Vera: As the Crow Flies (S11EP4 ABC TV Sun 20 Feb 2022)

When a local teacher is found dead at the bottom of a cliff-side coastal walkway, what appeared to be a terrible accident, quickly becomes a murder investigation as Vera discovers evidence the body has been tampered with.

Lizzy Swann, a primary school teacher, is found dead at the bottom of a cliff-side coastal walkway. What appears at first to be a terrible accident, quickly becomes a murder investigation as Vera discovers evidence the body has been tampered with.

The Swann family are horrified by the news, it is the latest in a string of tragedies to befall them; Lizzy’s husband Phil lost his hearing and was pensioned out of the army, his brother died in a car accident and the family’s farm is falling into ruin. Vera’s interviews paint a troubling picture of a guarded and paranoid woman who in the days leading up to her death seemed to be burning bridges with friends and family alike.

When Vera discovers Lizzy was recently suspended from work for recklessly accusing a father of physically abusing his son – and her family were kept in the dark – she begins to wonder what other secrets lie at the heart of this case.

A perpetual feud with her bereaved and envious sister-in-law, Rose; clashes with her youngest daughter’s wilful boyfriend, Greg; and a public confrontation with Phil’s close-friend and tenant, ‘Macca’ McCarthy, leave no shortage of suspects, but Vera begins to suspect the truth behind Lizzy’s murder may be far more insidious.

Production credit: A Silverprint Pictures production for ITV. Producer Will Nicholson, Executive Producer Phil Hunter, Director Paul Gay.

Airdate: Sunday 20 February 2022 at 8.40 pm on ABC TV.

Season 11 Episode 4