Daniel Webster is a character appearing in the episode The Green Man of the ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders. The teenage son of Timothy and Lillian Webster, Daniel was one of a group of yobs, along with Simon Mayfield and Steven Curtis, who frequently drove around the woods of Midsomer Worthy shooting at any animal they could find. In 2003, after learning that his mother had been engaging in an affair with his friends, Daniel took to shooting them instead.
Biography[]
Daniel was raised in the village of Midsomer Worthy, the only child of Timothy and Lillian Webster. He became friends with local yobs Steven Curtis and Simon Mayfield who were around the same age as him. His life was unhappy however, as he suffered through the dysfunction of his parents' marriage.
By 2003, Daniel and his friends were regulars at The Green Man, a local pub, and also became well known for driving around the woods with shotguns while intoxicated and trying to kill the local wildlife. Around this time, Daniel's mother Lillian began illicit affairs with both Steven and Simon, using text messages to set up secret sexual encounters. Daniel soon discovered the truth, and decided to murder his friends in retribution, as he believed they were laughing at him behind his back.
One night, the boys were driving through the woods and encountered local tramp Tom, who reprimanded them for killing animals for no reason, and took their gun from them and threw it into the bushes. Later that same night, while Steven and Simon were drinking in The Green Man, Daniel texted Simon pretending to be Lillian, and invited him into the woods for a secret rendezvous. When Simon arrived at the meeting spot, he stood on a bear trap that Daniel had planted. It snapped shut on his foot, trapping him. Daniel approached him and Simon begged for help, until Daniel pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at Simon's head. Simon tried to scramble away but was unable to, and Daniel shot him once through the head, killing him.
As DCI Tom Barnaby was busy investigating an unrelated historical murder, he left DS Gavin Troy in charge of the investigation into Simon's murder. Troy's prime suspect was Tom, who seemingly had a motive to kill Simon following his argument with the boys on the night of his death, as well as having possible access to the murder weapon (the rifle he took from them). Following the murder, Daniel was comforted by and became friendly with Cully Barnaby, who had been doing volunteer work on his father's behalf. That night, Daniel decided to kill Steven as well, and once again lured him into the woods via a text message sent in the middle of the night. Once he was in the woods, Daniel struck Steven over the head and then shot him to death.
Troy reluctantly arrested Tom and held him overnight, not fully convinced that he was the culprit. He recovered mobile phones from the victims and realized that they had been texting Lillian Webster, and that they had been having an affair. Troy then concluded that the killer was Daniel's father Timothy, committing the murders out of jealousy. He drove over to the Webster house to confront him, only to find Timothy cradling Lillian's body; she had been shot in the head by Daniel the previous night. Finally realizing his son was the killer, Timothy confessed to the murders and was arrested by Troy. Cully came by the house to comfort a distraught Daniel and they decided to go for a walk by the canal that ran past the Webster house.
At police headquarters in Causton, Timothy made a full confession to Troy, but something didn't sit right with him. He discussed the case with Barnaby and realized that Timothy had erroneously stated he'd used Lillian's phone to lure the boys into the woods, but in reality it was a separate device. Troy finally realized that Timothy had confessed to protect his son, and he and Barnaby raced down to the canal. Daniel, meanwhile, confessed to Cully that he was behind the murders of Simon, Steven and Lillian because he found what they had done to be “disgusting.” Cully managed to calm him down and then led him to her father, where Daniel finally handed himself over to the police. Tom was released from custody and allowed to return to the woods he called home.
It is worth noting that the murders committed by Daniel Webster were the final case that Troy helped to solve before he was promoted to Inspector and moved away from Midsomer.
Crimes[]
- Simon Mayfield - Lured into the woods with a supposed booty call text from Lillian Webster, then as he went to the car he thought was hers, caught his leg into a bear trap and was shot in the head with a .22 calibre rifle.
- Steven Curtis - Lured into the woods with a supposed booty call text from Lillian Webster, then was struck and shot in the head with a .22 calibre rifle.
- Lillian Webster - Shot in the head with a .22 calibre rifle while sitting on her swing.