Verdict of Twelve - The Case

The Case

Rosalia van Beer is a widowed, childless woman who gets into money when all the relatives of her late husband unexpectedly die in a plane crash. The only surviving member of the family is her 11 year-old nephew Philip, and van Beer considers herself to be his “natural guardian”. She moves into the house in Devon that was built by her father-in-law and leads a quiet life there with Philip, a sickly child for whom she engages a private tutor. The household is run by an older couple who were devoted to their former employer but who dislike, and cheat on, Rosalia van Beer. It soon turns out that Philip is a difficult child, and that he does not get along with his aunt at all.

The situation escalates when van Beer takes away Philip’s pet rabbit, which he called Sredni Vashtar, and gasses it in the kitchen. When, soon afterwards, the boy is taken ill the old country doctor is unable to diagnose his disease correctly, and Philip dies before another physician can be consulted.

When poison is found in the boy’s vomit the police are alerted. Then Philip’s tutor comes forward and tells the police that he saw a newspaper clipping about exactly such a case of poisoning in one of the books in the library. As Rosalia van Beer stands to inherit the family fortune, her motive seems to be obvious, and she is charged with murder.

At first, when the jury retires to the jury room, about half of them, including the two women, consider the defendant guilty. However, as time progresses, they can all be convinced by the others that there is reasonable doubt that Rosalie van Beer has committed premeditated murder. In the end, their verdict is one of acquittal.

Only on the way back to her hotel does van Beer tell her barrister and her solicitor what really happened, something she has been aware of all along.