Terri Garman Holbert

**Terri Garman Holbert** (Marcia Strassman; 1948-2014) is the hidden main villainess of "The Dark Side of the Door," episode 12.15 of *Murder, She Wrote* (airdate February 1, 1996).

## Backstory

11 years prior to the episode's events, Terri Garman had dreams of opening a health club with her then-boyfriend Mike Holbert (the episode's hidden tertiary villain). She needed $3 million to do so, but her father refused to give her the money due to his disapproval of who his daughter was dating. With that, Terri tried to take out loans instead, only to be turned down by numerous banks. Feeling that she had no other choice, she devised an evil plot to get said money by orchestrating the kidnapping of her own daughter Erin (who was 12 years old at the time). The merciless mastermind instructed coffee shop waitress Nora Delano to drive to a playground the girl went to and pose as a work friend of hers in order to lure her into her clutches, which went as intended. She also ordered her accomplice to serve Erin carrots and glasses of milk while she was being held hostage at an abandoned West Village studio apartment.

Terri's scheme proved to be successful four days after it was set in motion, as her father paid the $3 million ransom that Nora demanded from him, allowing for her and her boyfriend to open the Nirvana Health Club in New York City. However, two days before the episode's events, Nora told her employer that either she gave her money or she told their victim about they had done to her. This prompted Terri to conspire with Mike—who had become her husband and Erin's stepfather—to cover up her sinister past.

## Events

### Killing Nora/Introduction

Their plot began when she wore an all-black outfit and followed her accomplice to a dock, where she was attempting to get $250,000 from novelist Dirk Matheson by threatening to go to the tabloids with the information she had on the kidnapping if he refused to pay. He ended their meeting by saying that he would think about it before walking off, with Nora preparing to do the same. At that moment, Terri murdered her by shooting her twice with a gun that had a silencer on it, taking some of her belongings in order to make it appear that she was the victim of a robbery.

This was followed by Terri making her first official appearance during a phone conversation with Erin (who was now a 23-year-old copyeditor employed by Jessica Fletcher) about her thoughts regarding an apartment that the latter was looking at. Voicing her belief that it was too expensive, Terri explained to her daughter that high-priced matters were why her grandfather left her a trust fund, with Erin adding that she wouldn't be able to eat dinner with her and her stepfather because she had to make notes about a book. Stating it was fine, Terri said that she would go with Mike to check on the progress of the club's newest branch, which was being constructed in the Hamptons (a group of seaside communities on Long Island), before hanging up.

After the call ended, Mike showed his wife the new plans for the branch in question, which petrified her. Terri and Mike's true personalities began to be foreshadowed when it was uncovered that not only was the former paying for that club using money from Erin's aforementioned trust fund, but also that she needed to return the money before her daughter found out. Citing that what she did could result in her being prosecuted, Mike reassured her that his stepdaughter would never help send her to jail. The married couple was then approached by Nirvana Health Club employee Sonny; since her husband wanted to talk to him, Terri excused herself from their conversation.

### Framing Dirk as Nora's Accomplice

Terri returned to her club while Erin was talking with Sonny about Nora's death, feigning shock over the news. She then asked about what Dirk had to say, only for her daughter to respond by mentioning that the police have yet to talk to him about it, after which she suggested that Erin and her boyfriend Drew Finley take a week-long trip to the Bahamas. Neither of them would have to pay expenses since Terri intended to pay it all herself, which was merely an attempt to get them away from New York City so that she and Mike could ensure the success of their diabolical conspiracy. Even so, her offer was turned down, with Erin assuring her mother that she would be fine and that she had a job to do.

The "job" turned out to be Erin pointing an unloaded gun at Dirk in his hotel suite, trying to scare him into giving her answers about the kidnapping. She believed that he masterminded the crime due to his latest manuscript (which she read earlier) incorporating information that only someone involved in her abduction would know. NYPD Lieutenant Phil Corelli had her escorted from the scene, with Jessica informing Terri and Mike about her employee's activities along with bringing a copy of Dirk's manuscript for the pair to read. Terri covertly continued to cover her tracks by asking Jessica whether there were any other clues to the identity of Nora's accomplice, with the latter's answer being that it had to be someone with inside knowledge. Additionally, the manuscript claimed that Terri could not reach the playground in time because Nora tampered with her car; however, there was no evidence to support it. Jessica remarked that although Dirk's involvement was a possibility, it was odd that he detailed his purported crimes in a book.

Knowing that her dark secrets were still in jeopardy of being exposed, the villainess first confronted Dirk herself and "unsuccessfully" tried to pressure him into giving her answers. Afterwards, she visited his suite and pretended to be attracted to him before pulling out a gun and demanding that he give her audio cassettes on which he recorded himself interviewing Nora about her role in Erin's kidnapping; they were what prompted him to decide to create the book. Regarding the cassettes, he handed them over to Terri, who shot him dead before typing a fake confession on his typewriter that doubled as his "suicide note."

Later on, Sonny informed Mike that he finally had evidence of him and Terri embezzling from Erin's trust fund, with implications saying that he was made the third owner of the Nirvana Health Club's upcoming branch in the Hamptons in exchange for his silence. As for Erin, she had an argument with her mother during which she blamed her for her kidnapping. Despite the words that were exchanged, the pair reconciled.

## Reveal/Arrest

Terri's reveal began after her daughter was cleared of suspicion in Dirk's death, as it was believed to be a suicide. Subsequently, Erin was allowed to leave the NYPD precinct she was at, with Drew and her mother being present for her release. With the clothes she wore as she killed Dirk along with his cassettes still in her locker at the Nirvana Health Club, the manipulative villainess claimed that she was going to call her maid Henrietta and ask her to set up a white tablecloth in preparation for a celebratory feast. In reality, she called Mike, telling him to go to her locker and destroy the evidence against her.

Unbeknownst to the two criminals was that their phones were wiretapped by Phil as part of a sting operation to prove their guilt. Tipped off by their conversation, Jessica waited in the locker room and caught Mike by surprise, with his wife arriving moments later. As she began recounting details about their roles, Terri defensively said that Jessica was welcome to go to the feast "without the innuendos." However, her reveal was cemented when the carrots served to Erin during her time as Nora's captive were brought up, as they helped to indicate that her other kidnapper—Terri herself—was "unusually considerate."

She retorted that she took out loans in order to open the Nirvana Health Club, which Jessica knew was false. Finally caught, the scheming woman confessed to everything, with a flashback proving that she was Dirk's murderer. Terri also stated that she had no idea that Erin would be traumatized as a result when Phil (who surrounded her and her husband alongside other cops) briefly lambasted her. Subsequently, she and Mike were arrested offscreen for their various crimes.