Columbo

Columbo is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After 2 pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show was broadcast on the NBC television network from 1971 to 1978 as one of the rotating programs of The NBC Mystery Movie. A later revival of the series aired (less frequently) on the ABC network from 1989 to 2003.

"A Deadly State of Mind" (Season 04, Episode 06)

Psychiatrist Dr. Mark Collier (George Hamilton) Psychiatrist Dr. Mark Collier (George Hamilton) is having an affair with a patient of his, rich housewife Nadia Donner (Lesley Ann Warren). Collier shows up at the Nadia's beach house only to be unpleasantly surprised by Nadia's husband, Carl (Stephen Elliott). The two men get into a violent confrontation over Collier's affair with and drugging of Nadia, with Carl threatening to damage Collier's reputation. When Collier surprises Carl by attempting to leave with Nadia in tow, Carl attacks him. A scuffle ensues, which ends with Collier bludgeoning Carl with a fireplace poker. After telling Nadia to explain it to the police as a home invasion that turned tragic, done by several masked men, Collier drives off, almost running over a blind man walking his dog past the beach house. Investigating the scene, Columbo is not satisfied with Nadia's version of events, wondering why Nadia didn't see the headlights of the burglars' car. When Columbo tells Collier that Nadia's story is not credible, Collier secretly hypnotizes her into, in effect, committing suicide by taking a deadly dive from her fifth floor balcony into the swimming pool below.

Columbo confronts Collier with an eyewitness, a man wearing dark sunglasses who claims to be the man Collier nearly hit with his car. Collier confidently states that the man is blind and could not be an eyewitness, only to be shocked when the man reads from a magazine Collier hands to him. Columbo reveals that the man is the brother of the actual blind man. But Collier has incriminated himself. In “knowing” that the witness was blind, he has established that he was at the scene of the crime. He has in effect been an eyewitness against himself.

Gallery

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  Nadia is hypnotized

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  Collie plants a hypnotic suggestion on Nadia to jump into the pool when she hears a trigger word, even though she's on the fifth floor.

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  Nadia answers the phone and goes into a trance upon hearing the word trigger.

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  Nadia starts to feel hot and takes off her clothes.

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  Nadia finishes undressing.

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  Nadia is ready to jump, but starts to wake up from her trance...

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  ...but it's too late, and she loses her balance and falls to her death.