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In nineteen thirty one, the district of Anfield in Liverpool,
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England was shot by the murder of an elderly housewife
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named Julia Wallace. But what was more unsettling was the
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strange phone call her husband William, received only twenty four
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hours before she was murdered. Chapter one, A call at
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the Chess Club. William Wallace went to the Liverpool Central
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Chess Club every other Monday evening. While he wasn't a
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very good player, he was a learned man who enjoyed
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the challenge of the game and the camradity of the club.
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Known as a bit of an eccentric, William worked as
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an insurance collector by day, but pursued many interests, including chemistry, science,
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and philosophy. He was an agreeable man who was well
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liked by many members of the Chess Club, even if
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he wasn't very skilled at the game, and as a regular,
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he was also very friendly with the owner, a mister
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Samuel Batty, who'd been enjoying William's company at the club
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for almost eight years. On the cold night of January nineteenth,
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nineteen thirty one, mister Batty took a phone call at
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the club from a man who had introduced himself as
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mister claw Through, and he said he was looking for
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William Wallace. At the time of the call, William wasn't there,
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and mister Batty took a message. When William arrived, mister
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Baty handed him an envelope on which he'd scribbled mister
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Clawlthrough's name, along with an address for twenty four Men
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Loved Gardens East and that Williams should meet him at
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seven point thirty the following evening about a business affair.
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William claimed that he had never met anyone with the
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name cauall Through, nor had he any idea where Men
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Love Gardens East was, but he wrote down the message
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and thanked mister Batty before turning to his first game.
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Chapter two, William and Julia Wallace. William returned home from
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the chess club at around eleven PM, where he shared
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a small meal with his wife Julia, and after regalling
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her with the fact that he finally won a match,
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the two went to bed. By all accounts, the Wallaces
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were a quiet, unassuming couple who lived modestly in their
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Anfield town home with a cat named Puss. While their
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neighbors found them friendly, kind and were quoted as saying
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they'd never heard the couple fight in all the years
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they lived there. There are other reports that the Wallaces
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had a loveless and strained marriage, so it's difficult to
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tell which was true. Married in nineteen fourteen. The couple
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had met during William's short stint as an election agent
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before the First World War suspended election positions. Looking for
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work amidst the backdrop of war, William found a new
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job as a collections agent with the Prudential Insurance Company,
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and in nineteen fifteen William and Julius settled in Anfield, Liverpool,
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only a few blocks from the insurance agency. Though the
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couple had no children, As Julia was significantly older than William,
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they were often visited by their neighbors, as well as
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William's brother, sister in law, and nephew. William's relatives would
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come to the couple's home from music nights, as Julia
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was an accomplished pianist and William had taught himself the violin.
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While later investigations would show that William complained about Julia
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in his diary, many of his neighbors described him as
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miserly and felt Julia was quite frugal and did her
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best to decorate her home with her own handmade embroidery
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and watercolors, as well as making most of her own clothes.
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As they were both older, William suffered from chronic kidney
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issues and Julia struggled with respiratory infections, so the couple
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were often ill, and there was speculation that the strained
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relationship some reports reveal, may have been due to the
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fact that neither of them felt well most of the time.
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Despite these claims, their neighbors found them kind and unassuming,
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so it came as quite a shock to the community
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when William was arrested in February second, nineteen thirty one
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for the brutal murder of his wife. Was it possible
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for an awlling husband to have killed Julia Wallace in
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cold blood? The police on the scene certainly thought so,
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but as we'll discover, William's guilt or innocence is still
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question almost one hundred years later. But how did the
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Wallaces end up here? To answer that, we have to
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go back to January twentieth, nineteen thirty one, the day
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after William received mister Quawthrough's message Chapter three, The False Address.
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After coming home from collecting insurance dues from his clients
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on Tuesday, January twentieth, William told Julie about the strange
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phone message from mister Qualthrough and how he didn't really
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feel comfortable going up to Menlove Garden since he'd never
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heard of there being in East Street. But if this
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was a business deal that could potentially get him a
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nice commission, it would mean a serious pay raise for
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the couple, and Julie encouraged him to at least go
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and talk to mister Cuathrow to see what he wanted. So,
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while Julie answered the door for the milk delivery, William
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went up to their bedroom to chain into a nice
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suit for the meeting and gathered some documents he'd need
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to show mister quaw through different insurance policy options. At
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around six forty five pm, Julia followed him down to
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their front gate, as was customary when he was going
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out late. They said they're goodbyes, and then he caught
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several tram cars up to men Love Gardens. But once
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William got there, he had a hard time finding men
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Love Gardens East. There was a clearly marked north, south
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and West on the street signs, but no East. After
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inquiring with three strangers and a policeman walking the beat,
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it became clear to William that the address he'd been
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given was wrong. Perhaps mister Baty had written down east.
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When he met West, William knocked on the door at
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twenty five men Love Garden West. William got a surprise
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when he was told by the resident that no one
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named kawl Thru lived there. Next, William even went so
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far as to go to a local post office to
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at a street directory to see where exactly quawl Through lived,
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but there was no one by that name anywhere in Liverpool. Likewise,
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after asking yet another stranger about the whereabouts of men
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Love Gardens East. William was told that no such place existed.
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There was only a north, south and west in Menlove Gardens.
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Perhaps mister Batty had misheard the caller, so William gave
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up and took the tram cars back down to Anfield
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around eight pm. When he returned home, he found the
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front door bolted from the inside, which was odd as
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Julian knew he'd be coming homely. He went around to
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their back door, and he found that he couldn't open
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that door either. After knocking and calling Julia's name to
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no avail, William met his next door neighbors, the Johnstons,
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as they were leaving through their back gate to visit
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a friend. William explained how the doors were all locked,
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which wasn't like Julie at all, and asked if they'd
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seen or heard anything unusual while he'd been gone. They
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suggested maybe Julia had gone down the street to the
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mailbox to pay some letters, but William disagreed. Julia was
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recovering from ronchitis and hadn't been feeling up to leaving
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the house even to mount letters. William tried the back
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door second time, and this time it swung open. Easily,
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as if it had been stuck. William asked the Johnsons
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to wait outside while he checked the house, which was
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mostly dark except for two gas lamps which lit the
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upstairs bedrooms. William first went up the stairs to the
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couple's bedroom, thinking that perhaps Julia had gone to bed
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early since she hadn't been feeling well, But she wasn't there,
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so he went down to their front parlor and found
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the door slowly ajar He struck a match to see
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in the dark room. It was at that moment that
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he found Julia lying motionless on the floor Chapter four,
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The Murder. Fearing Juliet had a fit or complication from
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her illness, William quickly lit the gas lamp about the fireplace,
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and to his horror, found that his wife had not
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fallen and fit. She had been very clearly bludgeoned. She
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lay face down with blood pulling beneath her, the back
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of her skull so smashed that William saw her brain
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matter oozing through her hair. Blood had been spattered on
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the wall. William ran quickly from the scene, horrified, shouting
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to his neighbors, come and see she's been killed. The
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Johnstons rushed in to find Julia's body. Miss Johnston touched
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her and found the body was still warm, so William
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urged mister Johnson to go for the nearest doctor, even
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as he repeated, they've finished her, They've finished her. Look
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at the brains. Despite William pressing for a doctor, it
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was clear that Julia was long past any medical care,
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so the Johnstons helped William into the family room where
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they wouldn't have to keep looking at Julia's body. Once
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in the new room, William noticed one of the cabinet
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doors lay broken on the floor and a few small
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coins were scattered around it. Had this been a robbery?
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Mister Johnston urged William to look around the house to
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see if anything was missing, and William found that the
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cash box he kept all his prudential collections in had
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been looted, but on a search of the rest of
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the house, no other money or jewelry was missing, even
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though William had left four one pound notes and some
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various change in a cup on his dresser in plain view.
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Upon their conclusion that this must have been a robbery,
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mister Johnston went for the police, while missus Johnston stayed
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to comfort William. While they waited, William sat in shock
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robotically patting their cat. Plus Missus Johnston returned to the
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parlor to touch Julia's body. To her surprise, the body
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had cooled considerably in a short time since they'd found her.
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When William came into the parlor a few minutes later,
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he exclaimed that Julia's body was laying on top of
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both his and her raincoats. Why would she have both
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of their raincoats in the parlor. As he began to cry,
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Missus Johnston urged him to return to the family room,
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where she approached the fireplace in order to start a fire.
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She would later tell police that William pride twice in
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her presence as they waited for mister Johnson to return
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with help. Chapter five The Police Investigate. A short time later,
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mister Johnston returned with Constable P. C. Williams, who walked
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with William around the home to go over the missing
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money from the cash box and the broken cabinet. While
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they went through the house, several more police doctors and
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forensic specialists arrived to process the scene. Their investigation revealed
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that while no furniture had been disturbed in the parlor,
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Julia's blood had spattered over seven feet up one wall.
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Her body lay diagonally across the rug on her right side,
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her head only about eighteen inches from the door that
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had been almost closed when William arrived. Her head was
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also to the side, with her face turned towards the
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parlor's window. Right above her left ear was a three
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inch long and two inch wide open wound through which
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blood and brain matter con yield. The later autopsy revealed
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ten diagonal incises to the left side of her head
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and several skull fractures. Her cause of death was ruled
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as skull fractures resulting from being forcefully struck three to
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four times by a hard and large headed instrument, as
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is still the case today in murder investigations. In most
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domestic murders, police were incredibly suspicious of William as they
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took in the scene, and their suspicions only grew when
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they learned of the strange call from mister Quallthrough in
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this false address. Through phone records, police were able to
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track down the exact public call box that this mister
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claw Through had allegedly called from. Interestingly, the call box
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was only minutes down the road from the Wallace's home.
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Police were interested in the fact that the strange call
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had been made from a call box within walking distance
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of his home, but they also found it interesting that
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the call was made to the chess club before William
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arrived there, so someone would have to take a message
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to give William once he arrived. Early on, the police
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believed that William had orchestrated the perfect alibi for himself
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to carry out his wife's murder. He'd make this mystery
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call to the chess club and then immediately show up
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at the chess club to receive this message. Though no
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blood was found on William's clothing, the fact that Julie's
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body was cold by the time William and the Johnstons
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called the police meant that William could have had ample
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time to kill Julia before leaving for his meeting with
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this mystery man that didn't exist despite their feelings. With
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no murder weapon in the house, no blood on William's person,
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and no other evidence to prove their theory, police were
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not able to detain William the night of the murder,
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and he went free, But this mystery would only deepen
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and become more bizarre. Chapter six were the police wrong.
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As they continued to search for proof that William had
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murdered his wife, investigators were met with evidence quite to
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the contrary. For one, the boy who had delivered milk
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to the Wallace's on the night of the murder told
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police that he had met Julie at the door at
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around six forty five pm and they talked for a
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few minutes about the fact they were both getting over bronchitis.
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The boy's timeline was backed up by several neighbors who
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also witnessed the boy delivering milk to the Wallace's around
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that time. Coupled with this fact was that the tram
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conductor remembered William boarding around seven oh six pm for
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his trip to Menlov Gardens. Because William had made a
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special quest about getting to the Menlov district on time
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for his meeting. With Julia being seen alive at six
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forty five and William being on a tram at seven
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oh six, it would have been almost impossible for William
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to have bludgeoned Julie to death, staged to robbery, cleaned
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himself up, and then run down three streets to catch
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the tram. In addition to this, William had just recovered
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from the flu at the time of the murder, and
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also suffered from a kidney disease that made him walk slowly.
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It didn't seem very plausible that William would have been
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able to physically run to the tram if he killed
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Julia right after the milk delivery. On top of this,
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when mister Batty was asked if the voice of mister
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Quawlthrow was really the voice of William Wallace setting up
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his own alibi, mister Baty replied that it would take
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a great stretch of the imagination to say the strange
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man sounded like William. Even the coroner's report made it
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impossible for William to have killed Julia, as the corner
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placed her time of death at seven point fifty, a
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whole hour after William left for the tram. William himself
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also cited a potential suspect, a young man by the
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name of Richard Perry, who had worked under William at Prudential.
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William described Richard as a family friend, at least until
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William discovered that Richard had been stealing money from the company.
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He told police that would have known about the Prudential's
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collection day and that was always Wednesday, which meant that
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Tuesday night, the collector's personal cash boxes would be full.
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Richard also would have been known to Julia, and she
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would have let him in the house without question if
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he knocked on the door. But when police found Richard
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Perry and questioned him, he had an alibi. He'd been
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with his fiance on the night of the murder, and
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when questioned, she backed up his story. Chapter seven, the
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investigation doubles down. Despite the amount of information that seemed
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to show Julia's killer had not been her husband, police
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were convinced they had their man. In addition to having
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no other viable suspects, their clinching piece of evidence was
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the two raincoats found under Julia's body. Investigators felt William
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had covered himself in the raincoats to keep the blood
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off of him, beat Julia to day with an iron bar,
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removed the coats, and still made it to the tram
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by seven oh six, where he tossed the iron bar
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off the tram at one of the stops. Even with
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the milk boy's testimony, police believed he was mistaken about
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the time of his delivery and speculated that Julian may
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have even been dead before the boy arrived, and that
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William had dressed up in his wife's clothing to answer
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the door. To be sure, the police even had several
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of their officers panamime out the possible act to see
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if they could make it to the tram by seven
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oh six, which the officers successfully did. But it wasn't
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taken into account that these officers were young and physically fit,
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while William was fifty two, plagued with a kidney disease
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that made walkin difficult and he was also recovering from
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the flu. Though the evidence against William was quite slim
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from a forensics perspective, officers felt they had enough for
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an arrest about two weeks after Julia's murder, Chapter eight
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a death sentence. While the local papers went wild over
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the brutal murder for weeks after the arrest, William Wallace
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waited in jail for his trial date of April twenty second,
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nineteen thirty one. In the meantime, his colleagues at Prudential
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had a mock trial in London to weigh the evidence
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against him, and their verdict came out that he was
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completely innocent. Due to this, the company funded his defense,
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as they believed he was being put on trial with
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purely circumstantial evidence and felt that the police were accusing
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him simply because they had no other suspects, despite an
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excellent defense team destroying several of the police officers on
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the stand for contaminating the crime scene and showing there
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was no hard evidence at all to prove William was culpable.
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The jury had been selected from towns just outside of Liverpool,
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where the press had been saturating the public for weeks
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with headlines calling William the murderer, coupled with the plethora
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of witnesses police had coached to change their initial statements
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to allow for a different event timeline. The prosecution harped
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heavily on the strange phone call that William received at
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the chess club. The fact that no mister Quallthrough was
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ever found through police investigation, and that the call had
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originated from a call box only four hundred yards from
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the Wallace's home made it easy to convince the jury
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that the only person who could have made the call
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was William Wallace himself. After an hour of deliberation, the
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jury found William Wallace guilty of murder. And sentenced him
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to die. He was given a chess set and his
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violin before being removed to Liverpool Prison to await his
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execution day Chapter nine the Court of Criminal Appeal. While
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legally the jury's decision was guilty, the preceding judge himself
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was not an agreement. He said, this murder, I should imagine,
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must be almost unexampled in the annals of crime. Murders
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so devised and arranged that nothing remains which will point
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to anyone as the murderer, no fingerprints, and no weapon
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that can be traced anywhere, and so far as can
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be ascertained, no conceivable motive in any human being. The
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evidence in this case, and the evidence that can be
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brought against anyone here, is purely circumstantial. You know, in
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many cases, especially of murder, the only evidence that is
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available circumstantial evidence. But circumstantial evidence may vary in value
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almost infinitely. In essence, the judge found there to be
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intense reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case, but had to
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abide by the jury's decision in his sentencing. William had
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only one way to avoid execution, and that was through
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the Court of Criminal Appeal established in nineteen oh seven.
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The Court of Appeal had never overturned the sentence of
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a capital crime before, and William's chances of throwing his
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life on their mercy was a long shot. However, much
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to his and the community's surprise, after hearing the appeal
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and recessing for forty five minutes to consider a verdict,
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the court ruled in William's favor, citing that the Jerry's
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verdict could not be upheld based on the fact that
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the only evidence in the case was circumstantial at best
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and unfounded at worst. William's conviction was overturned and he
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left the Court of Freeman. But while he escaped execution,
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he couldn't escape the court of public opinion. He had
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to move out of his home and the community that
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he had lived with Julia only months after his acquittal
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due to the community shunning him thanks to the variety
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of newspapers in the highly publicized trial, Anfield believed William
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had gotten away with his wife's murder. He received hate mail,
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many of his insurance plans, refused to pay him or
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acknowledge him in the streets, and sometimes his neighbors even
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threatened physical violence. William was forced to take a clerical
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desk job to remain out of the public's eye. William's
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diary revealed hundreds of entries about how much he missed
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his wife as well as a grown parentoi that whoever
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had killed her would also come for him. One day,
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the stress affected his already struggling kidneys, and on February
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twenty sixth, nineteen thirty three, only two years after his acquittal,
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William Wallace died of kidney feather and he was buried
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next to Julia in the Anfield Cemetery, Chapter ten, The
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Real Suspect. Throughout the year since William's passing, there's been
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much conjecture over his guilt or innocence. Many people, like
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his neighbors and several authors who studied his case, believed
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that he got away with murder and Julia never knew justice.
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But evidence surfaced in the late nineteen sixties that may
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very well point to William's innocence. Between nineteen sixty five
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and nineteen sixty six, crime author Jonathan Goodman was researching
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the Wallace case for a book. He looked thoroughly into
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the background of the only other person ever named as
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a suspect in the case, William's colleague from prudential, Richard Perry.
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What Goodman found was that nineteen thirty one, when Richard
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was twenty two, he often covered for William when he
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was ill and collected for him. He could also often
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be found at the Wallace's home, where he would sing
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and Julia would accompany him on the piano when William
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wasn't home. Likewise, the cafe William's chess club met at
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was also the same place Richard went for lunch, and
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he could clearly see the chess schedules in the days
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William played. Described as a ladies man, well connected to
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many political figures of the day, and often in trouble.
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Richard Perry had a criminal record for theft with malicious damage, embezzlement,
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and indecent assault, though he served little no time for
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his crimes thanks to his political connections. Richard was known
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as a compulsive liar and was often in debt and
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asking friends and family for money. When Goodman looked into
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Richard's original alibi, the one in which he claimed he
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had spent the night with his fiance, that turned out
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to be false, as three years after the murder, the
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relationship had ended, and richard ex fiance went to a
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solicitor looking to make a statement that she had not
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actually been with Richard the night of Julia Wallis's murder.
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She had been playing piano in a cinema that night,
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but Richard had told her she needed to cover for him.
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Goodman also suggests that Richard Perry had more motive than
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a million to commit the crime. At the time of
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the murder, Richard was hard up for cash and in
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serious debt, so to know he could get into the
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Wallace's townhouse easily to rob it would make sense for
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his desperation, as well as his background in previous steving.
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If Richard was the murderer, perhaps he hadn't intended to
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kill Julia, but felt that he needed to in order
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to properly rob the home. But it would also eliminate Julia,
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so she couldn't tell the police what Richard had done.
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Just as Richard would not only be able to see
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when William was slated to go to the chess club,
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he could have also made the prank call to ensure
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William was out of the house on the night his
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collection box would be most full. While Goodman wasn't able
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to use Richard's real name in his nineteen sixty nine
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book due to the fact that Richard was still living
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and Vietmaly denied anything to do with Julie's murder. Goodman's
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book and a later documentary led him to get another
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person who suspected Richard was the real killer. After the
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screening of this documentary, he was contacted by an elderly
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man named John Parks. Back in nineteen thirty one, Parks
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had worked in the evenings as a cleaner and handyman
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for an auto shop in Anfield. Parks was well acquainted
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with Richard Perry, as the two had gone to school together,
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and at night after the auto shop was closed, many
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of the local young men would meet in the upstairs
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apartment above the shop for card games and beer. Parks
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recalled that while Richard was often present at these gatherings,
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he was an unwelcome guest, as he had the shop
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do some work on his car a few times and
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never paid them. He had also stolen money out of
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a wardrobe in the apartment at one point, and also
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got into trouble with the shop for using their phone
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to make prank phone calls. Parks remembered that Richard could
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change the sound of his voice easily, But most senator
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was that on the night of Julia Wallace's murder, Parks
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was working a late night shift at the shop and
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Richard Perry came in roaring up his car. Parks remembered
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him acting agitated and demanding that Parks do a high
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power wash of his car, both inside and out. Parks
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found the demand strange as they never used the high
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pressure hose to clean in tears, but he did as
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required as Richard stood over him watching. Parks claimed that
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he found a bloodstained glove hanging out of the glove compartment,
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but when he went to remove it, Richard snatched it
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from him, saying if the police found that, it would
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hang me. When the powerwash was complete, Richard gave Parks
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five shillings and drove away. Then next morning, when Parks
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found out about Julia Wallace's murder, he told his boss
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about Richard Perry in the comments he'd made, but the
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boss told Parks not to tell anyone what he'd heard.
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Parks kept silent until he found out that William Wallace
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had been arrested, at which point he went to the
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police to make a statement about Richard Perry, but the
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police never followed up on this lead. Chapter eleven, The
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cold case that captured the world. Researchers have speculated on
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why the police never looked deeply into Richard Perry. Some
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suggest tunnel vision on the part of the police. They
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believed William Lallas was a culprit all along, and then
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all of the evidence they found they simply made fit
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the story they had already convinced themselves. Of Others wonder
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if Richard Perry's political connections kept him safe. Perhaps police
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did suspect him but knew they'd never be able to
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prosecute him. But since no fingerprints were ever founded the scene,
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a murder weapon was never discovered, and no witnesses were present,
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the killing of Julia Wallace remains a cold case to
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this day. While unsolved, it has become an enormous source
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of speculation and interest for many crime enthusiasts Over the years.
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The case has inspired countless documentaries, books, articles, and podcasts,
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and it even caught the attention of famous mystery author
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Agatha Christie as she used the case in one of
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her novels. We highly recommend you check out Jonathan Goodman's
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book at the Killing of Julia Wallace or the Julia
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Wallace Murder Foundation at William Herbert Wallace dot com. Aside
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from the world of true crime, the Julia Wallace case
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00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:48.400
is heavily studied in British law curriculum, as well as
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00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:51.400
used as a teaching case to train new Liverpool police
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00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:56.400
officers on the importance of precise investigation. Though we will
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00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:59.559
never know whether William Wallis staged a perfect alibi with
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00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:01.759
a call to his own chess club or if it
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00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:04.680
was Richard Perry who set up a botched robbery, the
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00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:08.559
case continues to capture the public's imagination one hundred years later.
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00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:15.079
Audience invitation, Is there a case or an unexplained communication
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you'd like us to cover. Please take the time to
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Killer Communications.
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In nineteen thirty one, the district of Anfield in Liverpool,
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England was shot by the murder of an elderly housewife
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named Julia Wallace. But what was more unsettling was the
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strange phone call her husband William, received only twenty four
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hours before she was murdered. Chapter one, A call at
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the Chess Club. William Wallace went to the Liverpool Central
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Chess Club every other Monday evening. While he wasn't a
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very good player, he was a learned man who enjoyed
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the challenge of the game and the camradity of the club.
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Known as a bit of an eccentric, William worked as
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an insurance collector by day, but pursued many interests, including chemistry, science,
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and philosophy. He was an agreeable man who was well
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liked by many members of the Chess Club, even if
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he wasn't very skilled at the game, and as a regular,
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he was also very friendly with the owner, a mister
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Samuel Batty, who'd been enjoying William's company at the club
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for almost eight years. On the cold night of January nineteenth,
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nineteen thirty one, mister Batty took a phone call at
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the club from a man who had introduced himself as
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mister claw Through, and he said he was looking for
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William Wallace. At the time of the call, William wasn't there,
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and mister Batty took a message. When William arrived, mister
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Baty handed him an envelope on which he'd scribbled mister
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Clawlthrough's name, along with an address for twenty four Men
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Loved Gardens East and that Williams should meet him at
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seven point thirty the following evening about a business affair.
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William claimed that he had never met anyone with the
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name cauall Through, nor had he any idea where Men
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Love Gardens East was, but he wrote down the message
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and thanked mister Batty before turning to his first game.
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Chapter two, William and Julia Wallace. William returned home from
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the chess club at around eleven PM, where he shared
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a small meal with his wife Julia, and after regalling
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her with the fact that he finally won a match,
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the two went to bed. By all accounts, the Wallaces
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were a quiet, unassuming couple who lived modestly in their
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Anfield town home with a cat named Puss. While their
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neighbors found them friendly, kind and were quoted as saying
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they'd never heard the couple fight in all the years
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they lived there. There are other reports that the Wallaces
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had a loveless and strained marriage, so it's difficult to
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tell which was true. Married in nineteen fourteen. The couple
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had met during William's short stint as an election agent
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before the First World War suspended election positions. Looking for
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work amidst the backdrop of war, William found a new
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job as a collections agent with the Prudential Insurance Company,
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and in nineteen fifteen William and Julius settled in Anfield, Liverpool,
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only a few blocks from the insurance agency. Though the
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couple had no children, As Julia was significantly older than William,
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they were often visited by their neighbors, as well as
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William's brother, sister in law, and nephew. William's relatives would
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come to the couple's home from music nights, as Julia
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was an accomplished pianist and William had taught himself the violin.
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While later investigations would show that William complained about Julia
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in his diary, many of his neighbors described him as
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miserly and felt Julia was quite frugal and did her
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best to decorate her home with her own handmade embroidery
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and watercolors, as well as making most of her own clothes.
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As they were both older, William suffered from chronic kidney
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issues and Julia struggled with respiratory infections, so the couple
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were often ill, and there was speculation that the strained
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relationship some reports reveal, may have been due to the
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fact that neither of them felt well most of the time.
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Despite these claims, their neighbors found them kind and unassuming,
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so it came as quite a shock to the community
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when William was arrested in February second, nineteen thirty one
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for the brutal murder of his wife. Was it possible
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for an awlling husband to have killed Julia Wallace in
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cold blood? The police on the scene certainly thought so,
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but as we'll discover, William's guilt or innocence is still
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question almost one hundred years later. But how did the
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Wallaces end up here? To answer that, we have to
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go back to January twentieth, nineteen thirty one, the day
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after William received mister Quawthrough's message Chapter three, The False Address.
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After coming home from collecting insurance dues from his clients
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on Tuesday, January twentieth, William told Julie about the strange
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phone message from mister Qualthrough and how he didn't really
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feel comfortable going up to Menlove Garden since he'd never
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heard of there being in East Street. But if this
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was a business deal that could potentially get him a
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nice commission, it would mean a serious pay raise for
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the couple, and Julie encouraged him to at least go
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and talk to mister Cuathrow to see what he wanted. So,
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while Julie answered the door for the milk delivery, William
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went up to their bedroom to chain into a nice
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suit for the meeting and gathered some documents he'd need
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to show mister quaw through different insurance policy options. At
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around six forty five pm, Julia followed him down to
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their front gate, as was customary when he was going
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out late. They said they're goodbyes, and then he caught
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several tram cars up to men Love Gardens. But once
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William got there, he had a hard time finding men
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Love Gardens East. There was a clearly marked north, south
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and West on the street signs, but no East. After
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inquiring with three strangers and a policeman walking the beat,
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it became clear to William that the address he'd been
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given was wrong. Perhaps mister Baty had written down east.
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When he met West, William knocked on the door at
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twenty five men Love Garden West. William got a surprise
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when he was told by the resident that no one
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named kawl Thru lived there. Next, William even went so
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far as to go to a local post office to
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at a street directory to see where exactly quawl Through lived,
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but there was no one by that name anywhere in Liverpool. Likewise,
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after asking yet another stranger about the whereabouts of men
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Love Gardens East. William was told that no such place existed.
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There was only a north, south and west in Menlove Gardens.
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Perhaps mister Batty had misheard the caller, so William gave
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up and took the tram cars back down to Anfield
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around eight pm. When he returned home, he found the
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front door bolted from the inside, which was odd as
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Julian knew he'd be coming homely. He went around to
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their back door, and he found that he couldn't open
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that door either. After knocking and calling Julia's name to
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no avail, William met his next door neighbors, the Johnstons,
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as they were leaving through their back gate to visit
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a friend. William explained how the doors were all locked,
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which wasn't like Julie at all, and asked if they'd
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seen or heard anything unusual while he'd been gone. They
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suggested maybe Julia had gone down the street to the
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mailbox to pay some letters, but William disagreed. Julia was
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recovering from ronchitis and hadn't been feeling up to leaving
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the house even to mount letters. William tried the back
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door second time, and this time it swung open. Easily,
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as if it had been stuck. William asked the Johnsons
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to wait outside while he checked the house, which was
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mostly dark except for two gas lamps which lit the
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upstairs bedrooms. William first went up the stairs to the
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couple's bedroom, thinking that perhaps Julia had gone to bed
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early since she hadn't been feeling well, But she wasn't there,
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so he went down to their front parlor and found
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the door slowly ajar He struck a match to see
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in the dark room. It was at that moment that
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he found Julia lying motionless on the floor Chapter four,
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The Murder. Fearing Juliet had a fit or complication from
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her illness, William quickly lit the gas lamp about the fireplace,
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and to his horror, found that his wife had not
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fallen and fit. She had been very clearly bludgeoned. She
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lay face down with blood pulling beneath her, the back
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of her skull so smashed that William saw her brain
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matter oozing through her hair. Blood had been spattered on
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the wall. William ran quickly from the scene, horrified, shouting
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to his neighbors, come and see she's been killed. The
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Johnstons rushed in to find Julia's body. Miss Johnston touched
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her and found the body was still warm, so William
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urged mister Johnson to go for the nearest doctor, even
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as he repeated, they've finished her, They've finished her. Look
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at the brains. Despite William pressing for a doctor, it
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00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:48.600
was clear that Julia was long past any medical care,
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so the Johnstons helped William into the family room where
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they wouldn't have to keep looking at Julia's body. Once
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in the new room, William noticed one of the cabinet
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00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:00.120
doors lay broken on the floor and a few small
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00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:03.399
coins were scattered around it. Had this been a robbery?
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Mister Johnston urged William to look around the house to
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see if anything was missing, and William found that the
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cash box he kept all his prudential collections in had
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been looted, but on a search of the rest of
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the house, no other money or jewelry was missing, even
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though William had left four one pound notes and some
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various change in a cup on his dresser in plain view.
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Upon their conclusion that this must have been a robbery,
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mister Johnston went for the police, while missus Johnston stayed
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to comfort William. While they waited, William sat in shock
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robotically patting their cat. Plus Missus Johnston returned to the
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parlor to touch Julia's body. To her surprise, the body
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had cooled considerably in a short time since they'd found her.
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When William came into the parlor a few minutes later,
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he exclaimed that Julia's body was laying on top of
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both his and her raincoats. Why would she have both
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of their raincoats in the parlor. As he began to cry,
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Missus Johnston urged him to return to the family room,
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where she approached the fireplace in order to start a fire.
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She would later tell police that William pride twice in
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her presence as they waited for mister Johnson to return
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with help. Chapter five The Police Investigate. A short time later,
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mister Johnston returned with Constable P. C. Williams, who walked
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with William around the home to go over the missing
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money from the cash box and the broken cabinet. While
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they went through the house, several more police doctors and
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forensic specialists arrived to process the scene. Their investigation revealed
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that while no furniture had been disturbed in the parlor,
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Julia's blood had spattered over seven feet up one wall.
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Her body lay diagonally across the rug on her right side,
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her head only about eighteen inches from the door that
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had been almost closed when William arrived. Her head was
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also to the side, with her face turned towards the
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parlor's window. Right above her left ear was a three
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inch long and two inch wide open wound through which
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blood and brain matter con yield. The later autopsy revealed
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ten diagonal incises to the left side of her head
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and several skull fractures. Her cause of death was ruled
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as skull fractures resulting from being forcefully struck three to
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four times by a hard and large headed instrument, as
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is still the case today in murder investigations. In most
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domestic murders, police were incredibly suspicious of William as they
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took in the scene, and their suspicions only grew when
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they learned of the strange call from mister Quallthrough in
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this false address. Through phone records, police were able to
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track down the exact public call box that this mister
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claw Through had allegedly called from. Interestingly, the call box
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was only minutes down the road from the Wallace's home.
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Police were interested in the fact that the strange call
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had been made from a call box within walking distance
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of his home, but they also found it interesting that
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the call was made to the chess club before William
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arrived there, so someone would have to take a message
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to give William once he arrived. Early on, the police
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believed that William had orchestrated the perfect alibi for himself
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to carry out his wife's murder. He'd make this mystery
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call to the chess club and then immediately show up
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at the chess club to receive this message. Though no
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blood was found on William's clothing, the fact that Julie's
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body was cold by the time William and the Johnstons
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called the police meant that William could have had ample
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time to kill Julia before leaving for his meeting with
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this mystery man that didn't exist despite their feelings. With
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no murder weapon in the house, no blood on William's person,
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and no other evidence to prove their theory, police were
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not able to detain William the night of the murder,
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and he went free, But this mystery would only deepen
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and become more bizarre. Chapter six were the police wrong.
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As they continued to search for proof that William had
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murdered his wife, investigators were met with evidence quite to
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the contrary. For one, the boy who had delivered milk
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to the Wallace's on the night of the murder told
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police that he had met Julie at the door at
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around six forty five pm and they talked for a
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few minutes about the fact they were both getting over bronchitis.
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The boy's timeline was backed up by several neighbors who
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also witnessed the boy delivering milk to the Wallace's around
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that time. Coupled with this fact was that the tram
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conductor remembered William boarding around seven oh six pm for
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his trip to Menlov Gardens. Because William had made a
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special quest about getting to the Menlov district on time
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for his meeting. With Julia being seen alive at six
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forty five and William being on a tram at seven
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oh six, it would have been almost impossible for William
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to have bludgeoned Julie to death, staged to robbery, cleaned
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himself up, and then run down three streets to catch
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the tram. In addition to this, William had just recovered
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from the flu at the time of the murder, and
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also suffered from a kidney disease that made him walk slowly.
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It didn't seem very plausible that William would have been
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able to physically run to the tram if he killed
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Julia right after the milk delivery. On top of this,
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when mister Batty was asked if the voice of mister
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Quawlthrow was really the voice of William Wallace setting up
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his own alibi, mister Baty replied that it would take
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a great stretch of the imagination to say the strange
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man sounded like William. Even the coroner's report made it
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impossible for William to have killed Julia, as the corner
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placed her time of death at seven point fifty, a
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whole hour after William left for the tram. William himself
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also cited a potential suspect, a young man by the
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name of Richard Perry, who had worked under William at Prudential.
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William described Richard as a family friend, at least until
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William discovered that Richard had been stealing money from the company.
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He told police that would have known about the Prudential's
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collection day and that was always Wednesday, which meant that
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Tuesday night, the collector's personal cash boxes would be full.
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Richard also would have been known to Julia, and she
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would have let him in the house without question if
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he knocked on the door. But when police found Richard
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Perry and questioned him, he had an alibi. He'd been
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with his fiance on the night of the murder, and
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when questioned, she backed up his story. Chapter seven, the
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investigation doubles down. Despite the amount of information that seemed
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to show Julia's killer had not been her husband, police
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were convinced they had their man. In addition to having
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no other viable suspects, their clinching piece of evidence was
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the two raincoats found under Julia's body. Investigators felt William
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had covered himself in the raincoats to keep the blood
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off of him, beat Julia to day with an iron bar,
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removed the coats, and still made it to the tram
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by seven oh six, where he tossed the iron bar
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off the tram at one of the stops. Even with
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the milk boy's testimony, police believed he was mistaken about
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the time of his delivery and speculated that Julian may
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have even been dead before the boy arrived, and that
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William had dressed up in his wife's clothing to answer
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the door. To be sure, the police even had several
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of their officers panamime out the possible act to see
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if they could make it to the tram by seven
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oh six, which the officers successfully did. But it wasn't
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taken into account that these officers were young and physically fit,
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while William was fifty two, plagued with a kidney disease
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that made walkin difficult and he was also recovering from
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the flu. Though the evidence against William was quite slim
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from a forensics perspective, officers felt they had enough for
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an arrest about two weeks after Julia's murder, Chapter eight
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a death sentence. While the local papers went wild over
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the brutal murder for weeks after the arrest, William Wallace
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waited in jail for his trial date of April twenty second,
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nineteen thirty one. In the meantime, his colleagues at Prudential
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had a mock trial in London to weigh the evidence
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against him, and their verdict came out that he was
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completely innocent. Due to this, the company funded his defense,
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as they believed he was being put on trial with
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purely circumstantial evidence and felt that the police were accusing
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him simply because they had no other suspects, despite an
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excellent defense team destroying several of the police officers on
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the stand for contaminating the crime scene and showing there
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was no hard evidence at all to prove William was culpable.
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The jury had been selected from towns just outside of Liverpool,
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where the press had been saturating the public for weeks
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with headlines calling William the murderer, coupled with the plethora
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of witnesses police had coached to change their initial statements
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to allow for a different event timeline. The prosecution harped
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heavily on the strange phone call that William received at
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the chess club. The fact that no mister Quallthrough was
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ever found through police investigation, and that the call had
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originated from a call box only four hundred yards from
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the Wallace's home made it easy to convince the jury
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that the only person who could have made the call
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was William Wallace himself. After an hour of deliberation, the
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jury found William Wallace guilty of murder. And sentenced him
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to die. He was given a chess set and his
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violin before being removed to Liverpool Prison to await his
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execution day Chapter nine the Court of Criminal Appeal. While
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legally the jury's decision was guilty, the preceding judge himself
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was not an agreement. He said, this murder, I should imagine,
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must be almost unexampled in the annals of crime. Murders
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so devised and arranged that nothing remains which will point
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to anyone as the murderer, no fingerprints, and no weapon
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that can be traced anywhere, and so far as can
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be ascertained, no conceivable motive in any human being. The
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evidence in this case, and the evidence that can be
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brought against anyone here, is purely circumstantial. You know, in
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many cases, especially of murder, the only evidence that is
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available circumstantial evidence. But circumstantial evidence may vary in value
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almost infinitely. In essence, the judge found there to be
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intense reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case, but had to
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abide by the jury's decision in his sentencing. William had
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only one way to avoid execution, and that was through
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the Court of Criminal Appeal established in nineteen oh seven.
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The Court of Appeal had never overturned the sentence of
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a capital crime before, and William's chances of throwing his
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life on their mercy was a long shot. However, much
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to his and the community's surprise, after hearing the appeal
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and recessing for forty five minutes to consider a verdict,
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the court ruled in William's favor, citing that the Jerry's
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verdict could not be upheld based on the fact that
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the only evidence in the case was circumstantial at best
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and unfounded at worst. William's conviction was overturned and he
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left the Court of Freeman. But while he escaped execution,
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he couldn't escape the court of public opinion. He had
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to move out of his home and the community that
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he had lived with Julia only months after his acquittal
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due to the community shunning him thanks to the variety
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of newspapers in the highly publicized trial, Anfield believed William
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had gotten away with his wife's murder. He received hate mail,
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many of his insurance plans, refused to pay him or
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acknowledge him in the streets, and sometimes his neighbors even
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threatened physical violence. William was forced to take a clerical
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desk job to remain out of the public's eye. William's
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diary revealed hundreds of entries about how much he missed
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his wife as well as a grown parentoi that whoever
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had killed her would also come for him. One day,
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the stress affected his already struggling kidneys, and on February
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twenty sixth, nineteen thirty three, only two years after his acquittal,
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William Wallace died of kidney feather and he was buried
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next to Julia in the Anfield Cemetery, Chapter ten, The
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Real Suspect. Throughout the year since William's passing, there's been
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much conjecture over his guilt or innocence. Many people, like
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his neighbors and several authors who studied his case, believed
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that he got away with murder and Julia never knew justice.
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But evidence surfaced in the late nineteen sixties that may
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very well point to William's innocence. Between nineteen sixty five
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and nineteen sixty six, crime author Jonathan Goodman was researching
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the Wallace case for a book. He looked thoroughly into
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the background of the only other person ever named as
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a suspect in the case, William's colleague from prudential, Richard Perry.
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What Goodman found was that nineteen thirty one, when Richard
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was twenty two, he often covered for William when he
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was ill and collected for him. He could also often
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be found at the Wallace's home, where he would sing
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and Julia would accompany him on the piano when William
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wasn't home. Likewise, the cafe William's chess club met at
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was also the same place Richard went for lunch, and
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he could clearly see the chess schedules in the days
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William played. Described as a ladies man, well connected to
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many political figures of the day, and often in trouble.
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Richard Perry had a criminal record for theft with malicious damage, embezzlement,
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and indecent assault, though he served little no time for
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his crimes thanks to his political connections. Richard was known
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as a compulsive liar and was often in debt and
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asking friends and family for money. When Goodman looked into
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Richard's original alibi, the one in which he claimed he
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had spent the night with his fiance, that turned out
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to be false, as three years after the murder, the
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relationship had ended, and richard ex fiance went to a
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solicitor looking to make a statement that she had not
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actually been with Richard the night of Julia Wallis's murder.
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She had been playing piano in a cinema that night,
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but Richard had told her she needed to cover for him.
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Goodman also suggests that Richard Perry had more motive than
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a million to commit the crime. At the time of
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the murder, Richard was hard up for cash and in
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serious debt, so to know he could get into the
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Wallace's townhouse easily to rob it would make sense for
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his desperation, as well as his background in previous steving.
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If Richard was the murderer, perhaps he hadn't intended to
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kill Julia, but felt that he needed to in order
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to properly rob the home. But it would also eliminate Julia,
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so she couldn't tell the police what Richard had done.
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Just as Richard would not only be able to see
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when William was slated to go to the chess club,
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he could have also made the prank call to ensure
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William was out of the house on the night his
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collection box would be most full. While Goodman wasn't able
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to use Richard's real name in his nineteen sixty nine
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book due to the fact that Richard was still living
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and Vietmaly denied anything to do with Julie's murder. Goodman's
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book and a later documentary led him to get another
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person who suspected Richard was the real killer. After the
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screening of this documentary, he was contacted by an elderly
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man named John Parks. Back in nineteen thirty one, Parks
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had worked in the evenings as a cleaner and handyman
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for an auto shop in Anfield. Parks was well acquainted
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with Richard Perry, as the two had gone to school together,
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and at night after the auto shop was closed, many
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of the local young men would meet in the upstairs
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apartment above the shop for card games and beer. Parks
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recalled that while Richard was often present at these gatherings,
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he was an unwelcome guest, as he had the shop
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do some work on his car a few times and
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never paid them. He had also stolen money out of
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a wardrobe in the apartment at one point, and also
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got into trouble with the shop for using their phone
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to make prank phone calls. Parks remembered that Richard could
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change the sound of his voice easily, But most senator
441
00:26:20.519 --> 00:26:23.039
was that on the night of Julia Wallace's murder, Parks
442
00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.279
was working a late night shift at the shop and
443
00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:29.200
Richard Perry came in roaring up his car. Parks remembered
444
00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:32.279
him acting agitated and demanding that Parks do a high
445
00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:40.160
power wash of his car, both inside and out. Parks
446
00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:42.680
found the demand strange as they never used the high
447
00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:45.839
pressure hose to clean in tears, but he did as
448
00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:50.079
required as Richard stood over him watching. Parks claimed that
449
00:26:50.119 --> 00:26:53.160
he found a bloodstained glove hanging out of the glove compartment,
450
00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:56.279
but when he went to remove it, Richard snatched it
451
00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:58.920
from him, saying if the police found that, it would
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00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:03.920
hang me. When the powerwash was complete, Richard gave Parks
453
00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:08.160
five shillings and drove away. Then next morning, when Parks
454
00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:11.279
found out about Julia Wallace's murder, he told his boss
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00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:14.119
about Richard Perry in the comments he'd made, but the
456
00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:16.519
boss told Parks not to tell anyone what he'd heard.
457
00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:20.559
Parks kept silent until he found out that William Wallace
458
00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:23.000
had been arrested, at which point he went to the
459
00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:25.680
police to make a statement about Richard Perry, but the
460
00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:33.400
police never followed up on this lead. Chapter eleven, The
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00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:38.799
cold case that captured the world. Researchers have speculated on
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00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:42.160
why the police never looked deeply into Richard Perry. Some
463
00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:44.920
suggest tunnel vision on the part of the police. They
464
00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:47.599
believed William Lallas was a culprit all along, and then
465
00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:50.039
all of the evidence they found they simply made fit
466
00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:54.440
the story they had already convinced themselves. Of Others wonder
467
00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:58.680
if Richard Perry's political connections kept him safe. Perhaps police
468
00:27:58.720 --> 00:28:01.400
did suspect him but knew they'd never be able to
469
00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:05.200
prosecute him. But since no fingerprints were ever founded the scene,
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00:28:05.319 --> 00:28:08.599
a murder weapon was never discovered, and no witnesses were present,
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00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:11.640
the killing of Julia Wallace remains a cold case to
472
00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:15.599
this day. While unsolved, it has become an enormous source
473
00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:20.240
of speculation and interest for many crime enthusiasts Over the years.
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00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:25.079
The case has inspired countless documentaries, books, articles, and podcasts,
475
00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:27.839
and it even caught the attention of famous mystery author
476
00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:30.400
Agatha Christie as she used the case in one of
477
00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:34.160
her novels. We highly recommend you check out Jonathan Goodman's
478
00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:37.279
book at the Killing of Julia Wallace or the Julia
479
00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:42.319
Wallace Murder Foundation at William Herbert Wallace dot com. Aside
480
00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:45.039
from the world of true crime, the Julia Wallace case
481
00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:48.400
is heavily studied in British law curriculum, as well as
482
00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:51.400
used as a teaching case to train new Liverpool police
483
00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:56.400
officers on the importance of precise investigation. Though we will
484
00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:59.559
never know whether William Wallis staged a perfect alibi with
485
00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:01.759
a call to his own chess club or if it
486
00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:04.680
was Richard Perry who set up a botched robbery, the
487
00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:08.559
case continues to capture the public's imagination one hundred years later.
488
00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:15.079
Audience invitation, Is there a case or an unexplained communication
489
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you'd like us to cover. Please take the time to
490
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rate and review the show and in your comments tell
491
00:29:20.680 --> 00:29:23.039
us what case you'd like us to tackle. You can
492
00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:26.119
also follow us and reach us on social media. We're
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on x dot com at killercpod and on Facebook at
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Facebook dot com slash Killer Communications Podcast, and be sure
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to check out our website Killer Communications Podcast dot com
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Killer Communications Listeners. If you want to support this show
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Killer Communications air every other Saturday. Thanks for listening, and
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we hope you'll join us on the next episode of
512
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Killer Communications.
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Killer Communications is narrated and produced by Mike Morphord for
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Abject Entertainment. It's researched and written by Abigail Belcastro. Be
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sure to visit the show's website, Killercommunications podcast dot com
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