monica's daughter, Marian Osborn, returned to Cabot Cove looking to find out the truth about her mother. Seeing her tending to Charles brought back familiar jealous feelings in Lydia, but it was seeing her talking with Clinton at the rehearsal of their play that drew her attention. Fearing that Clinton would reveal the truth about Monica out of guilt, Lydia planned to kill him to keep her evil secret hidden. She lured Clinton into meeting Marian at the bell tower, doing so by sending him a note to do so and signing Marian's name. Once Clinton arrived, the evil Lydia appeared in a black wig and pushed Clinton off the top of the tower, killing him. The wig was part of Lydia's plan to frame Marian for the murder, and it did lead to Marian being the main suspect.
Jessica Fletcher revealed Lydia as the killer at the Winthrop household, and regarding the theft, the jewel in the "stolen" necklace was on Lydia's ring, proving that it was never taken. Lydia was arrested (off-screen) for her crimes.
Trivia[]
- Marian Seldes also played villainess Ida Colby on Mannix.
Gallery[]
