Episode 3 The Case

My name is Tony Powell. I helped Saskia take her own life,

according to her own wishes.

What the prosecution will seek to prove is this -

Anthony Powell, crippled with debt,

his business struggling to stay afloat,

prematurely, and deliberately,

ended the life of Saskia Stanley.

I only did what Saskia wanted.

That's all I ever did.

What if Tony did what Mum wanted?

She would have told us.

She changed her will to benefit you.

-And?

-You must've had an inkling as to what she was planning.

What was the purpose of Mrs Stanley's visit?

She wanted to change her will quite radically,

so that Mr Powell inherited 50% of her estate.

During my time as a police officer,

I've looked into a lot of guilty faces.

I knew he'd done it.

-Is it justice you're after, or revenge?

-Both! I want both!

I am now willing to stand as a witness for the defence.

You're never even here half the time!

I'm not the one swanning off for a week with my mates, am I?

-Heaven forbid I spend five minutes away from you!

-Five weeks more like!

Give us a chance...

Sorry. I have to get the keys.

I've got to go.

-Let me take you.

-No, I'm fine.

It's a big day today. How you feeling?

Yeah, I'm OK, thanks.

-Well, good luck.

-Yeah, do yourself proud, mate.

Thanks.

Oi!

Who are you?

Are you a copper?

Did Neil send you?

I'll find out who you are!

No chance!

What you got on today?

Put it this way, it involves a donkey and a sanctuary.

-Morning.

-Morning.

Jessica Stanley's agreed to stand as a witness for the defence.

-Wow! That's great.

-Yes, it is.

I'm going to head down there early, smooth things over with the judge.

What's with the atmosphere?

You and Ridley - you could cut it with a knife.

-It's nothing.

-Well, it's clearly not "nothing".

We had a disagreement about lines of questioning the defendant.

And you disagreed so vehemently with your pupil master that you fell out?

Mmm.

If that's true, that's incredibly arrogant of you.

Unless this really is about something else?

Mr Powell! Stop! Mr Powell, have you any idea...

-Get off me!

-Calm down!

-Calm down.

-I don't want to calm down.

-You need to calm down.

Take a deep breath.

All right. Perhaps you want to hear some good news.

Jessica Stanley, Saskia's daughter,

-has agreed to stand as a witness for the defence.

-Mmm?

That's good.

Yeah, so... plenty of things going our way.

Mr Powell.

I'm not ready for this.

-You're going to be fine.

-I'm going to be right there with you.

This is your chance to tell the jury what really happened.

Just stay focused.

Mrs Laytham?

I'm Valerie Morney. I'll be representing you.

Erm, I just want you to know that, um,

this was my son's idea, not mine.

Well, it was a good idea. You may not have been living together,

but you were still married to your husband when he died and he hasn't left you a penny.

-Well, that was his decision.

-Well, that's as may be,

but you're still entitled, under the Inheritance Act,

for reasonable provision.

Now, as it stands,

your husband left his entire estate to a...

donkey sanctuary. Is that right?

Now, I understand that your husband

was having an affair with your half-sister, Linda,

at the time of his death,

and it's her donkey sanctuary.

Is that correct?

Miss Morney, I have a very bad feeling about this.

Now I'm sitting here with you...

I think I've changed my mind.

But you have a very strong case.

But I don't think I deserve his money.

Mrs Laytham, this is the 21st Century.

Women aren't chatteled to be discarded at will.

You had a 25-year marriage, raised two children,

contributed your own income into these savings.

-Yes, but...

-But nothing.

Let's go and get what's rightfully yours.

Your Honour, I'd like to call Anthony Powell...

to give evidence in his own defence.

Mr Powell.

Let us begin by exploring the decision

to end Saskia Stanley's life.

Could you please tell the court,

whose idea was that?

It was Saskia that first raised it.

I was initially horrified.

And do you know if she discussed the matter with her family?

She did try and mention it to them,

but they made it very clear that they were opposed.

I regret now that we didn't try harder.

Mr Powell,

would you mind speaking up a little?

And why is it you regret not trying harder, Mr Powell?

It was naive.

It wasn't fair on them.

I can't tell you the pressure that I was under.

I wanted to do what was right for Saskia.

I wanted to fulfil her wishes, but, er...

..that's not the route that I'd have chosen.

I found that very difficult to, er...

..to reconcile.

Would you like a glass of water?

Excuse me, if we could...

Thank you.

It didn't need to come to this, Myriam.

We can sort it out, it's not too late.

I'm not changing my mind, Linda.

Do you know why Jeffrey didn't leave it to you?

Because you'd have taken it to your grave with you, you skinflint!

He was desperate to get away from you!

Do you know what it was like living with your penny-pinching?

Querying every bill, vetoing foreign holidays,

sending presents back?

-You made his life a misery!

-If you are in any way threatening my client,

I will ensure to bring it to the attention of the judge.

-Are you OK?

-I think Linda's right.

Maybe I don't deserve the money.

I wasn't much of a wife.

I never really liked the man.

I was glad when he shacked up with her.

Never said that before.

Sounds like you endured a hard marriage for 25 years.

The least you deserve is some financial recompense.

Maybe you're right.

Would you like a sandwich?

I've already eaten, thank you.

So let's talk about you and, er, Saskia, Mr Powell.

Would you tell us about when you first met?

She came into my garage.

My mate Karl dared me to ask her out.

I didn't think she'd say yes.

-And then what happened?

-We started seeing each other,

and very quickly realised that we'd really fallen for each other.

This is a court of law,

not an extract from a lonely hearts column, Your Honour.

Understanding the nature of the relationship

is important, is it not?

Your Honour.

Mr Powell, we've heard from Saskia's ex-husband, Neil Stanley.

What do you say to his assertion

that you were only interested in Saskia for her money?

I think it's insulting.

He knows we were in love. He's just...

Just what?

Just jealous.

Doesn't want anyone else having what he couldn't.

So when did things start to go wrong

There was always a problem with the family.

They treated me like the interloper,

which I could kind of understand,

but put an awful lot of pressure on us.

I thought it'd get better with time,

but it actually got a lot worse.

Just having lunch with Jess and Dan.

-No, I'll come back.

-No. This is crazy. Come through.

Look who dropped by. Have you eaten?

-Mum!

-Grab a seat and help yourself.

Jess was just teasing me for embarrassing her.

Well, you were!

All I asked was, is Nick ever going to make a decent woman of her!

That's what mums are for, asking embarrassing questions.

You think I'm going to sit here and play happy families?

You know how he feels. Don't rub his face in it.

I'm going to go and find him.

You let him act like a spoilt child.

I don't need parenting advice, Tony.

He acts as his dad's spy. He'll be running back to spill the beans.

Well, what am I supposed to do about it?

Well, something's got to give! I don't know...

-Tell them you won't see them again unless they accept me.

-I'm not forcing them to make a choice!

Well, then you've made yours, haven't you?

It was her again.

She knows you're here,

you can't keep ignoring her for weeks on end.

You were really keen on her.

You gave up too easily.

Yeah? Well, you've not met her family, have you?

She said it was urgent. Said to pass on a message.

And you've passed it on, thanks.

You haven't returned my calls.

-Let's leave it as it is and save ourselves some heartache.

-I've got something to tell you.

What is it?

-Are you seeing someone else?

-Oh, God, I wish.

I really wish that was it.

What is it, Saskia?

I have bone cancer.

Advanced.

But it's curable, right?

I have a year.

Maybe less.

This can't be right.

It can't be.

Well, I'm not bloody making it up.

You were the first person I thought of when they told me.

I'd like you to be there for me.

I don't care what anyone else thinks.

I love you.

I'll do anything you want me to.

'It was an easy decision to make.'

If she wanted me there,

I wanted to be there for her.

But tell us about your involvement in helping Saskia end her own life.

Saskia brought it up.

She researched it on the internet.

Pointed out the stockpile of diamorphine kept in the house.

And we, er...

We watched the doctor with the syringe,

and the way that he put the needle into the arm.

And how far were you willing to go to help her?

She was adamant that I could prepare the syringe,

but she had to make the injections.

She didn't want me accused of anything.

She'd be really upset if she could see me here now.

That is highly speculative, Your Honour.

Indeed. Let's stick to the facts, shall we?

Mr Powell, what were you going to do if, for some reason,

Saskia had been unable to inject herself?

Was there a back-up plan?

She was 100% clear -

it had to be her.

She wasn't going to fail.

She was too determined.

And what was your view?

I wouldn't have done it.

I couldn't have lived with myself.

Ms Byrne, I understand from your statement

that you were shocked to discover

that Mr Laytham had left his entire estate to your donkey sanctuary?

-I was.

-And you've also made it very clear that,

that despite your intimate relationship,

you played no part in persuading him to alter his will?

Absolutely not.

He must really have loved the work that you do at the donkey sanctuary?

Jeffrey was an animal lover.

He understood the contribution that we were making.

Absolutely.

I wonder if he was aware that you're not actually a registered charity?

I'm not sure that would have concerned him.

He saw for himself the good work that we were doing.

I'm sure.

Incidentally, how many donkeys are you currently caring for?

Ms Byrne?

We're in a period of transition, so it's completely unrepresentative.

We're doing major renovations and many of our donkeys...

Just for the record, how many do you have right now?

20, 30?

Just a ball-park figure.

Two.

But I think this question is entirely unfair.

-What are their names?

-I'm sorry?

The two donkeys.

Do they have names?

Yes.

Cameron...

And Clegg.

And, once you've deducted wages and turnover,

how much did the sanctuary have to spend on the donkeys

in the last year?

It was less than 40,000.

So, just less than 20,000 for Cameron,

and 20,000 for Clegg.

Must be the most pampered donkeys in Britain.

Would you say you were an institution

that needed over half a million pounds right now, Ms Byrne?

I was out of order last night, Julie

It's not your fault Meztler's trying to wind me up.

He does a pretty good job of it.

Point taken.

I'm sorry.

There really wasn't ever anything between me and Valerie, by the way.

I did wonder. She's kind of scary!

So, are we friends again?

But...

maybe we should back off a bit, you know?

I shouldn't be asking you personal questions.

Be a bit more professional, you know?

Yeah.

Yeah, you're probably right.

Did you help Saskia write the goodbye note?

No.

She asked me to get her a pen and paper, that's all I did.

-Did you tell her what to write?

-Not at all.

It's 10.48pm, this concludes the interview at this time.

We'll have more questions for you in the morning.

Can I go?

You're under arrest on suspicion of murder, Mr Powell.

You'll stay here in custody.

Hang on. We've not talked about the videotape.

What videotape?

We made it together.

It explains everything.

It was in her bedroom, you must have found it.

There was no videotape, Mr Powell.

That's not true!

Look, get one of your men to go back and check the scene!

You have to find it!

Now, this is the part I really enjoy!

I'd like to remind the jury

of the CCTV footage captured

after you left Mrs Stanley's dead body and exited the house.

This is less than an hour after she died.

What are you doing?

Tell the court what you're doing.

I was having something to eat and a drink.

You had a pint of beer

and some fish and chips, is that right?

Yes.

Yes.

Let's just look at that image, shall we?

A man helps kill his partner.

And his first response is to treat himself to a pint of beer

and some fish and chips.

Just what you need after an ordeal.

I was in a daze. I felt faint. I just needed something to eat.

And the beer, that would help with feeling faint, would it?

See, I suggest you were not in shock,

I suggest you were relieved.

Not true.

You'd planned it, you'd seen it through,

and you deserved a pint and a fish supper

because it was over now.

That is not the case.

If you were in shock and upset,

would it not rob you of your hunger, than lead you to the nearest chippy?

Objection, Your Honour.

-That's a ridiculous line of questioning.

-I don't think so, Mr Ridley.

-The defendant's hunger, or lack thereof, is no reflection of his grief.

-You may continue, Mr Metzler.

So then...

after you returned to the house,

Neil Stanley called the police and you were arrested.

You were questioned by the police for three hours.

During those three long hours,

you never mentioned the word "videotape".

But, lo and behold,

upon conclusion of the interview,

suddenly it all comes flooding back to you. Why is that?

I was in a complete state. I couldn't think straight.

Straight enough to have a pint and a fish supper,

but not enough to recall an apparently crucial piece of missing evidence?

I was in grief.

I was in a terrible way.

You don't know what it's like!

And what was on this mythical missing videotape?

Saskia had recorded a message for her family,

explaining why she'd done what she did.

And exonerating you?

Yeah, I guess so.

But it's never been found.

Why is that?

I don't know.

And you never mentioned it until you knew how much trouble you were in.

That's not how it was.

Looks like it, though.

Doesn't it?

It doesn't exist,

does it, Mr Powell?

-Of course it does.

-So, where is it?

I don't know.

We don't doubt that Mr Laytham was motivated by altruism

and wanted to see the sanctuary thrive.

But his wife has not received adequate provision,

and so we submit

that half of the estate now be given over to Mrs Laytham,

and that should include the family home.

We also request that the court

order an audit of the donkey sanctuary's accounts,

to confirm where the money is, in fact, being spent.

And finally, we request that the court requires Ms Byrne

to nominate an alternative donkey sanctuary

should her own venture fail financially.

After all, we wouldn't want any donkeys missing out

on Mr Laytham's generous provision for them.

Welcome to the 21st century.

You are now an independent woman of means.

I am, aren't I?

I'll deal with this.

No, it's fine.

You have trampled all over Jeffrey's wishes.

Who gives a damn about Jeffrey?

Jeffrey was a stupid bore.

I'm glad he's dead,

and I can't wait to get his money.

You see?

This is what she's like!

Oh, don't tell me you fell for the "poor little Myriam" act?

Well, more fool you.

I won't forgive you for this.

Oh, I think I can probably manage to live with that.

Well, thanks your help, Miss Morney. Goodbye.

Oh, you may notice when you receive my payment,

it's a little reduced.

I've always thought you lawyers were overpaid.

So, we're to assume

that you had no knowledge

of how much Saskia Stanley was worth?

We never talked about money.

Karl tells me the garage has money worries.

But you did spend time in her large, modern, comfortable house?

Yes.

Yes. And you were included in her Mercedes sports car insurance?

For a little while.

And you were taken on holiday to, erm...

Corsica, for two weeks in a luxury five star villa,

paid for by Mrs Stanley.

I paid for the flights.

Mrs Stanley paid for everything else.

In the meantime, your own business had amassed debts of over £100,000

and you had been threatened with legal action

on no less than four separate occasions.

I don't recall.

No. So, you had no need to know how much Saskia was worth,

because it was obvious, wasn't it?

-Saskia and I were together because we were in love!

-Yes.

And so diligent was your care of her

that you even drove her to the solicitors

when she changed her will in order to make you the main beneficiary.

So?

So?!

You never discussed the will?

-No.

-Or her wealth?

Or your financial problems?

No!

I put it to you,

that you knew how much Saskia was worth.

You couldn't wait, you needed her money,

and so you killed her,

and you went off and you had a pint and a fish supper to celebrate.

That is not what happened!

After you were arrested,

you realised just how much trouble you were in,

and so you invented the story of a videotape that would clear you.

The videotape is real.

-So where is it?

-You tell me!

HE GUFFAWS

I don't know, Mr Powell!

Do you have any theories?

It was there when I left Saskia.

-It was there when I went out.

-Was it there when you got back?

Well, obviously not!

-Who took it then?

-I'd have thought that was obvious.

Well, why don't you share that information with us?

If you have a theory as to its whereabouts, Mr Powell,

you need to share that with the court.

I think Neil Stanley took the tape.

He was the first person on the scene,

and he had plenty of reasons to want to stitch me up.

Just to clarify.

You're accusing Mrs Stanley's ex-husband,

a policeman of 20 years experience,

of stealing a piece of evidence

in order to frame you?

Hmm?

Do you have any concept

of the severity of that accusation?

I know what I believe.

Well, there are no further questions, Your Honour.

Tony Powell is going down.

Oh, yes!

He got proper caught out today.

What happened?

Well, he started to ramble on about this videotape.

Even accused me of nicking it.

That's the sort of scumbag he is.

What if there was a tape though, Dad?

There wasn't. He's lying.

He made it up after he was arrested.

You don't know that.

I was first on the scene.

So? Can you not entertain the idea that it might exist?

What's got into you?

What if you're wrong?

Yeah, what if you are, Dad?

Have you seriously thought about that?

I'm not.

Can we eat?

It's going to feel bad.

That's what those barristers are paid to do - ask nasty questions.

But it doesn't mean the jury's not going to believe you.

Look, we don't have to talk about the trial,

but it'd be nice to talk about something.

You patched things up with Nicole yet?

Hardly.

Listen, mate, I don't think you can come back tonight.

That bad, is it?

Think she wants out.

I'm going to try and talk some sense into her,

but I feel terrible you being on your own tonight.

You can always come over later.

Why? What do you think I'm going to do?

I'll be fine on my own, mate.

Better hope our witnesses perform better than our client.

Maybe Metzler's done us a favour.

I mean, do juries think cops are whiter than white these days?

I bet they don't.

It's all out in the open now anyway, there's not much we can do.

-Good day?

-Don't ask!

I don't know about anyone else, but I could do with a drink.

Afraid I've got a dinner date.

I'm busy fact-checking Jess Stanley's witness statement.

-Come on, just a quick one.

-Nah, I'm OK. But thanks.

What's with her?

Your pupil master asks if you want a drink, you bloody well say yes.

Or haven't you resolved your legal differences yet?

What legal differences?

She said you fell out this morning. What was it about precisely?

Why do I feel like I'm walking into a trap?

You tell me. I didn't set it.

It wasn't about the case, was it?

What do you want, Valerie?

Watch yourself. You wouldn't want Gordon on the warpath.

I know that Gordon doesn't want Julie voted in.

Then don't give him unnecessary ammunition.

Such as?

Anything.

Just saying.

And now you've said.

There's nothing going on

except in your vivid imagination.

Hmm. Mine or yours?

What are you up to?

Just a bit of paperwork.

Do you fancy going away at the weekend?

I can't. I've got a lot of work on.

Well, next weekend?

So you've just thrown the towel in then?

Do you want me to be honest?

I don't think there's anything here any more.

-Not for me.

-And that's that, is it?

Come on, Karl, we've been arguing for two years.

Have you not had enough?

I'm going to go to Michelle's.

Might be back later.

I'm sorry.

Tuck in.

Jess, can we not just have a nice evening without arguing about stuff?

Yeah?

We can't agree about everything, I understand that.

Jess, love?

There's no easy way of doing this.

I've been asked to give evidence.

It's too late.

Not for the defence, it isn't.

What do you mean?

Mum asked me what I thought about euthanasia,

about two months before she died.

I told her I thought it was a horrible idea.

Your mum talked about a lot of things.

I don't think Tony killed her.

And you're going go into a court and defend him?

I'm going to say what I saw, and heard, and what I believe.

That's all.

Have you made a statement to his solicitor?

Yeah.

-Why didn't you say?

-Why do you think?

I think you've lost your mind, love.

You need to withdraw that statement,

tell them that you weren't in your right mind.

I'm doing it! I am definitely doing it.

-No, you're not!

-Dad, I've made up my mind...

You will NOT help that man get away with murdering my wife!

He's got to pay.

And you are not getting in the way of that!

Hi.

Hi.

You should go home.

Just what I was thinking.

Well, at least Gordon saw me hard at it.

-Well, there's a brownie point.

-As if he gives me any of those!

So, what are you doing?

Just got a bit of reading

and then I'm going to head off too.

Unless you wanted to change your mind about that drink?

Sorry, I forgot.

We're being above-board and professional, right?

Right.

No personal chit-chat, no out-of-hours socialising?

Apparently so.

Well, good night then.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Yeah.

I thought you'd gone.

Tell me if I've got this wrong.

Hello?

I'm sorry.

Nicole! You scared me half to death.

I know, I had to see you.

Look, you shouldn't be here.

Yeah, I know, I know, but I want to be.

I realise that now.

Look, we can pick things up from where we left off.

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