His son, Luther, now a semi-invalid widower, had displayed spendthrift qualities in his youth. Josiah Crackenthorpe, purveyor of tea biscuits, built Rutherford Hall in 1884. Lucy Eyelesbarrow, a young professional housekeeper and an acquaintance of Miss Marple, is sent undercover to Rutherford Hall.

Comparison of the facts of the murder with the train timetable and the local geography lead to the grounds of Rutherford Hall as the only possible location: it is shielded from the surrounding community, the railway abuts the grounds, and so on. The first task is to ascertain where the body could have been hidden. Only Miss Marple believes her story as there is no evidence of wrongdoing. McGillicuddy describes the woman as having blonde hair and wearing a fur coat.

When arriving at Miss Marple's cottage, she tells all to her. She reports it to a ticket collector who does not believe her. Then, a blind in one of the compartments flies up and she sees a man with his back to her strangling a woman. On the way, her train passes another train running parallel to her. Elspeth McGillicuddy has come from a shopping expedition to visit her old friend Jane Marple for Christmas. (may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) Miss Marple and Elspeth examine a map and conclude that the body must have been thrown off the train onto the grounds of Rutherford Hall. She reports the incident but the police cannot find a body and do not investigate further. When her train is alongside a second one on a stretch of parallel track, she looks out of her window and is shocked to see a man strangling a woman. 8.1 Agatha Christie: 4:50 from PaddingtonĮlspeth McGillicuddy, is travelling by train to visit Miss Marple.6.7 TV Asahi 2018: 4.50 from Paddington (Paddington Hatsu 4ji50bun ~ Shindai Tokkyu Satsujin Jiken~).6.6 Nippon TV 2006: The Corpse which lies (嘘をつく死体 - Uso o tsuku shitai).6.5 Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple.6.4 Agatha Christie's Marple (ITV TV Series).

The 4.50 from paddington