Murder, She Wrote 1984 1996 Former high school English teacher and famed mystery writer Jessica Fletcher Dame Angela Lansbury has a gift for solving mysteries You see, it seems murder follows her around, whether it be to the houses of her seemingly endless number of friends, nieces, and nephews, or right in her hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine Jessica is sometimes assisted by her friend Dr Seth Hazlitt William Windom or the local Sheriff, Amos Tupper Tom Bosley and Tuppers successor, Mort Metzger Ron Masak, a former New York City cop Sometimes, later in the series, Jessica would only serve as narrator In later seasons, Jessica moved to Manhattan to teach criminology at Manhattan University