Paul Dudden Murder

Paul Dudden, a boarder for the Ellis family is brutally murdered behind a Chinese screen. The movie, Behind the Screen by Agatha Christie is about the drama and murdering of Paul Dudden in the Ellis estate. He could have only have been murdered between 8:25 to 8:30. When the Ellis family decides to go to the library after dinner, Mrs. Ellis finds the bloody body of Paul Dudden. With a possible murderer in the house, inspector Rice must find who killed Paul and why. Robert Ellis is clearly the murderer of Paul Dudden because he was found with a blood stained cloth, is afraid of Paul, is strong enough to carry Paul’s body, and he owes money to Paul.
Physical evidence from the household proves that Robert killed Paul. Robert claims that while helping Mrs. Hulk, Robert accidentally gets some blood on a white shirt. Detective Rice finds him in the act of attempting to burn the shirt. Robert could have accidentally gotten Paul’s blood stained on the shirt while killing him. He wanted to get rid of the evidence by burning it instead of washing it. Another piece of physical evidence is a surgical tool stolen from Wilfred Hope. Robert could have

Evidence #8 mentions that, “Dudden’s body showed no signs of drugs and was dragged behind the screen. The murderer would have to be strong.” That eliminates all of the women because some people associated strength with men. The killer is likely a man. Next, we know that the killer was not Wilfred Hope because he was at the hospital this whole time. Mr. Ellis also couldn’t be the killer because of his permanently weakened hands from the war and is too weak to carry Paul’s body. The only two suspects remaining are Robert and Mr. Parson. The suspect could be Mr. Parson but he does not have many connections or motives to support that he killed Paul. This only leaves Robert as the remaining suspect for Paul’s