Julia Stoner Character Analysis

The murder victim in this story, Julia Stoner was the twin sister of Helen Stoner. She was killed in the middle of the night in her bedroom at the Stoke Moran Manor by a poisonous swamp adder snake. The snake was trained by her stepfather, Dr. Roylott, who lived in the neighboring bedroom. At the time of her death, Julia was engaged to be married to a major of the marines, and her marriage would have meant that she would receive a portion of the recurring annual inheritance that was set up to go to Roylott before her mother’s death. Her final words—“It was the band! The speckled band!”—are what give the story both its title and its central mystery.