Case file · Series 22, Episode 4 · Season 22, Episode 4
The Scarecrow Murders
A village festival becomes a gallery of human scarecrows, each victim linked to an older financial disaster.
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.
- The Cricketers · Littlewick Green, Berkshire
The pub and neighbouring green supplied village and scarecrow-festival exteriors.
Site guide → Filming source ↗ - Gilchrist Thomas Village Hall · Littlewick Green, Berkshire
The hall is dressed as Old Vogue, the vintage shop run by Naomi Ashworth and Adele Paige.
Location guide → Filming source ↗ - St John the Baptist Church · Littlewick Green, Berkshire
The building supplies the interior of the fictional parish church.
Location guide → Filming source ↗ - St John the Evangelist Church · Maidenhead, Berkshire
Its exterior is paired with the Littlewick Green interior to create the fictional parish church.
Filming source ↗ - Stubbings House · Maidenhead, Berkshire
The country house appears as Reverend Oscar Hayden's vicarage.
Filming source ↗
Map lookup by place name. A private house’s exact address is not marked.
Selected episode credits
The Scarecrow Murders cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Jacqueline Boatswain
Simon Shepherd
Amara Karan
Jessica Ellerby
Emily Bevan
Emily Bevan
Holly Freeman
David Yip
Jason Wong
Billy Hinchliff
Raj Bajaj
Goldy Notay
Emily Bevan
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
The visual conceit is pure late-period Midsomer, but the motive remains grounded in financial harm.
- Best for
- Scarecrow festival · Old investment · Village spectacle
- 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
The visual conceit is pure late-period Midsomer, but the motive remains grounded in financial harm.
The first day of Little Upton's scarecrow festival ends with vintage-shop owner Naomi Ashworth displayed as one of the exhibits. Winter also encounters Caitlin Dawson, an old school friend now reporting on the case, while the investigation moves through the festival committee, Naomi's business and the household of local clergyman Oscar Hayden.
Further victims are arranged as scarecrows, making the killer's visual signature unmistakable. The shared thread is Ventuity, a failed company whose collapse caused lasting financial and personal damage well beyond the people who ran it.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
Who was the killer in The Scarecrow Murders? (spoiler)
The displayed victims share responsibility for Ventuity and its consequences, while the killer turns the festival's public art into a delayed act of retribution.
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 22
- Episode number
- Episode 4
- Written by
- Helen Jenkins
- Directed by
- Christine Lalla
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 3 August 2021 29 May 2022
- Reported filming period
- March–April 2021
- Detective
- DCI John Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Jamie Winter
- Pathologist
- Dr Fleur Perkins · Annette Badland
- Principal setting
- Little Upton
- Casebook tone
- Eccentric
Sources accompany the production credits and filming links.
Fictional settings and real filming places are listed separately. Filming links include 1 mapped area; 5 exact sites.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits6 episodes credited to Helen Jenkins
- Director credits1 episode directed by Christine Lalla
- Release positionCase 130 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Scarecrow festival · Old investment
- Location evidence5 exact screen-use matches
The village green and The Cricketers provide festival and pub exteriors, while Gilchrist Thomas Village Hall becomes the Old Vogue shop.
St John the Baptist at Littlewick Green supplies the church interior; St John the Evangelist in Maidenhead supplies the exterior.
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.
Neil Dudgeon
John Barnaby · Detective Chief Inspector- Messiah
- Life of Riley
- The Mrs Bradley Mysteries
Nick Hendrix
Jamie Winter · Detective Sergeant- Black Mirror
- Marcella
- The Crown
Annette Badland
Dr Fleur Perkins · Police pathologist- Ted Lasso
- Doctor Who
- EastEnders
Image credits identify the licence used. No programme publicity stills are reproduced.
Forensic team
Dr Fleur Perkins
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Annette Badland
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
- Naomi Ashworth
Murder · Strangulation or hanging
Performer check- Naomi Ashworth: Emily Bevan
- Rev. Oscar Hayden
Murder · Other recorded death
Performer check- Rev. Oscar Hayden: Simon ShepherdThe published cast record supplies Oscar Hayden’s clerical title; the list of deaths now uses the concise Rev. form.
- Thea Stannard
Murder · Other recorded death
Performer check- Thea Stannard: Holly Freeman
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Who was the killer in The Scarecrow Murders? (spoiler)
Lisa Jarrett · Rachel Taylor · Samira MallickLisa killed Naomi Ashworth, Rachel killed Rev. Oscar Hayden and Samira killed Thea Stannard as a coordinated revenge campaign against people who profited from or defended Ventuity's gambling business. The scarecrow staging was meant to suggest one spree killer; Lisa's later knife attack on Adele Paige was stopped, while Jack Baldwin helped with the plan but failed to carry out his assigned killing.
Verified motive
Lisa, Rachel and Samira organised the killings as revenge against Ventuity and the people they held responsible for lives destroyed by gambling addiction. Lisa blamed Naomi's publicity campaign for smearing her indebted son after his suicide, Rachel targeted shareholder Oscar and Samira targeted her Ventuity contact Thea; founder Adele was intended as the final victim, while Jack supported the plan but did not carry out his assigned killing.
Real place → fictional identity
Where was The Scarecrow Murders filmed?
The Cricketers
Used as: The pub and neighbouring green supplied village and scarecrow-festival exteriors.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Gilchrist Thomas Village Hall
Used as: The hall is dressed as Old Vogue, the vintage shop run by Naomi Ashworth and Adele Paige.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.St John the Baptist Church
Used as: The building supplies the interior of the fictional parish church.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.St John the Evangelist Church
Used as: Its exterior is paired with the Littlewick Green interior to create the fictional parish church.
Stubbings House
Used as: The country house appears as Reverend Oscar Hayden's vicarage.
Sources accompany the identified filming places.
Wider filming areas