Julia Wallace Murder Case

[Ged]

Why?

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Ged

He names a man who doesn't exist and a road that doesn't exist either. Suspicious or what?

Chris

[Ged]

But the fact they don't exist only comes into play as soon as the murder is commited.

What if the caller had said. Frank Smith, Childwall road?

As long as you invented something that couldn't be checked immediately

You could even argue why would Wallace have named a location whereby some are now saying he may have knew quite well - bang on - why not send yourself further out to Speke say?

Why not make sure you send yourself to a street that actually exists.

I don't think the name of the person or the street name gives rise for the verdict one way or the other really.

[Mark R]

Hi Chris,

Yes it could be said - but it could also apply the other way as well...

[Mark R]

I've always thought that if it was Wallace, why didn't he say something like 11 Menlove Gardens North or South? The houses in both these streets were (and still are) even-numbered. He could have had many witnesses to his presence there, knocking at numbers 10 & 12 on both sides to enquire. I know most Wallaceites believe Wallace used a non-existent address so he could wander around but he didn't really have to spend that long in the area. It would have taken him at least an hour to just get there and back. His actions could just have been dogged persistence in gaining a commission.

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Ged and Mark

The question occurs to me why a stranger would name a non-existent street when Wallace might be expected to have a good idea of the streets or have a Liverpool street gazetteer which would tell him it didn't exist. If though he came up with a non-existent street himself, combined with the timing of taking the tram, he might have known the journey would take him away from the house for just the right amount of time away from home and thus provide him with an alibi for the time of the murder. I do grant that "Qualtrough" and "25 Menlove Gardens East" could though be read both ways, either as the invention of a stranger or of Wallace himself.

Chris

[Ged]

He could have sent himself to an exisiting street though and even residents in Menlove Gardens West/North and area didn't seem to know there wasn't an East.

If pointed out to him why didn't he check first if it existed or not or the location, he could have said 'Do you think I would make up an address where I could easily have found that it didn't exist'

[ChrisGeorge]

He could have sent himself to an exisiting street though and even residents in Menlove Gardens West/North and area didn't seem to know there wasn't an East.

If pointed out to him why didn't he check first if it existed or not or the location, he could have said 'Do you think I would make up an address where I could easily have found that it didn't exist'

Good reasoning there, Ged.

[RodCrosby]

I just got "Wallace - The Final Verdict" through in the post today. There are two interesting points that I had forgotten, and which Murphy omits to mention in his book.

i) There were two witnesses who substantiated John Parkes' story, albeit as hearsay: Dolly and Gordon Atkinson, who were his former employers, and who could have no motive to endorse a fabrication. Moreover, they state that Wilf Atkinson contacted the Police after Wallace was convicted, and Parkes was interviewed, only to be "pooh-poohed" by Hubert Moore. There's lots of interesting background on Parry, including the fact that he was suspected of rifling through wardrobes at Atkinsons in search of money. Incidentally, I have always felt that Parry fits the profile of a psychopath. [See Robert D. Hare "Without Conscience" 1999 http://www.amazon.com/review/product...ateDescending]

ii) Hal Brown, a friend of Wallace's at the Pru, whose interview convincingly indicates that Wallace lost the will to live after the trial. Whoever killed Julia was also indirectly responsible for Wallace's early death.

Re Menlove Gardens East. The fact that the address "didn't exist" is a red herring. Menlove Gardens did exist, and it's not unreasonable to assume that, even if Wallace had somehow discovered in advance that East was non-existent, he would still have made the journey in the belief that he would find Qualtrough at North, South or West. Moreover, whoever concocted the plan perhaps foresaw correctly that Wallace's plausible search for Qualtrough in the other Gardens would be more time-consuming than simply luring him to an existing, unambiguous address.
Wallace's first statement to the Police reveals that he was confused as to the address he had been looking for - he describes it as 25 Menlove Avenue East, hardly the error a cool, calculating killer might make.

[Ged]

Thanks for that Rod. As i've only ever had James Murphy's and Roger Wilkes' accounts to go off, the extra insight from 'The final verdict' convinces me further of WHW innocence. I like the Murphy book for almost everything but his verdict.

[ChrisGeorge]

Thanks for your input, Rod. You bring up some interesting and salient points.

Chris

[RodCrosby]

Here's another couple of snippets from Wilkes' W-TFV.

"[In] 1932...Parry had admitted three charges of stealing money from telephone kiosks in Liverpool cafes, and was fined fifteen pounds...Parry had asked the court to take into consideration...two further offences of stealing money from phone boxes."
In my view, Qualtrough's fumbling with the buttons in the Anfield 1627 kiosk may just have been an attempt to bamboozle the operator into giving him a free phone-call, the sort of thing a relentless, habitual con-artist with a penchant for ripping-off phone-boxes might do without a second thought...

Wilkes' interview with Jimmy Tattersall, Parry's boyhood friend, was illuminating. "Parry said it was very sad that Wallace had been accused of the murder."
The whole of Liverpool was divided over the case, with everyone having an opinion, one way or another as to Wallace's guilt. It's odd that Parry seemed to be the only person without one, and his studied impartiality amd mock-sympathy stick out like a sore-thumb, in my view.

As you may guess, I'm convinced Parry was Qualtrough, but not convinced he murdered Julia Wallace! In other words, he had to have an accomplice, who did the foul deed. That solution fits the facts far better if you think about it closely.

[Ged]

Regarding the bloodied glove and the statement to the effect of 'Give it back here, that'll get me hanged'

Would it have though, if he were only an accomplice? Maybe, but definitely if he was the murderer.

Would an accomplice trust him to get rid of the gloves and iron bar, why not just dispose of them down the grid (if he did) himself. The glove/s being in his car indicate to me (if that story is true) that he is the murderer.

Just to work out now how he got all that blood off him before getting his alibi?

Well we need something to keep us guessing don't we?

[RodCrosby]

On the other hand, Parry's "alibi" for the time of the killing rests on Mrs. Olivia Brine (nee Claus), who was aged 39 in 1931. Murphy gallantly praises Mrs. Brine for her bravery in coming forward to provide the alibi, but fails to ask a rather obvious question. "I am a married woman, my husband is away at sea. I have known RG Parry for two years......"

What was the nature of Parry's relationship with Mrs. Brine? Is it possible she was blackmailed into providing the alibi by Parry? As I said, I'm convinced Parry was a psychopath, so anything is possible....

On another topic, my research indicates Lily Lloyd moved to the Isle of Man after her marriage in 1937. Quite ironic that she ended her days (she must be dead now; she'd be 97 if alive) in a place where the name Qualtrough is rather commonplace....

[Mark R]

Yes - a lady I correspond with from the Isle of Man tells me that the area Lily Lloyd moved to has connections with the name Qualtrough. Also the Green Lane area has links with the Isle of Man. Parry lived in Woburn Hill...
Wallace also told PC James Serjeant that name the name he was looking for was Qualthorpe.
In The Killing of Julia Wallace Jonathan Goodman tells a story of how he phoned a friend up (unbeknownst to him) and asked him to call at 25 Belgrave Mews East at 7.30 the following evening regarding a business appointment. Like the Menlove Area it was made up of North, South and West. The next time Goodman phoned the friend was vexed. Goodman apologised and asked whether he went. Yes, the friend replied and stated that he had spent over half an hour looking for it. When Goodman asked whether he had consulted a directory, the friend said 'no'...
Because a street name is not in a directory doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't exist. The Menlove Gardens area had properties that weren't that long built. It happens today that some streets aren't in the directory so I'm sure it could be possible back then.

Yes, I've always thought that Parry had a certain thing with older women...