Étude in Black story
Alex Benedict, the married conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra who resembles the famous conductor Leonard Bernstein, murders his mistress, Jennifer Welles, after she insists on going public with their affair, and tries to make it look like a suicide. Columbo searches for clues to place Benedict at the murder scene. Final clue/twist: During the murder, Benedict loses his signature boutonnière. While conducting that night's concert he realizes its loss and goes back to the now police-crowded crime scene. He recovers the flower and puts it back on. A TV news team records him leaving the house with it, while the recording of the earlier concert shows him being without it. Columbo insists this proves that Benedict must have been there the night of the murder. Witnessing their confrontation, Benedict's wife refuses to support his alibi. Note: It is highly unlikely the District Attorney would take the case to trial with such weak evidence. Directed by: Nicholas Colasanto. Story by: Richard Levinson, William Link, Steven Bochco.
17 total · 3 choice · 8 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| gold digging | choice | Alex married Janice because he wanted to be on good terms with her mother who owned and controlled Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in which he was lucratively employed as conductor, so much so that he could afford a $750,000 house, about $200,000 worth of furniture and five permanent staff. |
| how to murder someone and get away with it | choice | The orchestra conductor Alex Benedict murdered his mistress to stop her from going public about their affair and made it look as if she'd committed suicide. Alex evidently would have gotten away with it had Columbo not inferred that he dropped his signature boutonnière at the scene of the crime. |
| murder of a lover | choice | The orchestra conductor Alex Benedict murdered his mistress to stop her from going public about their affair and made it look as if she'd committed suicide. |
| appearances can be deceiving | major | Witnesses and villains alike are caught off guard by Lieutenant Columbo's bumbling façade, which invariably proves to conceal a laser-focused mind. |
| extramarital affair | major | The renown orchestra conductor Alex Benedict was running around with the talented, young musician Jennifer Welles behind his wife's back. He murdered Jennifer to keep her from going public about their affair. |
| husband and wife | major | Alex and Janice Benedict. |
| law enforcement | major | The bumbling but sharp-witted homicide detective Lieutenant Columbo was tasked with solving the following murder mystery: Who murdered a talented young musician with everything to live for and made it look like she committed suicide? |
| man and mistress | major | The renown orchestra conductor Alex Benedict murdered his mistress, Jennifer Welles, to stop her from going public about their affair. |
| music | major | The villain of the story, Alex Benedict, was a famed orchestra conductor. He was shown at his craft. |
| romantic jealousy | major | Janice acted jealous when she noticed various things about Alex' behavior, and evermore so when she started piecing two and two together regarding his affair and the sordid murder. |