Leonora Davis is charged with the planning and kidnapping Janice Warrington for the purpose of blackmailing Janice's father into paying a ransom of £50,000.
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00:00:00The case which you're about to see is fictitious, but the procedure is authentic.
00:00:23The characters are played by actors, but the jury is selected from members of the public.
00:00:27Today's case in the Forchester Crown Court is that of Mrs. Leonora Davis.
00:00:31She's charged with planning the kidnapping of Janice Warrington for the purpose of blackmailing Janice's father
00:00:37into paying a £50,000 ransom in return for his daughter's safety.
00:00:41Leonora Davis has pleaded not guilty.
00:00:44Take the book in your right hand, read aloud words on the card.
00:00:47I swear by almighty God the evidence I give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
00:00:53Is your full name Robert Arthur Criddle, and are you at present being detained at Her Majesty's prison in strange ways?
00:01:03Yeah, but I bleed and shouldn't be.
00:01:05Criddle, confine yourself to answering Mr. Draper's questions without the addition of scatological comment.
00:01:11Sorry, Your Lordship, but it's not right that I should have to take all the blame when she's as guilty as I am.
00:01:16What's more, she damn well knows it.
00:01:19If you don't behave yourself, Criddle, you may well end up with a further prison sentence.
00:01:23Sorry, Your Lordship. Honest.
00:01:26Mr. Criddle, what was your occupation at the time of the kidnapping?
00:01:30Repairing tellies, weren't it?
00:01:32Is that how you first came to meet the accused?
00:01:34Yeah.
00:01:35Repairman?
00:01:36I went to her house to mend a telly on December the 8th last year.
00:01:40Are you quite certain of that date?
00:01:42Oh, yeah.
00:01:43That's not a day I'll forget in a hurry.
00:01:44Oh, why is that?
00:01:45Well, it ain't every day you get half a bottle of port poured down you when you're actually fiddling with a lady's tube, is it?
00:01:51Lady's tube?
00:01:52Yeah, the tube in Leonora's, uh, Mrs. Davis's telly.
00:01:56I had to replace it, see?
00:01:58Oh, yes, I see.
00:01:59Bye, Mr. Draper.
00:02:00You are saying that the accused plied you with half a bottle of port while you were repairing her television set?
00:02:05Wanted to make friends, didn't she?
00:02:07In a hurry.
00:02:08Oh, she seemed to be making a play for you.
00:02:10Yeah, but seeing as she's a sexy-looking bint, I didn't complain, did I?
00:02:14Are you telling this court that Mrs. Davis appeared to be looking for sex?
00:02:18No, she wasn't head-on sexy, just, uh, over-friendly-like.
00:02:22Well, I could see she was lonely, underneath pretty angry about something.
00:02:26So I just humored her and carried on fiddling with her tube.
00:02:30Did you discover what she was angry about, did she say?
00:02:33Yeah, she had just been made redundant by Warrington gas appliances, so it was hardly surprising she was all steamed up.
00:02:39Mind, I could understand how she felt, because I'd just been chucked out by them and all a couple of months earlier.
00:02:44So you and Mrs. Davis discovered that you had things in common, then?
00:02:47Right. And didn't she play on it?
00:02:49Oh, how exactly did she play on it?
00:02:52Well, as soon as she found out that we'd both been given the order of the boot, she suddenly suggested that it might be, well, a bit of a giggle if we got her own back on old Warrington.
00:03:02You know, by us making him suffer in the same way he'd made us both suffer.
00:03:07What's more, she said we could get him through his daughter Janice.
00:03:10Did the accused appear serious when she made this suggestion?
00:03:13Uh, at the time I couldn't be sure.
00:03:15Oh, why couldn't you be sure?
00:03:16Well, she did it in a very jokey way. Used to do a lot of smiling in them days, did Ali and Nora? Don't look so smiley now, though, does she?
00:03:23Criddle, will you confine yourself, please, to answering Mr. Draper's questions?
00:03:27Sorry, Your Lordship, she just makes my blood boil.
00:03:30Then you must try and control yourself.
00:03:33Did something at some stage make you sure that she wasn't joking?
00:03:36Uh, yeah. The next time I met her, she made it damn clear she was serious as hell.
00:03:41Uh, when did this second meeting take place?
00:03:43About a week later, December the 15th.
00:03:45And where did the meeting take place?
00:03:47At the Wei Hei Wei.
00:03:49I beg your pardon?
00:03:50Uh, the Wei Hei Wei is a Chinese restaurant, Your Honor, in Fulchester High Street.
00:03:55Oh, I see. All right. Thank you.
00:03:57Uh, whose idea was it to meet at the Wei Hei Wei?
00:03:59Hers, of course.
00:04:00She rang me at work and said she wanted to take me out for lunch.
00:04:03Well, I couldn't say no, could I? Not with her looking like that.
00:04:06Especially not with a free chink-nosh thrown in.
00:04:08And did this invitation come as a surprise?
00:04:10Uh, first off, yeah. But though I say it myself, I ain't a bad looking bloke.
00:04:14I can fill a pair of jeans with the best of them.
00:04:16And fancy pieces notes, these things.
00:04:18At least, uh, Leonora did.
00:04:20So you joined the accused at the Wei Hei Wei?
00:04:22Damn right I did.
00:04:23And it was during lunch that she brought up the question again
00:04:26of us revenging ourselves on old Warringdon.
00:04:29In fact, that's all she could yak on about.
00:04:31Even over the crispy duck. No wonder I got indigestion.
00:04:34And how did she propose that you could both obtain your revenge?
00:04:37By us kidnapping Warringdon's kid, of course.
00:04:40And what's more, she went on to tell me why it would be worth my while.
00:04:43And why did she say it would be worth your while?
00:04:45Well, old Warringdon's a pretty wealthy firm, isn't it?
00:04:48And old Warringdon himself is rolling in it.
00:04:50I mean, his weekly payroll must be in the region of 50,000 quid.
00:04:53So she said if we kidnap Warringdon's kid,
00:04:56we could hold her for ransom till her old man coughed up to 50 grand.
00:05:00And how did you react to the accused's suggestion?
00:05:02I laughed in her face, didn't I?
00:05:04Why did you do that?
00:05:05Well, I mean, kidnapping's a pretty airy stunt, isn't it?
00:05:08But filth aren't too keen on it for a start.
00:05:10Nor are most judges.
00:05:12So at first you laughed at the suggestion.
00:05:14Did you see her again after that meeting?
00:05:16Yeah, in the Jolly Cricketer on the corner of Thornton Road
00:05:21about a fortnight after we'd had our lunch at the Wayay Way.
00:05:25To be exact, it was January the 3rd of this year.
00:05:29And was this meeting at your suggestion?
00:05:31No.
00:05:32In fact, I'd forgotten all about it till she rang me at work on January the 2nd.
00:05:35And invited you to meet her the following day at the Jolly Cricketer?
00:05:37Yeah, and at first I told her to get stuffed, that is,
00:05:40until she made it clear that if I didn't agree to meet her the next day,
00:05:44she'd make things very unpleasant for me.
00:05:46Did she, um, indicate how she could make things unpleasant for you?
00:05:50No, she didn't say. I just sensed that she'd got something on me.
00:05:54I couldn't put my finger on what, but it worried me enough
00:05:57to agree to meet her the next day in the Jolly Cricketer.
00:05:59And when you eventually met her on the following day,
00:06:01did she indicate how she could make things unpleasant for you?
00:06:04And how. She started off by telling me
00:06:07she'd been following me around Fulchester the old time since we last met.
00:06:11When you eventually met her on the following day,
00:06:15did she explain why she'd been following you around?
00:06:17Uh, yeah. She'd see me doing a little job, hadn't she?
00:06:21Ah. What kind of little job would that be, Mr. Fiddle?
00:06:24Well, she'd see me nicking a few bits and pieces from TVR on Christmas Eve, right?
00:06:29TVR's where I used to work, see? Pay was dreadful.
00:06:32Anyway, Christmas Eve, I decided to borrow a few valves on a permanent basis.
00:06:37Also, threw in a couple of Jack Tellys, you know, as me Christmas bonus.
00:06:41Well, the boss was such an old skinflint, I'd a good mind to rip off the lot.
00:06:45And as I knew the rest of the staff were getting themselves all tanked up on the first floor,
00:06:50I'd just slipped out with the gear through the fire escape,
00:06:54and I was just oiking the second telly into the back of me van
00:06:56when there was this sudden great flash of light on the other side of the street.
00:06:59But, being a burke, I ignored it, didn't I?
00:07:02I just jumped in the van and drove off with the gear.
00:07:05And it wasn't until a fortnight later in the jolly cricketer
00:07:08that I found out what that flash was.
00:07:10And what was it?
00:07:11With a flashbulb going off in Leonora's camera, weren't it?
00:07:15Ah.
00:07:16Yeah, she'd actually photographed me loading the stolen goods in the back of me van.
00:07:20And being a nice, helpful sort of lady, once she got me in the pub,
00:07:24she told me over a pint of mild and bitter
00:07:26that unless I personally kidnapped the Warrington kid,
00:07:29she was going to take the negative of my little caper straight to the filth.
00:07:32Griddle, that is the second time that you've used the word filth.
00:07:35I take it you mean to refer to the police.
00:07:38Well, let me warn you now, I will not have them referred to by that name.
00:07:42Oh, right.
00:07:44Did you see a photograph of yourself committing the crime?
00:07:47Yeah, she showed it to me, all right.
00:07:49She even promised to give me the negative once I'd kidnapped Janice.
00:07:52How did you respond to the accused blackmail threat?
00:07:55How would you have responded to her had you been me?
00:07:58Well, as I am not you, Mr. Griddle, I cannot say,
00:08:00but I feel sure that you will enlighten us as to your responses.
00:08:03Well, I had to go along with her, didn't I?
00:08:05I had to agree to do the job.
00:08:06I mean, what choice did I have?
00:08:08In 72, I was put away for six months,
00:08:10and then in 75, I got two stinking years.
00:08:13Mind you, when I came out, I tried to go straight,
00:08:16because I knew if the police picked me up again, they'd throw the book at me.
00:08:19So, there was nothing I could do but agree to help her carry out a crazy plan.
00:08:24And what was her crazy plan?
00:08:27Well, to be fair, it weren't all that crazy.
00:08:29In fact, it turned out exactly as she said it would.
00:08:32But then our Leonora's not just a pretty face.
00:08:34Oh, no, she was even clever enough to offer me the biggest share of the ransom.
00:08:38She said, once I got my hands on the 50,000, I could keep 30, and she'd be satisfied with 20.
00:08:43But that's how cunning she is, isn't it?
00:08:45Because she knew darn well that she was just doing the planning while old Bugs Bunny here was taking all the risks.
00:08:50Yes, yes, you still have not told us the details of Mrs. Davis' kidnapping plan.
00:08:54Well, the minute I agreed to do the job, she pulled this drawing out of her handbag and handed it to me.
00:09:00A drawing? Of what?
00:09:02Well, the plan of Warrington's house and grounds, weren't it?
00:09:05Is this a plan still in existence, Criddle?
00:09:08Afraid not, Your Lordship. I burned it straight after the kidnapping, didn't I?
00:09:12I see.
00:09:13On Madam's instructions, of course.
00:09:15I see, so we only have your word for it. Does this plan ever exist?
00:09:19Listen, I could never have got inside Warrington's poncy joint without her help, let alone kidnap his rotten daughter.
00:09:25Well, besides this plan that you say the accused gave you, what other concrete assistance did she supposedly provide?
00:09:32For her kick-off, she gave me a copy of Warrington's front door key.
00:09:36And am I right in assuming that this key no longer exists?
00:09:40Yeah, I tucked it in the river the day after I did the job. Again, on her instructions.
00:09:46Naturally.
00:09:47Naturally.
00:09:48Right, naturally.
00:09:49Did the accused tell you how she'd been able to obtain Mr. Warrington's front door key?
00:09:54She'd had a copy made of the original he'd lent her.
00:09:57Why did Mr. Warrington lend her his front door key in the first place, did she say?
00:10:02Yeah, she'd tell me he used to like her to go over to his place after hours, you know, to take down his recorded letters in shorthand and that.
00:10:09Ah.
00:10:10In fact, she seemed to have free run of the house even when he was swanning around in Benidorm or the Canaries.
00:10:14So, I suppose it must have been convenient for them both to have a front door key.
00:10:18Well, it shows how much he trusted her, doesn't it?
00:10:21And she repaid this trust by having a copy made of his front door key and by drawing a detailed plan of his house.
00:10:27So, when I was kidded up with a key and the plan, I was all ready to snatch the kid.
00:10:32Ah, that is, after I'd rented the tumbledown cottage outside Applethorpe.
00:10:36Now, what was the address of this cottage?
00:10:38Ah, Keepers Cottage Applethorpe.
00:10:40And why did you rent it?
00:10:41Well, we needed somewhere to stow the kid after I'd snatched it, didn't we?
00:10:45Of course, the cottage was Leonora's idea, but she was clever enough to get me to rent it.
00:10:51Mind you, it was perfect for the job, stuck slap bang in the middle of that lousy wood.
00:10:56No one came near the place and the whole three weeks we had it before the kidnapping.
00:10:59You had the cottage for three weeks before the kidnapping? Why was that?
00:11:02It took us that long to be absolutely sure about the kids' movements.
00:11:05In fact, I used to follow Janice to school and back every day until finally Leonora decided that I should snatch the kid on Friday the 31st of January this year.
00:11:15Did the accused give any reason for choosing this particular evening for the kidnapping?
00:11:19Yeah. You see, I discovered that every Friday Janice used to stay on at school for an extra hour and a half for a dancing lesson and a spot of yoga.
00:11:27And Leonora had found out that an old man would be stuck in Birmingham that particular Friday night.
00:11:33And as Janice's mother was dead and we knew the housekeeper had been given the weekend off, well, it was just perfect.
00:11:39Janice would come home to an empty house.
00:11:41That's why Leonora arranged for me to be inside the house when the kid got home.
00:11:45So that as she came in, I could grab her, shove a chloroformed handkerchief under her nose and bobs your uncle.
00:11:50In fact, that's exactly what happened.
00:11:52Before she had a chance to put up any resistance, she was taking a long sniff of chloroform and then wallop!
00:11:58She was stretched out on her bed.
00:12:11Where was the accused while you were physically kidnapping Janice Warrington?
00:12:15She was at home, weren't she? Preparing dinner for her husband.
00:12:18When you had chloroformed Janice, what did you do then?
00:12:21Got in the van and drove to the cottage.
00:12:23The cottage was well hidden, was it?
00:12:25Yeah, and there was no moon neither, so I carried her inside.
00:12:29By now, she was nearly conscious but still pretty woozy.
00:12:33So before she could recognise me, I blindfolded her with a load of bandages and then I locked her in one of the bedrooms.
00:12:39And then I sat around for four stinking hours until I was pretty sure old man would be back from his Birmingham trip.
00:12:45And then I went into Applethorpe just after eleven and phoned up old Warrington from a call box and told him our terms.
00:12:52And what were your terms?
00:12:55Well, I said something like, if you want to get your daughter back in one bit, put 50,000 quid in used notes in a plastic carrier bag and drop the carrier bag in the litter bin on the corner of Chorley Road off Applethorpe High Street at midnight tomorrow night.
00:13:10And once you've delivered the gelt, drive home fast and you'll find your kid returned to you safe within the hour.
00:13:16Did you say anything else to Mr Warrington over the phone?
00:13:18Yeah, I told him not to bring the police in or do anything to double cross me or he'd find his kid in a litter bin.
00:13:25Mind you, that was just a stupid threat. I mean, the very last thing I'll commit is murder, especially when there's a kid involved.
00:13:30And how did Mr Warrington respond to your threat?
00:13:33He was terribly upset, wasn't he?
00:13:35But he said he'd do exactly as I told him and deliver the gelt the following midnight in the plastic bag and not calling the police or nothing.
00:13:43So I left it at that and hung up. Then I went back to the cottage.
00:13:47And all was tied up.
00:13:51Me having to treat her like that. So when I got to the cottage, I made sure she was all right and gave her something to eat.
00:13:57Then I went to bed myself in one of the front.
00:14:00Did you call up the accused and tell her of your progress with the kidnapping?
00:14:03No. You see, Leonore had maybe promised not to get in touch with her until I'd actually got my hands on the 50,000 quid and released the kid, of course.
00:14:11So I had to put up with a solid 24 hours nail biting. And then just after midnight the following night, I went into Applethorpe to collect the loot and, well, you know the rest, squire.
00:14:23I'm sure Mr Draper knows the rest, but the jury and I certainly do not. So perhaps you'd be good enough to describe what occurred when you left the cottage that evening.
00:14:33Well, I sneaked into Applethorpe and hid in a doorway opposite the litter bin on the corner of Chorley Road. Didn't have to wait long. About three minutes later, a maroon jag pulls up.
00:14:44And as far as I can see, the street's empty except for the jag.
00:14:48When the maroon jaguar pulled up beside the litter bin, what happened then?
00:14:52Oh, Warren got out, didn't he? He was clutching a plastic bag, which he put in the litter bin, just like I told him. Then he jumped in the car and drove off.
00:15:00So I gave it a good five minutes to make sure I was safe. Then I, uh, nipped across the road. And I was just pulling the money bag out of the bin when, surprise, surprise,
00:15:09I felt the friendly hand of the law on me shoulder. So I turned round fast-ish. I need to find myself looking into the smiling beadies of four uniformed police officers.
00:15:18What is so amusing about being arrested?
00:15:21I'm sorry, Your Lordship, I just can't get over Warrington's nerve. I never thought he'd have the guts to set me up like that.
00:15:27And it's all her fault. She not only blackmailed me into kidnapping the kid, oh no. Once I was caught, she didn't even have the nerve to come forward and share the blame.
00:15:36She's as guilty as I am. In fact, guiltier.
00:15:39Griddle, this is the third time that I've had to warn you to answer questions that are put to you.
00:15:46Right, Mr. Draven.
00:15:47No more questions, Your Honour. Thank you, Mr. Criddle.
00:15:53Criddle, I put it to you that you are an outrageous liar. And that you know perfectly well that Mrs. Davis had nothing whatever to do with either the planning or the execution of the kidnapping of Janice Warrington.
00:16:04Oh, come on, lady. I've given you enough proof to hang that rotten bird ten times over.
00:16:08On the contrary, Criddle. So far we have only your word against that of Mrs. Davis. For as yet you have not provided us with a single scrap of physical evidence to back up your vicious accusations.
00:16:18What about the key and the ground plan she gave me? I could never have done the job without them.
00:16:22Indeed. But as you admitted earlier, you yourself worked for Warrington, did you not?
00:16:27Yeah, but I never actually went inside his house when I was working for him, did I?
00:16:31Never.
00:16:32Yeah, well, it's true he did once ask me to mend his telly, but that's the only time I visited his house. And even then I was only there about half an hour.
00:16:42But on that occasion, did not Mr. Warrington lend you his front door key so that you could gain entry to the house in order to mend his television set, because Mr. Warrington had to stay on at the office?
00:16:51Yeah. Now that you mention it, I think he did let me his key.
00:16:55Did you really think he'd enter his key?
00:16:57All right, he did let me his blaster key. So what?
00:16:59And once you were in possession of the key, did you not immediately have a replica made?
00:17:03Of course not. What sort of person do you think I am?
00:17:06A self-confessed thief, Criddle.
00:17:08Oh, now, look here.
00:17:09Oh, come now, Mr. Criddle. Surely you must agree that for you to make a replica of Mr. Warrington's key would be a perfectly simple and natural thing for you to do, considering your criminal nature.
00:17:18Well, I didn't make a replica of his key.
00:17:21And when you gained entry to Mr. Warrington's house by using his key, you found that you were completely alone in the house, did you not?
00:17:27Yes, I suppose I did.
00:17:29So once you had repaired Mr. Warrington's television set, you had ample opportunity to make a detailed plan of Mr. Warrington's house, knowing that there was no one there to observe you.
00:17:39Yes, but I didn't do it.
00:17:42I suggest that you had the opportunity.
00:17:45And indeed, you did tell my client that there was such a plan, although she never saw it.
00:17:50Moreover, I further suggest that the reason you made a replica of Mr. Warrington's key was because you had already decided that at some future date, you would kidnap Janice Warrington and hold her to ransom.
00:18:02That's a lie. It would never have entered my head to kidnap the kid if she hadn't blackmailed me into doing it.
00:18:07If, as you say, Mrs. Davis blackmailed you into committing the crime, why did you not inform the police that she was your accomplice when they first arrested you?
00:18:15At the time, I wanted to, well, like, protect her, didn't I?
00:18:21You wanted to protect the very woman who was blackmailing you.
00:18:24Yeah, I know it looks a bit odd, but...
00:18:27But?
00:18:28Well, the truth is, soon after I'd rented the cottage, I started to have a bit of an affair with Leonora.
00:18:35In fact, I fell in love with her.
00:18:38And were you still in love with her three weeks later when you actually carried out the kidnapping?
00:18:43And how?
00:18:44So your affair with Mrs. Davis continued right up to the moment of your arrest?
00:18:48No. You see, the day before the kidnapping, Leonora suddenly wouldn't let me go near her anymore. It drove me half crazy.
00:18:55Are you saying that Mrs. Davis terminated your relationship only the day before you abducted Janice?
00:19:00Yeah.
00:19:01Did Mrs. Davis give you any reason for suddenly ending the affair?
00:19:05She just said she had to stop it because her husband had found out about us.
00:19:08When she said we were finished, I was cut up something rotten.
00:19:12But, because I still loved her, when I was arrested, I decided to take all the blame on meself.
00:19:19That's why I never said nothing about her part in the kidnapping.
00:19:22And after you were arrested, did you have any further contact with Mrs. Davis?
00:19:27No. She never tried to see me. No letter. Nothing.
00:19:31When she was sitting in the gallery at my trial with all them other Gawpers, her face was like stone.
00:19:36And when the judge passed sentence on me, I looked across to see her reaction.
00:19:40Absolutely zilch. I couldn't believe it.
00:19:43Is that when you decided to accuse Mrs. Davis of being your supposed accomplice in the kidnapping?
00:19:49No, I didn't get to thinking about that till after I was inside.
00:19:53And the more I thought about it, the more twisted up I got.
00:19:57And after I'd been in prison for a couple of weeks, I decided to tell the whole truth.
00:20:03Are you therefore saying that your main motive for accusing Mrs. Davis of being your supposed partner in crime was in fact an embittered lover's desire for revenge?
00:20:12Well, partly.
00:20:13I predict to you, Mr. Criddle, that you know perfectly well that my client is entirely innocent in regard to this crime.
00:20:19But because she broke off her affair with you, you are now perjuring yourself simply in order to gain your revenge on her.
00:20:25I'm not perjuring myself. I'm telling the truth.
00:20:27Oh, come along, Mr. Criddle. By your own admission, you have an appalling criminal record.
00:20:32And all the crimes you have committed hitherto, you have in fact committed entirely by yourself.
00:20:36So why should the jury now suddenly be expected to believe that you are not solely responsible for this particular crime?
00:20:43Especially when by your own admission, you cannot furnish any physical proof that Mrs. Davis was in any way involved in planning the kidnapping.
00:20:51Moreover, you have also admitted that Mrs. Davis was at home with her husband while you were actually carrying out the snatch.
00:20:58And even when you had successfully abducted Janice and were holding her prisoner in the cottage,
00:21:03you admit that you still did not try to contact your alleged partner in crime.
00:21:08So, apart from your two meetings with Mrs. Davis publicly, in the Jolly Cricketer and again in the Chinese restaurant,
00:21:15there is no evidence that you even knew Mrs. Davis well, let alone proof that she masterminded the kidnapping of Janice Warrington.
00:21:23She's as guilty as me.
00:21:25So, when you came back from your dancing class on the evening in question, Janice,
00:21:31and let yourself into the house, did you sense that there was an intruder in your bedroom?
00:21:36No, sir. I didn't sense a thing. I simply switched on the hall light and ran upstairs.
00:21:42I wanted to change out of my school uniform, so I went straight into my bedroom.
00:21:46Then what happened?
00:21:47Well, it was all so quick. I stepped into my room and someone grabbed me.
00:21:53And then this horrible smelling wad of something was shoved under my nose.
00:21:57And then, well, I must have passed out, I suppose.
00:22:00So you never actually saw who was attacking you?
00:22:03No. And when I eventually came round, I found I was blindfolded and locked in this room.
00:22:09Soon recognised her voice, though.
00:22:12Whose voice did you recognise?
00:22:14Hers. Who else?
00:22:16I mean, the cheek of it, to kidnap me, then to actually laugh about it with each other in the next room.
00:22:21Well, just shows what type of woman she is, doesn't it?
00:22:25She's even worse than he is.
00:22:43The case of the Queen against Davies will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.
00:22:48The Queen against Davies will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.
00:23:04The Queen against Davies will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.
00:23:09The case you're about to see is fictitious, though the procedure is authentic.
00:23:23The characters are played by actors, but the jury is selected from members of the public.
00:23:27Leonora Davies is accused of planning the kidnapping of Janice Warrington
00:23:31for the purpose of blackmailing Janice's father into paying a ransom of £50,000.
00:23:36Today, the second day of the trial at the Fullchester Crown Court,
00:23:39Janice Warrington is being questioned by the prosecution.
00:23:43Are you saying, Miss Warrington, that while you were held prisoner in the cottage,
00:23:47you actually heard Criddle and the accused laughing and talking together in the next room?
00:23:52Yes, sir.
00:23:54Are you certain that it was the accused you heard talking with Criddle and not some other woman?
00:23:59Oh, I'd know Mrs Davies' voice anywhere.
00:24:01While she worked for my father, she was always playing up to him, giggling and that.
00:24:05When did you first become aware that the accused was in the cottage with you?
00:24:09Um, I'm not sure.
00:24:12You see, I had no idea what time it was when I first came round from being chloroformed
00:24:16and then I heard her giggling and then talking together.
00:24:20Can you remember anything which either of them said?
00:24:23I remember Criddle saying something about her being a sexy bitch on heat,
00:24:27but those were his words, you understand, not mine.
00:24:29Yes, yes, of course.
00:24:31Now, how did you know that the man who kidnapped you was Criddle?
00:24:34For it is right, is it not, that you never actually saw your captor's face
00:24:38for the whole time that you were held prisoner?
00:24:40That's true, but when the police arrested Criddle,
00:24:43they forced him to bring them back to the cottage and then I recognised his voice.
00:24:48And then, when they took my blindfold off, I saw him.
00:24:54Not something I'll ever forget.
00:24:56That's all right, Janice, there's no need to upset yourself.
00:24:59Now, let us return to the night of the kidnapping.
00:25:02While the accused and Criddle were together in the cottage,
00:25:06did the accused say anything that struck you
00:25:09was in any way particularly significant?
00:25:11Oh, yes.
00:25:12She kept on bragging about how much they were making my dad suffer.
00:25:15Was there any mention of the ransom?
00:25:17Yes, but she didn't seem very interested in the money.
00:25:20Only in getting her own back on my dad, because he'd sacked her.
00:25:24Did the accused address you directly while she was in the cottage?
00:25:27No.
00:25:28She was too clever for that.
00:25:30Did all her bragging in whispers.
00:25:32Obviously thought I couldn't hear her.
00:25:34Though I don't think she cared much whether I heard her or not.
00:25:37I'm pretty certain if the police hadn't rescued me
00:25:40the moment she got hold of the ransom, she would have had Criddle kill me.
00:25:43Did you actually hear the accused say that she wanted you killed, Janice?
00:25:47No, but I knew that's what she was thinking, planning.
00:25:50You know, Miss Warrington, your speculations as to Mrs. Davis's thoughts
00:25:54are quite inadmissible, and in due course I shall direct the jury to ignore them.
00:26:00So the accused did not actually say anything while she was in the cottage,
00:26:04which made you fear for your ultimate safety?
00:26:07She did say one thing.
00:26:09Which was?
00:26:10Well, just before she left the cottage, she said to Criddle,
00:26:14by the time we finish with her father he'll be a broken old man,
00:26:17and not just because he's lost 50,000 quid either.
00:26:21Now, were those her actual words?
00:26:23As far as I can remember.
00:26:26Thank you, Janice.
00:26:32Janice, you said earlier that from the moment you were chloroformed in your bedroom
00:26:36to the moment you regained consciousness at the cottage,
00:26:39you have no recollection at all of what had happened to you.
00:26:42That's right.
00:26:44And when you did eventually regain consciousness,
00:26:47for some considerable time you had no clear idea where you were being held or by whom,
00:26:53and certainly no real conception of whether it was even day or night.
00:26:56Is that not correct?
00:26:57Yes, I was a blindfolded with some kind of thick bandage, you see.
00:27:01In fact, it was quite hard to breathe,
00:27:03because one of the layers of the bandage slipped down over my nose.
00:27:06And also, presumably, over your ears as well.
00:27:09Sorry, Miss, I don't quite understand.
00:27:11Well, if there were several layers of bandages tied round your eyes
00:27:14that interfered with your breathing,
00:27:16then surely there must have been several layers of bandages tied round your ears as well, were there not?
00:27:21Oh, yes. In fact, some of the bandages were tied quite tightly round my ears.
00:27:25And if the bandages were tied very tightly round your ears,
00:27:28they must have severely impaired your hearing, surely?
00:27:31Well, I suppose they did a bit.
00:27:34Then there is a very good chance that you may well have misheard everything that occurred in that room, is there not?
00:27:39No. Mrs. Davis was there, I tell you.
00:27:42I suggest to you that what with the difficulty you experienced with your breathing,
00:27:46as well as with your hearing,
00:27:48plus being only semi-conscious at the time, totally disorientated and very, very frightened,
00:27:53I suggest to you that in these appalling circumstances,
00:27:56your fevered imagination took you over and completely distorted reality for you.
00:28:01I didn't imagine it. Everything I've said is true.
00:28:03I put it to you that in your heart you know very well that Mrs. Davis was not in that cottage at all,
00:28:08and that you in fact imagined all the supposed giggling,
00:28:12because in reality there was no one but yourself and Criddle in that house.
00:28:16That's not true. I heard them.
00:28:18But how can you be certain that it was Mrs. Davis you heard,
00:28:20when by your own admission your hearing was severely impaired by several layers of bandages,
00:28:25and they were tied very tightly round your ears?
00:28:28Was her, I tell you.
00:28:30Did you like Mrs. Davis?
00:28:32Of course I didn't. She was a scheming cow, and still is.
00:28:36In what way was Mrs. Davis a scheming cow?
00:28:40Like I told Mr. Draper. She was always trying to get round my dad, and I knew why as well.
00:28:45Why was that?
00:28:47She wanted to get my dad to marry her, didn't she?
00:28:49Did you actually ever hear Mrs. Davis saying that she wanted to marry your father?
00:28:53No. I didn't need to hear her say it.
00:28:56Knew what she was up to, where she'd been carrying on, ever since my mum died from cancer.
00:29:02Sorry.
00:29:05Take your time.
00:29:07Would you care for a glass of water, Miss Warrington?
00:29:24All right now.
00:29:26Just that my mum had hardly been dead before that woman tried to get her claws into my dad.
00:29:31So, you do not just dislike Mrs. Davis.
00:29:35You actively hate her, don't you?
00:29:37Well, what if I do?
00:29:39It's no more than she asked for, what she's done to our family.
00:29:42If I had my way, I'd put her in prison and chuck away the key.
00:29:45What's she looking at me like that for?
00:29:48She's the guilty one, not me.
00:29:50Why don't you be honest for once, Janice, and admit that your hatred for Mrs. Davis
00:29:54has made you tell some rather substantial lies here today?
00:29:57I never lie.
00:29:58I put it to you that you do.
00:30:00For you know very well that Mrs. Davis was never in that cottage on the night of the kidnapping, do you not?
00:30:04She wasn't there.
00:30:05How could I possibly have heard the two of them talking?
00:30:07Again, I put it to you that you did not hear them talking at all.
00:30:11As I said earlier, you either imagined the whole thing because you were only semi-conscious and totally disorientated,
00:30:18or more probably, you've made up the entire story because you were jealous of Mrs. Davis.
00:30:24I've never been jealous of that cow.
00:30:26I put it to you that you were, and you probably still are.
00:30:29For you believe, do you not, that Mrs. Davis is capable of stealing your father's affections and usurping the place of your mother.
00:30:35No!
00:30:36No, no, no!
00:30:38Thank you, Janice.
00:30:40I have no more questions.
00:30:42Take the book in your right hand.
00:30:44Read aloud the words on the card.
00:30:46I swear by Almighty God, the evidence I give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
00:30:53Is your full name Alfred James Warrington?
00:30:55That is correct.
00:30:56And do you reside at the Chestnuts Lorraine Avenue, Fullchester?
00:31:00I do.
00:31:01Did you find it strange, Mr. Warrington, that your daughter was not at home when you arrived back from Birmingham on the night of the kidnapping?
00:31:08Oh, yes, very.
00:31:09Especially as Janice hadn't left me a note or anything.
00:31:11What time did you arrive home?
00:31:13Oh, must have been, oh, about 10.30.
00:31:16When you discovered that your daughter was not there, what did you do?
00:31:19Well, I rang up a couple of her school friends.
00:31:21I thought perhaps she might be staying overnight with one of them.
00:31:24She occasionally does on a Friday evening.
00:31:26In fact, I was just about to ring Mary Townsend, that's another of Janice's friends,
00:31:30when Criddle telephoned and told me that he'd kidnapped Janice.
00:31:37Are you saying that you recognise Criddle's voice over the telephone?
00:31:40No, but I took his demand for £50,000 in return for my daughter's safety very seriously indeed.
00:31:46Can you remember Criddle's exact words in that phone call?
00:31:49Yes.
00:31:50He said, get this, Warrington.
00:31:52If you don't put your firm's payroll, all £50,000 of it, into a plastic bag
00:31:57and then dump the plastic bag into the waste bin on the corner of Chorley Road, just off Applethorpe High Street,
00:32:04tomorrow at precisely midnight,
00:32:07then you'll find your daughter dead in another waste bin within 24 hours.
00:32:12Now, Mr. Warrington, are you certain that Criddle threatened to kill your daughter, if you did not comply with his instructions?
00:32:27Well, he might not have used those exact words, but it was obviously implied.
00:32:30Otherwise, how could he put my daughter into a waste bin?
00:32:33How did you respond to Criddle's demand for a ransom in return for your daughter's safety?
00:32:38Well, naturally, I agreed to what he asked. I was far too frightened to put up any resistance.
00:32:43And the moment I agreed, then Criddle hung up.
00:32:46After Criddle had hung up, what did you do then?
00:32:49For a long time, I did nothing at all.
00:32:51It was almost as if I was paralysed.
00:32:54All I could think about was what was happening to Janice.
00:32:58I kept trying to visualize where he was holding her prisoner,
00:33:03or whether she'd been harmed, or...
00:33:07So I just sat there by the phone for nearly an hour.
00:33:15But then eventually you took some action, did you not?
00:33:18Oh, yes. In the end, I rang the police, even though I was terrified.
00:33:21You see, Criddle had made it abundantly clear in his phone call that if I contacted the police,
00:33:25or did anything to try and thwart him, then Janice would suffer.
00:33:29Yet, despite your understandable fear, you nevertheless called the police.
00:33:33Yes, and thank God I did. Otherwise, Janice would never have been saved.
00:33:37Or that monster caught.
00:33:39And I must say, it was quite miraculous the way the police responded to my call for help.
00:33:44In what way was the police's response miraculous?
00:33:46Well, when I followed their instructions the following evening,
00:33:49and drove into Applethorpe with the £50,000,
00:33:52I could see no sign of the police presence whatsoever.
00:33:55But within five minutes of my placing the plastic bag into the waste bin,
00:34:00the police appeared from nowhere and caught Criddle red-handed with my money on him.
00:34:04That's what I mean by miraculous.
00:34:06Oh, I know it's not very fashionable these days to praise the police,
00:34:10but in this case they were remarkable, quite remarkable.
00:34:15I'm sure they were.
00:34:17Now, you had employed the accused.
00:34:19Yes.
00:34:20But dismissed her in December last year.
00:34:23Yes.
00:34:24Was she upset by that?
00:34:26Oh, yes, very.
00:34:27In fact, she was so furious I thought she was going to attack me.
00:34:30Can you remember what she said on her final day in your employ?
00:34:33Yes.
00:34:34She said,
00:34:36Come hell or high water,
00:34:39I'll get my own back on you, Alfred.
00:34:42I won't rest until I've completely destroyed you.
00:34:45And were those the accused's exact words?
00:34:47Absolutely.
00:34:48So, Mrs. Davies' reaction to being made redundant was very like Criddle's
00:34:52when you had sacked him two months earlier.
00:34:54Oh, no, no, no.
00:34:55Her reaction was...
00:34:58She had a very real reason for wanting revenge, hadn't she?
00:35:02And what was that reason?
00:35:05Well, the day that I made her...
00:35:08Well...
00:35:10Yes?
00:35:12I told her that we could no longer continue with our affair.
00:35:16Are you saying that you and the accused were lovers prior to your making her redundant?
00:35:20Yes.
00:35:21How long had you been having an affair with the accused?
00:35:24Oh, for about three months.
00:35:26But why did the ending of your affair make her want to revenge herself on you?
00:35:31Because for most of our affair she was blackmailing me.
00:35:34How was the accused blackmailing you?
00:35:37After I'd slept with her several times she...
00:35:41She threatened to tell my daughter about our affair...
00:35:44If I did not agree to give her a considerable weekly allowance.
00:35:48And did you comply with her blackmailing demand?
00:35:51Yes, I did.
00:35:53See, at that time I suppose I was so besotted by her that...
00:35:58Well, I must have been frightened of losing her.
00:36:01So I agreed to give her a hundred pounds a week in cash to keep her quiet.
00:36:06But in the end I...
00:36:08I couldn't take the strain of it any longer so I broke off our affair and I sacked her.
00:36:13Did the accused retaliate by telling your daughter of your affair?
00:36:17No.
00:36:18But as I've already said she made it very clear on that last day that she wanted to make me suffer.
00:36:23Well, not just by humiliating me in front of my daughter.
00:36:25No, she...
00:36:26She swore to destroy me.
00:36:28And what's more she would have destroyed me if the police hadn't rescued Janice the way they did.
00:36:32Thank you very much, Mr. Warrington. No more questions, Your Honour.
00:36:39As I understand it, Mr. Warrington, you are alleging that you sacked my client...
00:36:44...because she was blackmailing you over the affair you were having with her.
00:36:47That is correct.
00:36:49And do you still maintain that that is why she wanted to revenge herself on you?
00:36:53Yes.
00:36:54But the blackmail wasn't the only reason that I sacked her.
00:36:58What was the other reason?
00:37:00Well, for the last two years that she worked for me, Leonora was a constant source of...
00:37:05...trouble and disruption to me and to my workforce.
00:37:09In what way was Mrs. Davis a source of trouble and disruption?
00:37:13Well, for a start she was becoming increasingly lazy and inefficient as my personal assistant.
00:37:18And latterly she was far more interested in flirting with the members of my staff than in doing any work.
00:37:23Well, that is with the men, of course.
00:37:26She also had an extremely vicious tongue.
00:37:30Worst of all, she...
00:37:32Well...
00:37:33Yes?
00:37:35Well, she tried to make me distrust my own daughter.
00:37:39In what way did Mrs. Davis supposedly try to make you distrust your daughter?
00:37:44She used to imply that Janice was some sort of promiscuous slut.
00:37:49Can you remember a specific occasion on which Mrs. Davis is supposed to have made such an accusation?
00:37:56Erm...
00:37:57Well, no, no, I'm afraid I can't.
00:37:59I put it to you that the reason you cannot remember a specific occasion is because my client never in fact made such an accusation.
00:38:06She most certainly did.
00:38:07And what's more, she tried to make out that Alice, my wife, was having an affair with one of my partners practically up to the day she died.
00:38:14Well, that was more than I could take.
00:38:15Presumably you can remember when my client supposedly made that particular remark.
00:38:20Yes.
00:38:21She said that the day before I sacked her.
00:38:23Oh, she really must have hated me to behave the way she did.
00:38:25I mean, first of all, to blackmail me and then to...
00:38:27Oh, it was horrible.
00:38:29It isn't as if I wasn't a generous employer.
00:38:32I always gave her time off work whenever she asked for it.
00:38:35And her workload was far from excessive.
00:38:38Yet in spite of that she seemed bent upon destroying me.
00:38:41And she very nearly succeeded when she masterminded this plan to kidnap Janice.
00:38:46But I can see that you don't believe a word I'm saying, do you?
00:38:51Do you, Mr. Warrington?
00:38:52Yes, I do.
00:38:53It happens to be the truth.
00:38:55And exactly how many months did you say that Mrs. Davis was a source of trouble and disruption?
00:39:02Well, I suppose it must have been, well, for five or six months.
00:39:07Then why scarcely a moment ago did you say that Mrs. Davis was a source of trouble and disruption for two whole years?
00:39:13I'm afraid I must have been exaggerating a little.
00:39:18Then perhaps you were also exaggerating a little about the sordid innuendos that Mrs. Davis is supposed to have made
00:39:24concerning your daughter's promiscuity and your wife's affair with one of your partners.
00:39:29Nothing of the sort. I distinctly remember her saying those things.
00:39:33And were there any witnesses, apart from yourself, of course, who actually overheard Mrs. Davis saying those things?
00:39:40No, I'm afraid not.
00:39:42You seem to be afraid of a lot of things, Mr. Warrington.
00:39:45And as you seem unable to produce anyone to back up your accusations against Mrs. Davis, your fear may well turn out to be very well founded.
00:39:53Look, madam, I'm not afraid of anything.
00:39:56So there's no point in your trying to intimidate me with your sly innuendos.
00:40:00I'm not trying to intimidate you, Mr. Warrington. I am simply trying to uncover the truth.
00:40:05Now, let us return to the question of your supposed affair with my client.
00:40:12There was nothing supposed about it.
00:40:14I suggest to you that there was no affair at all.
00:40:17Indeed, I suggest that all your accusations against my client are motivated by a mixture of jealous frustration and a desire for revenge.
00:40:26Jealous frustration and revenge? Why should I want to revenge myself upon that predatory slut?
00:40:31Perhaps because you wanted to have an affair with Mrs. Davis, but she turned you down.
00:40:35It would be because you were madly in love with her at the time and sexually frustrated.
00:40:40You totally lost control of yourself and vindictively sacked her.
00:40:43No, that's a lie.
00:40:45Oh, I'm sure the members of the jury can understand your vengeful obsession, Mr. Warrington.
00:40:49Even I can see that my client is a very attractive lady.
00:40:53But what the jury may find difficult to understand is why you were so intent on taking your revenge to such appalling lengths.
00:41:00To fabricate stories about blackmail because of sexual frustration is one thing.
00:41:05But to actually accuse Mrs. Davis of being a party to the kidnapping of your own daughter is quite another.
00:41:11Especially when by your own admission you never heard her specifically say anything that could possibly implicate her in this terrible crime.
00:41:19This just isn't true. I've already told you she threatened to destroy me.
00:41:23And I suggest to you that Mrs. Davis was under considerable stress at the time.
00:41:27And if she did use the word destroy, which has not yet been proven, she was acting in a purely emotional way on the spur of the moment.
00:41:35Which is hardly surprising if she believed that you were sacking her simply because she refused to go to bed with you.
00:41:41Again, that is simply not true. It is not true.
00:41:44You only have to look into her eyes to see what kind of woman she really is.
00:41:48Mrs. Davis, let us begin with the most important question.
00:41:52Were you or were you not involved in Criddle's plot to kidnap Janice Warrington?
00:41:57I was not involved in any way at all. I had no reason to be.
00:42:01Did you at any time make a replica of Mr. Warrington's front door key or a plan of his house?
00:42:07Never.
00:42:08And on the morning that Mr. Warrington made you redundant, do you deny that you threatened to revenge yourself on him?
00:42:15Threatened in fact to destroy him?
00:42:17Certainly I deny it. The last thing I wanted was revenge or destruction.
00:42:22In fact, I could feel only too relieved when he sacked me.
00:42:26Why were you relieved?
00:42:27Because I was heartily sick of the old lecher chasing me around the room trying to get me to go to bed with him.
00:42:32Did you acquiesce to Mr. Warrington's demands and have an affair with him?
00:42:36Good heavens, no. I spent most of my time telling him to go to hell.
00:42:41Not only did I find his attentions repulsive, but I could see that his behaviour was offensive to his daughter, Janice.
00:42:48So you were somewhat concerned about the effect that Mr. Warrington's behaviour was having on his daughter?
00:42:53I certainly was. The way he ignored her every time she came to see him in the office and then made passes at the office girls in front of her.
00:43:01Well, it upset me a great deal.
00:43:04You see, I always went out of my way to try to be a second mother to Janice.
00:43:09Or at least a compassionate aunt. That is, ever since her own mother died of cancer.
00:43:15And how did Janice react to your attempts at mothering her?
00:43:19Not very well, I'm afraid. She completely misunderstood my motives.
00:43:24It seems that she thought I was trying to manipulate her father into marrying me.
00:43:30I'm sorry. I just don't know how she can think such a thing.
00:43:35Go on, Mrs. Davis.
00:43:38I just don't know how she can say these things about me.
00:43:43Mrs. Davis, you really must compose yourself.
00:43:46I'm sorry, Your Honour, but I'm just too upset to think straight.
00:43:50I simply can't believe all the appalling things that everyone has made up about me.
00:43:55It's all lies.
00:43:58Well, try to answer the questions, Mrs. Davis, and put your side of the story to the jury.
00:44:04Can't you ask your questions later when I've had time to pull myself together?
00:44:07I can't answer them now. I just can't.
00:44:11I beg you to excuse me from all this, just for a little while, please.
00:44:17Miss Seymour?
00:44:18Um, perhaps you might be excused for the time being, Your Honour.
00:44:22All right, very well. Then you may return to the dock, Mrs. Davis.
00:44:52The case of the Queen against Davis will be concluded tomorrow in the Crown Court.
00:45:12The End
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00:45:50The End
00:45:51is accused of planning the kidnapping of Janice Warrington
00:45:54for the purpose of blackmailing Janice's father
00:45:56into paying a ransom of £50,000.
00:45:59Leonora has pleaded not guilty.
00:46:01Today, the last day of the trial at Fulchester Crown Court,
00:46:04Tom Davis, Leonora's husband, is being questioned by the defence.
00:46:09And you are quite certain, Mr Davis,
00:46:12that your wife did not mention to you
00:46:13the possibility of revenging herself on Mr Warrington,
00:46:16that is, after he had made her redundant.
00:46:18On the contrary, Leonora was only too relieved
00:46:21that Warrington had made her redundant.
00:46:23Why was she relieved?
00:46:25Because, latterly, all he'd done was make passes at her,
00:46:28and as he's such a pig, well, naturally, Leonora found this distasteful.
00:46:33So your wife told you all about Mr Warrington's distasteful advances?
00:46:37Oh, certainly.
00:46:38Was she therefore relieved
00:46:40when Mr Warrington eventually made her redundant?
00:46:42You could say that again, yes.
00:46:44Surely she must have been somewhat upset
00:46:46to be made penniless in such a peremptory manner.
00:46:49Not really.
00:46:50Why was that?
00:46:51Well, Warrington didn't pay her very well.
00:46:53Even though she was his personal assistant,
00:46:55he only paid her about four and a half thousand a year.
00:46:58Besides which, she did give her six-month salary
00:47:00as his pathetic version of a golden handshake.
00:47:03Not that we needed it, you understand, Miss Seymour.
00:47:06I have a very well-paid job in advertising,
00:47:08with Winter, Winter and Blank.
00:47:09So you see no possible financial reason
00:47:12why your wife would want to instigate
00:47:14the kidnapping of Janice for the purpose of blackmail?
00:47:16Forgive me for saying something, Seymour,
00:47:18but that is a ridiculous question.
00:47:20My wife is so scrupulously honest.
00:47:23She wouldn't even take a sheet of notepaper
00:47:25from a hotel bedroom,
00:47:27let alone get herself involved in a vicious kidnapping and blackmail.
00:47:33To your knowledge,
00:47:34has your wife ever kept any secrets from you?
00:47:36No, even though when she was having that brief affair with Criddle,
00:47:40she told me about it,
00:47:41about three weeks after it started.
00:47:42You see, we've always made a point of,
00:47:45well, trying never to hide anything from each other.
00:47:47And while she was having the affair with Criddle,
00:47:49did she say anything about the alleged plan
00:47:52to kidnap Janice Warrington?
00:47:53No, she didn't.
00:47:54She didn't know anything about it.
00:47:55If she had, she would certainly have told me.
00:47:57One last question, Mr. Davis.
00:48:00Do you still maintain that on the actual night of the kidnapping,
00:48:03you and your wife were at home
00:48:05between seven o'clock in the evening
00:48:06and eight o'clock the following morning?
00:48:08Absolutely.
00:48:09Thank you, Mr. Davis.
00:48:12Mr. Davis,
00:48:15you say that your wife never kept any secrets from you?
00:48:17No, she didn't.
00:48:18And still doesn't.
00:48:19Then why did she not tell you about her affair with Criddle
00:48:21at its inception instead of over three weeks later?
00:48:25Well, I suppose she...
00:48:27Yes?
00:48:28She's probably enjoying herself too much
00:48:30to tell me about it, wasn't she?
00:48:33Perhaps making love with Criddle
00:48:35was not the only thing she enjoyed doing with him.
00:48:37What exactly is that supposed to mean?
00:48:39Perhaps she also enjoyed blackmailing him
00:48:41into kidnapping Janice Warrington.
00:48:43Look, if my wife had been involved in the kidnapping,
00:48:45she'd have told me about it.
00:48:46You mean like she told you about her affair with Criddle
00:48:48three whole weeks after it began?
00:48:50Look, even if what you're implying is true,
00:48:51which it blatantly isn't,
00:48:53my wife had no motive for a kidnapping.
00:48:57Are you saying that you and your wife
00:48:58were financially solvent at the time of the kidnapping?
00:49:00Yes.
00:49:01I was earning about ten and a half thousand a year,
00:49:03on top of which Warrington gave her
00:49:05two and a half thousand as a golden handshake,
00:49:07so obviously we had no money problems.
00:49:08I put it to you, Mr. Davis,
00:49:10that at the time of the kidnapping,
00:49:11you both had considerable monetary problems.
00:49:14Well, that's utter nonsense.
00:49:15Is it or is it not true
00:49:16that during the last three months of last year
00:49:18and the first three months of this year,
00:49:20you had several important creditors pursuing you?
00:49:24Well, yeah, I suppose there was one or two, yes.
00:49:26Only one or two, Mr. Davis.
00:49:28Okay, so I owed a couple of thousand here and there,
00:49:30but, well, Leonora has expensive taste,
00:49:34so have I for that matter,
00:49:34but it doesn't make us criminals, for God's sake.
00:49:36But is it not true that your wife's golden handshake
00:49:38in its entirety had to be used
00:49:40to pay off some of those creditors?
00:49:41Yes, but that didn't mean we had to find more money
00:49:43from somewhere else, does it?
00:49:44Under normal circumstances, no.
00:49:46But at the time your wife was made redundant,
00:49:48your own financial position was very precarious indeed,
00:49:51because just a month before the kidnapping,
00:49:53you also thought that you were going to be made redundant,
00:49:56did you not?
00:49:56Well, my firm was having certain liquidity problems,
00:50:00that's true.
00:50:01They still are, as a matter of fact,
00:50:02but we're in a recession.
00:50:05Everyone has to pull their belt in a notch or two.
00:50:07So you admit that at the time of the kidnapping,
00:50:08there was a distinct possibility
00:50:09that you could have been made redundant, too.
00:50:11Yes, but I wasn't made redundant, was I?
00:50:13But at the time you were not sure
00:50:14whether you were going to be able to keep your job, were you?
00:50:17And I put it to you that the 20,000 pounds
00:50:19as your wife's share of the Janice Warrington ransom
00:50:21would have come in rather handy, wouldn't it?
00:50:23Look, if I was going to be made redundant,
00:50:25we'd have found some other way out of it, believe me.
00:50:28Well, we would.
00:50:30Thank you, Mr. Davis.
00:50:31I have no more questions, Your Honor.
00:50:34And do you now feel that you can answer my questions, Mrs. Davis?
00:50:38Yes.
00:50:39And I'd like to say how sorry I am that I broke down like that.
00:50:42Now, please answer the questions put to you, Mrs. Davis.
00:50:46Thank you, Your Honor.
00:50:48Mrs. Davis, you say that Janice Warrington
00:50:51claimed that you were trying to make her father marry you.
00:50:54Yes.
00:50:55And were you?
00:50:56Oh, God forbid.
00:50:57I could hardly bear to be in the same room with him.
00:51:00Every time he tried to touch me, my skin crawled.
00:51:03He had such sweaty hands, you know.
00:51:05Yet, despite what you felt about the father,
00:51:08you still tried to mother the daughter, did you not?
00:51:10Well, yes, I was very fond of her.
00:51:13You see, I was never able to have a child of my own,
00:51:16so I just wanted to comfort Janice, I suppose,
00:51:20just to be there whenever she wanted someone to talk to.
00:51:24The more I tried to be kind and loving towards her,
00:51:26the more jealous she became of me.
00:51:29In fact, towards the end,
00:51:31I came to feel that she actually hated me,
00:51:34which is why I presume she's now trying to get me convicted of a crime
00:51:38which I not only didn't commit,
00:51:39but which she must know in her heart is deeply repugnant to me.
00:51:44Then did you suggest to Criddle
00:51:46only two days after you were made redundant
00:51:48that, and I quote,
00:51:51wouldn't it be a bit of a giggle
00:51:52if we made old Warrington suffer like he's made us suffer,
00:51:56and what's more, through his daughter?
00:51:58No, I didn't say any of that.
00:52:00It was Criddle who said all of that
00:52:02when he came to mend my television set.
00:52:03Why should a television repairman say that to you, a complete stranger?
00:52:08Well, I suppose because I told him that I'd recently been given the push from Warrington's,
00:52:12in much the same way, as it later turned out, that Criddle himself had.
00:52:17And I assume that that's why he invited me to lunch at the Chinese restaurant the following week,
00:52:22because it was there that he first proposed that we should kidnap Janice together.
00:52:28At that time, I just couldn't believe my ears.
00:52:31Are you saying that Criddle invited you to lunch, and not vice versa?
00:52:35Well, of course. I was out of work at the time, if you remember.
00:52:38I didn't want to waste my money on taking a TV repairman out to lunch.
00:52:44But he was a very attractive young man, so I didn't mind him taking me out.
00:52:49And while you were having lunch at the Way Hey Way with Criddle,
00:52:53it was Criddle and not you who first proposed that you should both kidnap Janice.
00:52:57Well, of course. I was still very fond of Janice, if you remember.
00:53:01The last thing I'd ever consider would be to kidnap her.
00:53:04Then how did you react to Criddle's kidnapping proposition?
00:53:07Well, I laughed in his face, of course. I mean, the whole idea was so absurd.
00:53:13I just couldn't take him seriously.
00:53:15Why couldn't you take him seriously?
00:53:18Well, he was fairly drunk on his second bottle of wine at the time.
00:53:22In fact, he could hardly get the plan out at all. His speech was so slurred.
00:53:27So you never thought of going to the police and telling them about Criddle's kidnapping proposition?
00:53:32Well, no. I didn't want to make an utter fool of myself, did I?
00:53:35Yeah. Yet, despite Criddle telling you about this absurd idea of his,
00:53:40you nevertheless arranged to meet with him two weeks later at the Jolly Cricketer, did you not?
00:53:44Yes.
00:53:45Why was that?
00:53:46Because I hoped that someone who knew me would see me in the pub with Criddle.
00:53:51What purpose would that serve?
00:53:53Because they would then report back the scandalous tidings to my husband, wouldn't they?
00:53:57Why ever would you want them to do that?
00:54:00Because at that time, my husband was having an affair with our next-door neighbour,
00:54:05and I wanted to make him jealous.
00:54:07So you say that you deliberately met with Criddle at the Jolly Cricketer,
00:54:22in the hope that one of your husband's friends would see you there together and would report back to your husband.
00:54:28Yes, it was the only way I could think of to make Tom jealous.
00:54:31I hoped it would make him break off his affair with the girl.
00:54:34Now, while you were in the pub, did you try to blackmail Criddle, as he stated earlier,
00:54:39into going through with the kidnapping plan?
00:54:42Well, of course not.
00:54:43Even if I'd wanted to blackmail Criddle, which I certainly didn't,
00:54:47whatever would I have blackmailed him with?
00:54:49Well, according to Criddle, just about last Christmas,
00:54:53you took a photograph of him stealing some television equipment.
00:54:57Then, again, according to Criddle,
00:54:59on January the 3rd in the Jolly Cricketer,
00:55:01you threatened to turn over the incriminating photograph to the police
00:55:05unless he would join in with your plan to kidnap Janice Warrington.
00:55:09I'm sorry, but that's just another pack of lies.
00:55:12I never took a photograph of Criddle stealing a television set.
00:55:17In fact, I never even knew that he was a criminal at all,
00:55:20until he was convicted of the kidnapping.
00:55:23Did Criddle at any time tell you that he had a criminal record?
00:55:26Certainly not.
00:55:27But while you were in the pub together,
00:55:29did he do or say anything that seemed to you to be even potentially criminal?
00:55:35Well, he did show me what he said was a plan of Warrington's house,
00:55:39and he also showed me a Yale key, which he said fitted Warrington's front door.
00:55:44Did you believe that the plan and the key were what he said they were?
00:55:47No.
00:55:48Why did you not believe him?
00:55:49Well, he was fairly drunk again,
00:55:51and I just thought he was boasting and talking his usual nonsense.
00:55:56Well, especially when he said he'd sketched the plan
00:55:58and made a copy of the key six months before that,
00:56:01when he was still employed by Warrington.
00:56:04Well, I mean, the whole thing was so far-fetched and ridiculous,
00:56:07I could only laugh in his face.
00:56:09Did you examine the plan and the key when Criddle showed them to you?
00:56:12No, I was far too busy trying to stop him making a drunken fool of himself
00:56:17to bother with his silly plan.
00:56:19So at the time, you had no idea at all whether the plan and the key were genuine?
00:56:23No idea at all.
00:56:26When did you actually begin your affair with Criddle?
00:56:29Well, it was a few days later when Criddle rented a cottage
00:56:33just outside Applethorpe Village.
00:56:35You see, according to Criddle, it was your idea to rent the cottage
00:56:39so that you would have somewhere secluded to keep Janice prisoner
00:56:42after he had kidnapped her.
00:56:44Is that true?
00:56:44No, it was entirely Criddle's idea to rent the cottage.
00:56:49Did he say for what purpose?
00:56:51Well, yes, he said it would be the perfect place for us to meet.
00:56:55Naturally, that didn't please me very much.
00:56:57Why did it not please you?
00:56:58Well, as I said earlier, the main reason for my having an affair with Criddle
00:57:01in the first place was to get my own back on my husband.
00:57:05So when he insisted that we meet in an isolated cottage
00:57:09in the middle of a wood,
00:57:10I could see that there was no chance of anyone seeing us together.
00:57:13So, I mean, in that respect, the whole affair was a complete disaster.
00:57:17And in the three weeks between your meeting at the Jolly Cricketer
00:57:21and the actual night of the kidnapping,
00:57:24did Criddle ever again mention his plan to kidnap Janice Swarrington?
00:57:28Not after our lunch in the pub, no.
00:57:31And while you were at the cottage together,
00:57:33did he ever at any time try to inveigle you into helping him carry out his plan?
00:57:38Oh, absolutely not.
00:57:40Though, once he'd rented the cottage,
00:57:42he did try to inveigle me into going to bed with him as often as possible.
00:57:46That is, when he was sober enough to know where the bed was.
00:57:50Most of the time, he just used to wander around the cottage in a drunken haze,
00:57:55whinging on about what a terrible hard life he'd had
00:57:57and how everyone else was to blame but himself.
00:58:01So, when did you finally break off your affair with Criddle?
00:58:04Two days before Criddle kidnapped Janice.
00:58:08Though, of course, at that time, I had no idea that this was about to happen.
00:58:13It was just that his boasting and his drinking
00:58:15eventually depressed me so much that I just wanted out.
00:58:20Anyway, by this time, I told Tom about our affair
00:58:23because I was fed up with waiting for one of his friends to see us together.
00:58:26And I'm very glad I did tell him
00:58:29because as soon as he knew that I'd been a naughty girl,
00:58:32he promised to finish his affair with Susan.
00:58:36Oh, I know, in retrospect, this all sounds very involved
00:58:39and extremely childish, but that's how it was.
00:58:44And I'm certain that Criddle's only telling these lies about me
00:58:48because he simply can't forgive me for breaking off our affair as abruptly as I did.
00:58:52That's why he's trying to frame me for a crime which he alone committed.
00:58:58Thank you, Mrs. Davis.
00:59:00I have no more questions.
00:59:06Oh, come now, Mrs. Davis.
00:59:08Why do you not admit it?
00:59:11Your evidence has been a tissue of lies from beginning to end, has it not?
00:59:15Look, it was Criddle who invited me to the Chinese restaurant
00:59:19and later to the jolly cricketer and not vice versa.
00:59:23And it was Criddle who told me about his absurd plan to kidnap Janice
00:59:27and then to hold her for a £50,000 ransom and not the other way round.
00:59:32And that's the truth.
00:59:35Well, the jury may find much of your evidence hard to believe, Mrs. Davis.
00:59:40Well, I'm simply telling you what happened.
00:59:42Then perhaps you can explain to the jury
00:59:45how an apparently intelligent and compassionate woman such as yourself
00:59:49could ever have become involved with a man like Criddle.
00:59:54I've already told you.
00:59:56In the beginning, I found Criddle very attractive
00:59:58and I wanted to make my husband jealous.
01:00:01But that doesn't turn me into a criminal, surely.
01:00:04But you had this affair with a man who, by your own admission,
01:00:07on two separate occasions suggested to you
01:00:10that you should revenge yourself on your former employer
01:00:12by kidnapping his daughter.
01:00:15And yet you were supposed to be devoted to his daughter.
01:00:17In fact, according to your earlier statement,
01:00:19and I quote,
01:00:20I tried to be a second mother to her.
01:00:24Or at least a compassionate aunt.
01:00:26Well, those are your very words, are they not?
01:00:31Yes, and of course it sounds strange when you put it like that.
01:00:36But as I keep telling you over and over again,
01:00:39at no point did I ever take Criddle seriously
01:00:42when he chunted on about his absurd kidnapping plan.
01:00:46Why should I take him seriously?
01:00:49When on the only two occasions he ever mentioned it to me,
01:00:52he was very drunk and talking nonsense.
01:00:54I put it to you, Mrs. Davis,
01:00:57that those two separate proposals to kidnap Janice
01:01:00were not made by Criddle at all.
01:01:03They were made by you.
01:01:05By you alone.
01:01:07Are you saying that you would believe the word of a man
01:01:10with a criminal record
01:01:11rather than someone like me
01:01:13who's never even had a parking ticket?
01:01:15My beliefs are immaterial, Mrs. Davis.
01:01:17I further put it to you that it was not Criddle
01:01:19who drew up the plan of Warrington's house.
01:01:21And it was not Criddle who made the copy of the Yale key
01:01:26to Mr. Warrington's front door,
01:01:27but it was you.
01:01:28And you alone.
01:01:30You'll be telling me next
01:01:31that you believe his ridiculous fairy story
01:01:33about me blackmailing him.
01:01:35Well, you did blackmail Criddle
01:01:36with the incriminating photograph, did you not?
01:01:38What photograph?
01:01:39It never existed.
01:01:41I've never blackmailed anyone in my life,
01:01:43and I certainly had no reason to blackmail Criddle.
01:01:46Oh, come now, Mrs. Davis.
01:01:48On the day you were made redundant,
01:01:50you swore to destroy Mr. Warrington.
01:01:53So you blackmailed Criddle
01:01:54into carrying out your ingenious plan of destruction
01:01:56by kidnapping his daughter.
01:01:58Forgive me for saying so, Mr. Draper,
01:02:00but your accusations are absurd.
01:02:02Totally absurd.
01:02:04Even Warrington has admitted
01:02:06that there were no witnesses
01:02:07to my supposed threat to destroy him.
01:02:10Well, even if you deny
01:02:11threatening to destroy Mr. Warrington, Mrs. Davis,
01:02:13you surely cannot deny
01:02:15that at the time of the kidnapping,
01:02:17you and your husband
01:02:17were over 2,000 pounds in debt.
01:02:19Yes, but you seem to have forgotten
01:02:21that Warrington paid me over 2,000 pounds
01:02:24as a golden handshake.
01:02:26And I immediately used all of that money
01:02:28to pay off all our debts.
01:02:30But if your husband had been made redundant,
01:02:31as you feared,
01:02:32you would both have been penniless,
01:02:34would you not?
01:02:35But he wasn't made redundant,
01:02:36and we were never penniless.
01:02:38I suggest to you
01:02:39that you felt sure
01:02:41that your husband
01:02:41was going to be made redundant,
01:02:43which is what finally drove you
01:02:44to blackmail Criddle
01:02:46into becoming your partner in crime.
01:02:48Why won't you believe me
01:02:49when I tell you
01:02:50that the only time
01:02:51Criddle and I
01:02:52were ever partners was in bed?
01:02:56Yes.
01:02:59Well, I've only one more question
01:03:00for you, Mrs. Davis.
01:03:02It concerns the actual night
01:03:03of the kidnapping.
01:03:05I suggest that you slipped out
01:03:07of your house
01:03:07just after midnight
01:03:08and made your way
01:03:09to the cottage at Applethorpe
01:03:10so that you could be
01:03:10with your lover.
01:03:11and gloat
01:03:13over the kidnapped child.
01:03:15I never left my house
01:03:17for one moment that night,
01:03:19as both my husband
01:03:20and I have already testified.
01:03:22And how dare you suggest
01:03:24that I would gloat
01:03:25over a kidnapped child?
01:03:27God, when I heard
01:03:28how Criddle had treated her,
01:03:30I broke down and cried.
01:03:32Which isn't surprising
01:03:33when you consider
01:03:34how fond of her I was.
01:03:35I put it to you
01:03:36that all your tears
01:03:37and your so-called fondness
01:03:39for Janice
01:03:39were in fact
01:03:41a callous fiction.
01:03:43And that in reality
01:03:44you were only pretending
01:03:45to be fond of the child
01:03:46to curry favour
01:03:46with her father
01:03:47whom you later proceeded
01:03:48to blackmail.
01:03:49I tell you,
01:03:50I've never blackmailed anyone.
01:03:52Then once you found out
01:03:52that you couldn't get
01:03:53any more money
01:03:53from him by blackmailing,
01:03:54you decided to kidnap
01:03:55his daughter
01:03:56and demand
01:03:56a £50,000 ransom.
01:03:58Well, that is the truth,
01:04:02is it not?
01:04:03The truth hasn't come
01:04:04into anything you've said,
01:04:06Mr. Draper.
01:04:07On the contrary,
01:04:09it seems that you
01:04:09will go to any length
01:04:11to destroy my name
01:04:12in order to get a conviction.
01:04:14On the contrary,
01:04:14Mrs. Davis,
01:04:15it is you who will go
01:04:16to any length
01:04:16in order to avoid the truth
01:04:18and to hide your obvious guilt.
01:04:21Well, I'm sure
01:04:23that the jury will see
01:04:24that I've been consistently
01:04:25maligned during this trial.
01:04:28And I trust them
01:04:29to give me the justice
01:04:30I deserve
01:04:31and acknowledge my innocence.
01:04:34Thank you, Mrs. Davis.
01:04:35I have no more questions,
01:04:37Your Honor.
01:04:38And so, members of the jury,
01:04:40I remind you,
01:04:42you have to consider
01:04:43whether Mrs. Davis
01:04:45is or is not guilty
01:04:47on two charges.
01:04:51And the first charge
01:04:52relates to the actual planning
01:04:53of the kidnapping
01:04:54of Janice Warrington.
01:04:56And because, obviously,
01:04:57there's no doubt
01:04:58that Janice was kidnapped
01:05:00and that Criddle
01:05:02physically carried out
01:05:03the abduction,
01:05:05what you now have to consider
01:05:06is whether the accused
01:05:08was a party
01:05:10to the kidnapping.
01:05:13Did she,
01:05:14as the prosecution suggests,
01:05:16make a plan
01:05:17to Mr. Warrington's house
01:05:19plus a replica
01:05:22of his front door key?
01:05:23And then,
01:05:25did she blackmail Criddle
01:05:27into actually carrying out
01:05:29the kidnapping?
01:05:32Or,
01:05:33was Criddle
01:05:34a sole planner
01:05:35and perpetrator
01:05:37of the crime
01:05:39as the accused alleges?
01:05:42And, therefore,
01:05:44was the accused's involvement
01:05:46with Criddle
01:05:47only that of a lover.
01:05:51The second count
01:05:52relates
01:05:53to the demand
01:05:55with menaces
01:05:55for ransom
01:05:57of £50,000
01:05:58in exchange
01:06:00for Janice Warrington's
01:06:02safe return.
01:06:04Again,
01:06:06you have to decide
01:06:07whether the accused
01:06:08was a party
01:06:09to this
01:06:10because of the acute
01:06:12financial difficulties
01:06:13that both
01:06:14she and her husband
01:06:16found themselves in
01:06:17or for any other reasons
01:06:19or whether,
01:06:22in fact,
01:06:23Criddle acted alone
01:06:24in demanding
01:06:25the ransom money
01:06:26because of his own
01:06:28economic difficulties
01:06:29and because
01:06:30crime
01:06:31was an habitual
01:06:33way of life
01:06:34for him.
01:06:36Now,
01:06:37you have to decide
01:06:38where the truth lies.
01:06:40but I must warn you
01:06:43that the defence
01:06:43do not have to
01:06:44prove anything
01:06:45and unless
01:06:47the prosecution
01:06:48can prove a charge
01:06:49beyond all
01:06:50reasonable doubt,
01:06:52you must acquit
01:06:53the accused
01:06:54of that charge.
01:06:56For now,
01:06:57would you retire
01:06:58and choose a foreman
01:07:00to speak for you
01:07:01on your return
01:07:02and consider
01:07:04your verdict?
01:07:10Will your foreman
01:07:16please stand?
01:07:18Just answer this question,
01:07:19yes or no.
01:07:20Have you reached a verdict
01:07:21upon which you are all agreed?
01:07:24Yes.
01:07:25On the first count
01:07:26of the kidnapping
01:07:27of Janice Warrington,
01:07:28do you find the accused
01:07:29guilty or not guilty?
01:07:31Not guilty.
01:07:32On the second count
01:07:33of demanding money
01:07:34with menaces,
01:07:35do you find the accused
01:07:36guilty or not guilty?
01:07:38Not guilty.