Carson Verrill

Carson Verrill is the main antagonist of the 1987 film Burglar. He is the lawyer of Dr. Cynthia Sheldrake, whose ex-husband Christopher had one-sided feelings for.

After Dr. Sheldrake hires a burglar named Bernice to steal jewels back from her ex-husband, Carson confronts Christopher about his many infidelities, and the ensuing argument results in Carson killing him (Bernice hears it but does not see who it is), taking the briefcase full of jewels Bernice was there to steal. Carson is immediately present when Dr. Sheldrake is brought in as a murder suspect, and when he learns she hired a black woman (Bernice) to burglarize Christopher, he uses that to frame her for murder. He meets with Bernice privately advising her to flee, but she is determined to clear her name.

After several leads and misadventures, Bernice breaks into Dr. Sheldrake's apartment and confronts her and Carson, correctly deducing she was still seeing Christopher despite their divorce, but incorrectly accuses her of killing Christopher. However, when the famous intro to the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson plays, Bernice remembers someone she talked to about Christopher said he called someone "Heeeeere's Johnny"; realizing it was a nickname for Carson, she knew Carson killed Christopher, then later two of his associates, not for the jewels, but because they either knew or correctly suspected his feelings for Christopher.

Bernice meets with Carson with Ray (a cop to whom she owed money) listening via wire tap. Carson denies everything Bernice accused him of until Bernice reveals a witness; a prostitute who knew Christopher and everyone he fooled around with (herself included). With everything working against him, Carson flees and is chased by Bernice. After a brief scuffle that almost kills Bernice, she subdues him and leaves him behing to be apprehended by proper authorities.