Case file · Series 6, Episode 5 · Season 6, Episode 5
Birds of Prey
A suspicious drowning and an illegal birds'-egg inquiry converge on failed investments, a falconry centre and disputed research.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Troy's wildlife case and Barnaby's murder inquiry begin on separate tracks before the same trade in rarity and credibility joins them.
- Best for
- Birds of prey · Scientific fraud · Estate rivalry
- Mood
- Eccentric
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Gavin Troy
- 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
Troy's wildlife case and Barnaby's murder inquiry begin on separate tracks before the same trade in rarity and credibility joins them.
Julian Shepherd appears to have driven into a lake while facing bankruptcy, but the post-mortem establishes that he was murdered. He had been trying to recover money invested in a supposedly lucrative scheme connected to wealthy local interests.
At the same time, Troy assists a wildlife officer investigating protected birds' eggs. A hit-and-run victim with an illegal collection and the theatrical killing of a historian bring both inquiries together around fraud, ownership and scientific claims.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The investment scheme and the traffic in rare specimens are linked by people selling credibility they do not possess; later deaths prevent that fraud being exposed.
Spoiler-safe viewing companion
Three questions to carry into the episode
Use these spoiler-safe prompts to notice the setting, the investigation and the details that may matter.
- Place
How does Midsomer Magna shape what people say openly, delay, or leave unsaid?
- Theme
Which details seem to carry more than one meaning, and what might be a red herring?
- Teamwork
Compare how DCI Tom Barnaby and DS Gavin Troy gather information: who watches the room, and who presses the conversation forward?
More episode detailsProduction, cast, deaths and filming information
Credits, context and checked facts
Production and cast
- TV series
- Series 6
- Episode number
- Episode 5
- Written by
- Michael Russell
- Directed by
- Jeremy Silberston
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 31 January 2003
- Reported filming period
- October–November 2002
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Gavin Troy
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Magna
- Casebook tone
- Eccentric
Check the credits, then follow the source trail for production and filming details. Counts below describe this archive’s records.
The fictional setting and the real filming sites are separate pieces of information. The location desk currently connects it to 2 broader filming areas and 2 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer credits5 episodes credited to Michael Russell
- Director credits9 episodes directed by Jeremy Silberston
- Release positionCase 28 of 144
- Story characterEccentric · Birds of prey · Scientific fraud
- Location evidence2 exact screen-use matches
Britwell House at Britwell Salome supplies the principal residence used for Naomi Sinclair.
Haddenham provides church, pond and butcher-shop views, while a Cuddington cottage becomes the Macpherson home.
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗The chronology is the reference for the credits shown here. A programme homepage does not independently verify a filming date or every production detail. Where multiple transmission dates are listed, territory attribution needs checking. Story, teleplay and adaptation distinctions require the original credit wording; links to external synopses may reveal plot details.
Selected episode credits
Birds of Prey cast
These selected cast entries link to their published profiles. They do not include every name shown in the end credits.
Jane Wymark
Laura Howard
Neil Conrich
Neville Phillips
Anton Lesser
Trevor Cooper
Rosalind Knight
Bernard Gallagher
Alexandra Gilbreath
David Calder
Jemma Churchill
Tim Treloar
Robert Morgan
Richard Todd
Harry Gostelow
Nicholas Pritchard
Candida Benson
Janet Maw
Kenneth Gilbert
Edward Clayton
Kate Buffery
Sheila Shand Gibbs
The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
John Nettles
Tom Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor, author and narrator who was already a household name as Jersey detective Jim Bergerac. After Bergerac he spent five seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later returned to television drama in Poldark.
- Bergerac
- Poldark
- Royal Shakespeare Company
Daniel Casey
Gavin Troy · Detective Sergeant · later InspectorAn English stage and television actor also known for Our Friends in the North, Steel River Blues, EastEnders and Emmerdale. He later returned to the Midsomer world to play Tom Barnaby in the first professional stage adaptation.
- Our Friends in the North
- Steel River Blues
- Midsomer Murders on stage
Barry Jackson
Dr George Bullard · Police pathologistAn English stage and screen character actor whose career lasted more than five decades. His credits ranged from the landmark television play Cathy Come Home to Doctor Who, Barry Lyndon and many familiar British television dramas.
- Cathy Come Home
- Doctor Who
- Barry Lyndon
Portraits are used only where a reusable licence or public-domain release has been verified. Publicity stills and stock photographs are not copied into this independent guide.
Forensic desk
Dr George Bullard
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Barry Jackson
Causton's long-serving pathologist is professionally unflappable, quietly witty and an old friend of Tom Barnaby.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
4 people die in this case, according to the linked death record.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Edward "Eddie" Darwin
Murder · Vehicle or machinery
Performer check- Edward “Eddie” Darwin: Anton LesserThe body-count ledger uses Edward Darwin; the published cast record credits the familiar form Eddie Darwin, both retained here.
- Major George Hamilton
Murder · Stabbing or impalement
Performer check- Major George Hamilton: David CalderThe body-count ledger identifies ‘Major Hamilton’; the published cast record supplies the given name George, used here.
- Julian Shepherd
Murder · Drowning
Performer check- Julian Shepherd: Robert Morgan
- Charles Edmonton
Accidental, natural or other · Natural or unexplained
Performer check- Charles Edmonton: Richard Todd
Break a second seal: reveal the verified killer
Verified killer
Dr Naomi SinclairNaomi drowned Julian Shepherd in his bath and staged the car in the river, ran down Eddie Darwin, and killed George Hamilton when the investment fraud was at risk of exposure. Her later attempt to kill Mallory Edmonton with the birds is kept separate, while Charles Edmonton's death remains unassigned rather than inferred.
Verified motive
Naomi killed the people who could expose or deprive her of the investment-fraud proceeds, which she wanted to escape dependence and finance her own life: Julian demanded his investment back, Eddie's break-in threatened discovery and George controlled the money. She then tried to make Mallory disappear and take the blame.
Verified important clue
Archive case 28 · checked 16 September 2026Julian Shepherd's unnaturally scrubbed bathroomJulian was notoriously untidy, yet his bath had been cleaned with bleach; the inconsistency directs the inquiry back from the river to the house and exposes the car crash as staging after he was drowned in the bath.
Verified decisive clue
Archive case 28 · checked 17 September 2026Julian's scrubbed bathroom and the trackless riverbankThere are no tyre or skid marks where Julian's car entered the river, while the notoriously untidy man's bathroom has been scrubbed with bleach. Together those facts show that he was drowned in the bath and the crash was staged, connecting Naomi to the fraud-driven sequence while keeping Charles's natural death separate.
Verified red herring
Archive case 28 · checked 17 September 2026Julian Shepherd's apparent suicide in the riverJulian's depression, family and money troubles make the submerged car look self-inflicted, and the absence of drink or a high-speed impact does not immediately contradict that reading. The car leaves no tyre or skid marks because Julian was drowned in his bath; Naomi staged the vehicle in the river after killing him.
Verified death and discovery order
Archive case 28 · checked 16 September 2026- deathCharles Edmonton dies
Charles dies from a heart attack; the episode does not assign his death to Naomi or any other killer.
- discoveryCharles is concealed in a freezer
His body is kept frozen so that a false death date can protect the investment launch.
- deathJulian Shepherd is drowned
Naomi drowns Julian in his bath after he demands the return of his investment.
- discoveryJulian's car is found in the river
The staged crash initially suggests suicide, but the absence of tyre marks and later evidence expose the deception.
- deathEddie Darwin is run down
Naomi kills Eddie after his break-in threatens to expose Charles's concealed body and the fraud.
- discoveryThe hit-and-run is traced to Casement Hall
Eddie's final movements connect the fatal collision to the freezer and the investment scheme.
- deathGeorge Hamilton is killed
Naomi kills George when his control of the fraud proceeds threatens her escape and access to the money.
- discoveryNaomi's sequence is exposed
The resolution connects the three murders and the interrupted attack on Mallory while leaving Charles's natural death unassigned.
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
Britwell House
Used as: The country house becomes Naomi Sinclair's residence.
Ruislip Crematorium
Used as: The crematorium represents Midsomer Magna's crematorium for Charles Edmonton's funeral.
Sources support the listed site uses; they do not establish every filming location in an episode.
Wider filming areas
