The title of this thread is a bit misleading, since nobody deserves to die. With that said, in Troubled Waters Rosanna Wells & Hayden Danziger had a mutual relationship, albeit Hayden was a married man, non-the-less it was a mutual liaison, so when Rosanna Wells says “pay me or I’m going to ruin your life” she’s putting herself in very dangerous position.
That situation isn’t anything like The Great Santini and Jesse Jerome where Santini was a wanted war criminal, or like Paul Gerard & Vittorio Rossi where Gerard was outright black mailing the great chief Rossi.
I see the Troubled Waters blackmail a bit different.

Understand I don’t have empathy for Danziger, he was a scumbag who was cheating on his wife…. and perhaps when you cheat, losing everything you worked for could be the consequence of cheating. However, Rosanna Wells was a beautiful, sexy and suggestive women, who could have persuaded many normally honest men to cheat….Perhaps....
I wonder how many men in Hayden’s position would have at least thought about whacking Rosanna, even if they didn’t?

BTW, I updated my Peter Falk Artwork on the Youtube Page to add some additional works hanging in the hall way.
Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_0Usk0qejI

Paul

I don't think you could actually call the Gerard/Rossi situation blackmail as it's actually more like extortion. Gerard was extorting the three restaurateurs with bad reviews if they didn't pay him. The Santini/Jerome situation would actually be considered blackmail since Jerome knew Santini's secret and was threatening to turn him in if he didn't pay him.

As far as the Danzinger situation goes, he was married to a wealthy woman, but I don't think it's ever stated if she fronted the money to get Danzinger's business started. She does seem like the shrewd type that would definitely make sure Hayden paid, and paid dearly, if he betrayed her in any way, so he had plenty to lose. I have to wonder, though, just how many different men had Rosanna Wells blackmailed in this fashion.

That’s true..
When I think of Rosanna Wells, I think of a person who is walking a tightrope and in dangerous territory, much like a person who sells drugs…. However, in The Most Dangerous Match when Berozski was killed, I felt bad for the guy, he was certainly a nice guy….. and there are plenty of examples of nice guys who were murdered. Howard Nicholson, Jim Ferris, Alan Mallory and Dr. Henry Willis for example….

And did Edmund really deserve his just rewards in Try to Catch Me? After all, there was never any conclusive proof he DID kill his wife. It really COULD have been a terrible freakish accident. However Abigail had made up her mind, brooding and dwelling on her niece's death, and in the very first scene it was obvious he was going to die, deserved or not.

Perhaps you’re correct, but remember when Columbo went to Edmund’s apartment and couldn’t find a single photo of his dead wife? It’s conjecture, kind of like when Hayden Danziger told Columbo, “Lt, I thinking that falls in the area of speculation”