The Village Murder Casebook

Case file · Series 23, Episode 1 · Season 23, Episode 1

The Blacktrees Prophecy

A false missile warning sends a survivalist into his bunker, where the apocalypse fails to arrive but murder does.

Verified filming locations

Every filming site currently documented in this Casebook file is listed here. The published evidence does not establish a complete production itinerary.

No exact filming site has been verified in this file yet. Read the research status →

Selected episode credits

The Blacktrees Prophecy cast

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

The 60-second case card

Should I watch this one?

A prepper community built to survive global catastrophe proves much less prepared for mistrust inside its own village.

Best for
Doomsday preppers · Village prophecy · Bunker
Mood
Eccentric
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 prepper community built to survive global catastrophe proves much less prepared for mistrust inside its own village.

The Blacktrees Prophecy has shaped local folklore for generations, and Warren Kaine treats it as a practical warning rather than a story. When a hoax alert reports incoming missiles, he races to his bombproof shelter—only to be found dead when his wife arrives to tell him the threat was false.

Insurance, affairs and the membership of the prepper group offer immediate motives. Further deaths make the wording of the prophecy feel increasingly deliberate, while Barnaby and Winter follow a hidden family connection and an older drowning rather than accepting the apparent curse.

  • Doomsday preppers
  • Village prophecy
  • Bunker
Break the seal: reveal the finding

Who was the killer in The Blacktrees Prophecy? (spoiler)

The staged warning, insurance decisions and later deaths conceal a question of parentage rooted in an earlier drowning and the photograph that helps Barnaby reconstruct it.

More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information

Credits, context and checked facts

Production and cast

TV series
Series 23
Episode number
Episode 1
Written by
Jeff Povey
Directed by
Roberto Bangura
Listed transmission date(s)
12 December 2022 14 April 2024
Reported filming period
March–April 2022
Detective
DCI John Barnaby
Partner
DS Jamie Winter
Pathologist
Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
Principal setting
Blacktrees-on-Marsh
Casebook tone
Eccentric

Sources accompany the production credits and filming links.

Fictional settings and real filming places are listed separately. No exact building has been identified in the linked filming sources.

Credits and archive connections

  • Writer credits8 episodes credited to Jeff Povey
  • Director credits4 episodes directed by Roberto Bangura
  • Release positionCase 133 of 144
  • Story characterEccentric · Doomsday preppers · Village prophecy
  • Location evidenceChecked · published source gap
Midsomer's first prepper group

The episode builds its village institution around survivalism: weekly meetings, emergency plans and Warren's private bunker all become part of the mystery.

Exact location not yet published

The current filming-location reference marks this episode's real-world sites as missing, so the Casebook does not guess at the bunker or village exteriors.

Sources for the production file

Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗

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

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 Fleur Perkins

Credit
Resident pathologist
Played by
Annette Badland
Meet the Casebook pathologists →

Spoiler-controlled deaths

Deaths recorded in this case

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

Break the seal: reveal the list of deaths
  1. Warren Kaine

    Murder · Other recorded death

    Performer check
  2. Guy Burrows

    Murder · Vehicle or machinery

    Performer check
  3. Randall Salt

    Murder · Other recorded death

    Performer check
  4. Unnamed young woman

    Accidental, natural or other · Drowning · historical or before the main case

    Performer check
    • Unnamed young woman: not listed in the current published cast recordThe historical victim is not named, and no corresponding performer appears in the current published cast record; no identity has been inferred from another character.
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Series 23 · episode 1 · checked 15 September 2026

Who was the killer in The Blacktrees Prophecy? (spoiler)

Becky Burrows

Becky killed Warren Kaine by drugging his whisky and overriding the bunker's air supply, killed Guy Burrows after a triggered life raft knocked him down, and killed Randall Salt with a frozen packet of meat. She targeted the three men because they had terrorised her mother Maddy after she feared she carried a contagious virus, then concealed Maddy's suicide and Becky's parentage; Guy and Paige Burrows subsequently raised Becky as their own child.

Verified motive

Becky sought revenge for her biological mother Maddy. Warren, Guy and Randall had terrorised and abandoned Maddy when they believed she carried a contagious virus, after which she died by suicide; Becky targeted all three in the order of the Blacktrees Prophecy after discovering the concealed history and her parentage.

Search the complete deaths index →

Real place → fictional identity

Where was The Blacktrees Prophecy filmed?

Filming locations not confirmed.

The current episode-by-episode filming reference marks this episode's location information as still missing.

Sources accompany the identified filming places.

Wider filming areas

Places connected to this file

Location research remains open.

No real filming place is confirmed for this case.