Margaret Beecham

Margaret Henrietta Beecham was a mentally ill woman who, in a delusional episode in 1972, believed that she was responsible for the kidnapping of Jason Lomax and his pram from outside the Rovers Return Inn and that she'd murdered him.

Arriving at the Rovers two days after the kidnapping, the prim and proper Mrs Beecham questioned Lucille Hewitt about where to get in touch with the police. Lucille then escorted her to the police caravan in Victoria Street, where she was brought before Det. Insp. Patterson, the senior policeman in charge of the investigation. In an interview with Patterson, showing no awareness of the enormity of her tale, Margaret very calmly described how she had covered Jason up with stones behind a yellow coloured back door behind her house, giving an accurate description of Jason and the pram. Patterson kept the session going long enough for Det Sgt Simms to search the location, but nothing out of the ordinary was found at the address. When told this, Margaret became confused and admitted she couldn't remember taking the baby but her memories of what happened afterwards were clear. Realising he was dealing with a sick woman, Patterson asked Margaret who her doctor was. Margaret told him about her headaches for which she had been seeing Dr. Clements in Longside Road for a long time but that he didn't seem to be curing. Patterson then got in touch with Clements and found out that the doctor was waiting for the go-ahead from Margaret's son to have her moved to a psychiatric home.

Fortunately, the police time taken up by Margaret did not affect the search, and Jason was found safe in his pram on waste ground by Betty Turpin and Emily Bishop almost immediately afterwards.


 * The character was credited as "Mrs Beecham". Her full name was given in dialogue.