"Lady in Waiting" (1971) is entertaining, but there are several obvious story problems

“Lady in Waiting” is on par with the stronger Columbo outings. But there are glaring plot holes that lower my grade…

Why is there no trace of blood on the floor where the brother falls dead on the floor? After all, she shot him three times. And why is there no line of blood leading to where the body is dragged, keeping in mind that she had zero time to clean anything up?

Furthermore, since when are American detectives allowed to freely march into a citizen’s abode in the middle of the night and confront a suspect in her bedroom? Officers must knock before entering a home, declare their presence, and wait for the inhabitant to come to the door. This is called the “knock-and-announce” rule. The reason for this rule is to allow people a chance to respond so that violence can be avoided and privacy ensured, otherwise police can waltz right into any abode and watch individuals having sex, bathing or going to the bathroom.

Also, do detectives continue pursuing cases after the suspect has been declared innocent by a court of inquiry? Are they paid to keep harassing the individual or do they do this on their free time?

And doesn’t Columbo take a great risk at the climax? After all, this woman has proven that she’s a little sociopathic (to put it nicely) and more than willing to murder someone in cold blood. Yes, he takes a similar risk in “Columbo Goes to the Guillotine” (1989), but he was much older then and thoroughly confident of his conclusions on the suspect’s character based on decades of experience. And, even if he were wrong in “Guillotine” and ended up dead, he probably reasoned that he had a good run; in other words, he was in his 60s and lived a full life already, not so here.

“Lady in Waiting” is certainly an entertaining episode, but there are too many blatant plot issues to give a rating above C+/B-