Case file · Series 19, Episode 2 · Season 19, Episode 2

Crime and Punishment

A village watch group responds to burglary with absolute certainty—until one of its own is murdered at the butcher's shop.

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Should I watch this one?

A sharp case about suspicion spreading faster than evidence in a self-policing community.

Best for
Vigilantes · Village watch · Unsolved death
Mood
Classic
Team
DCI John Barnaby with DS Jamie Winter
Spoiler guidance
Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. Check the linked provider advisory for further viewing information.

Why it matters

A sharp case about suspicion spreading faster than evidence in a self-policing community.

Ingrid Lockston founded the Bleakridge Watch after her brother died in an unsolved hit-and-run. The patrol now treats a series of burglaries as proof that the village must police itself, but its certainty becomes much harder to defend when member Angus Colton is murdered in his butcher's shop.

Pub landlord Mitch McAllister is a vocal opponent of the group and an easy suspect when another member dies. Barnaby and Winter look instead at how the Watch's authority, the burglaries and Ingrid's original loss have been made to support the same version of events.

  • Vigilantes
  • Village watch
  • Unsolved death
Break the seal: reveal the finding

Who was the killer in Crime and Punishment? (spoiler)

The Watch's present conflicts lead back to the earlier hit-and-run and to the person most invested in controlling both its investigation and the village response.

More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information

Credits, context and checked facts

Production and cast

TV series
Series 19
Episode number
Episode 2
Written by
Paul Logue
Directed by
Renny Rye
Listed transmission date(s)
4 January 2017
Reported filming period
May–June 2016
Detective
DCI John Barnaby
Partner
DS Jamie Winter
Pathologist
Dr Kam Karimore · Manjinder Virk
Principal setting
Bleakridge
Casebook tone
Classic

Sources accompany the production credits and filming links.

Fictional settings and real filming places are listed separately. Filming links include 1 mapped area; 4 exact sites.

Credits and archive connections

  • Writer credits6 episodes credited to Paul Logue
  • Director credits23 episodes directed by Renny Rye
  • Release positionCase 112 of 144
  • Story characterClassic · Vigilantes · Village watch
  • Location evidence4 exact screen-use matches
Bleakridge businesses

Haddenham supplies The Anchor as the café, a real butcher's shop as Colton's Butchers and The Rose and Thistle as The Gallows pub.

The George Hotel

The Ethorpe Hotel at Gerrards Cross is used as the fictional George Hotel.

Credits follow the linked chronology. Dates can differ between territories. Consult original credits for story, teleplay and adaptation wording. External synopses may contain spoilers.

Selected episode credits

Crime and Punishment cast

These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.

Actor Neil Morrissey in 2011
Photo: USP Content · CC BY 3.0 · Source · displayed with a layout crop
Played Mitch McAllister

Neil Morrissey

Morrissey plays Mitch McAllister in Crime and Punishment, a case revolving around a remote policing initiative. The part follows a career that made him familiar to both adult sitcom audiences and younger viewers.

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The performers behind this case

Core cast

Follow the cast links for full actor and character guides.

Image credits identify the licence used. No programme publicity stills are reproduced.

Forensic team

Dr Kam Karimore

Credit
Resident pathologist
Played by
Manjinder Virk
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Spoiler-controlled deaths

Deaths recorded in this case

3 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.

Break the seal: reveal the list of deaths
  1. Angus Colton

    Murder · Freezing

    Performer check
    • Angus Colton: not listed in the current published cast recordNo Angus Colton performer appears in the current published cast record.
  2. Azeem Meer

    Murder · Blunt force

    Performer check
  3. Frank Lockston

    Murder · Vehicle or machinery · historical or before the main case

    Performer check
    • Frank Lockston: not listed in the current published cast recordThe historical victim is named in the list of deaths, but no Frank Lockston performer appears in the current published cast record; Ingrid, Tara and Maxine Lockston are different characters.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Series 19 · episode 2 · checked 15 September 2026

Who was the killer in Crime and Punishment? (spoiler)

Barbara Walton

Barbara deliberately ran down Frank Lockston to stop his abuse of Maxine, then killed Angus Colton after he found the abandoned car and killed Azeem Meer after he discovered the photograph that linked it to the old hit-and-run. Henry and Jensen Marsh cleaned and concealed the car after Henry stole it, but neither committed the killings.

Verified motive

Barbara killed Frank to stop his sustained physical abuse of Maxine after an attempted escape failed, describing her purpose as keeping Maxine safe. The disappearance of the car initially concealed what she had done; years later she killed Angus and Azeem only when their discoveries threatened to expose the hit-and-run.

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Real place → fictional identity

Where was Crime and Punishment filmed?

Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire

The Ethorpe Hotel

Used as: The hotel appears as the fictional George Hotel.

Thatched cottages beyond the duck pond in Haddenham
Haddenham, Buckinghamshire

The Anchor

Used as: The venue appears as Bleakridge's local café.

Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Open the Haddenham location file →
Thatched cottages beyond the duck pond in Haddenham
Haddenham, Buckinghamshire

Village butcher's shop

Used as: The shopfront becomes Colton's Butchers, scene of the opening murder.

Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Open the Haddenham location file →
Thatched cottages beyond the duck pond in Haddenham
Haddenham, Buckinghamshire

The Rose and Thistle

Used as: The pub is presented as The Gallows in Bleakridge.

Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Open the Haddenham location file →

Sources accompany the identified filming places.

Wider filming areas

Places connected to this file