A recent arrival in the village is retired Detective Chief inspector Frank Parker-Prodnose, known as Nosey of the Yard. He has moved into the delightful house on the Green called "Postman's Knock", which he bought on the proceeds of his latest book, "Who Drove the Car That Killed the Leader of the Pack?"
The DCI has been spending his retirement working tirelessly to expose the miscarriages of justice concealed within so many popular songs and stories. His cogent argument that Tommy, of "Tell Laura I Love Her" was murdered, is just the latest in his series of exposes of Rock and Roll cover ups.
Since moving into the village, he has turned his attention to Folk Songs. The case which has attracted his attention so far has been that of the unfortunate Matty Groves. A synopsis of his ideas follows.
MATTY GROVES WAS INNOCENT.

Little credibility can be given to the testimony of Lord Donald's wife, clearly a sexual predator of the worst kind, and the obvious discrepancies in the story must point the finger of suspicion.
1.        She propositions Matty when she must have been aware that "a servant ….was standing by and hearing what was said". 'Pas devant les domestiques' has been a motto of the aristocracy since Norman times.
2.        "Matty, he lay down and took a little sleep" Hardly the natural reaction of a young man at the peak of his sexual prowess. He was drugged.
3.        The curious case of Lady Donald's reply to "Who do you like the best of us?" The response could not have been more provocative, especially to a man already in a violent rage. Suspicious!
This is what really happened.
Divorce was not easy at that time, Lady Donald wanted her husband dead, but needed a fall guy. She hatched a plan with a trusted servant to entice Matty Groves to the Castle, drug him and put him in the Great Bed. When Lord Donald arrived, he behaved in a predictable way, but for some reason, the plan for the servant to stab him with Matty's pocket knife ( which had been swapped for Lord Donald's best sword) after Matty had been killed, went wrong.
Did the servant betray his mistress at the last moment?
Was there a counter plot between Lord Donald and the servant to allow Lord Donald to rid himself, justifiably, of a wife who was sure to bring scandal to the family?
There is circumstantial evidence for the latter theory.
Was not Lord Donald really saying,
"A Grave. A Grave, to put these lovers in. But bury my lady at the top, for that will confuse and contaminate the DNA evidence if such a thing becomes possible in the future" ?

A number of other files are already open.
"What did Mary Hamilton do?"
"The Third Sister and the Miller"
I'm sure there will be many others.
(Inspired by James Thurber's "The MacBeth Mystery"