Who Killed Julia Wallace? - New Evidence

[WallaceWackedHer]

Not that it makes a lot of difference WWH, and I don't know if this has been mentioned anywhere previously, but it's interesting nevertheless, to note that Julia shortened her real Christian name from Juliana to Julia at some point before she was registered as a 19 year old assistant Governess in the 1881 Census. Attached is a digital copy of the 1871 Census......

Thank you for that, I did come across that actually. I noticed her mother also went by both Anne and Annie. For those new to the thread/unaware this would be the "peasant girl" Julia from the farmer's family who frauded her age by about 17 years. Juliana may be her birth name, and may have been legally her name at the time of her death.

I have new publications en route, I know one of these authors at least, believes she is "Julia Thorpe", and I am hoping he can shed some light on why/how he landed at that conclusion.

And if she is indeed the peasant girl it makes me wonder even more, how exactly she ended up owning a stately home like 11 St Mary's Avenue. I also wonder WHY she would fake her name on the 1911 census, which is signed by a "Jane Dennis" aged 32. The handwriting is absolutely different from the marriage certificate that reads "Julia Dennis", Gannon has perpetuated a myth that the handwriting on these documents is even remotely similar. "Jane Dennis"'s handwriting is very posh, looks like caligraphy. The marriage certificate is like bog standard writing.

I can well understand how the Johnstons may have fallen under some suspicion at one time. I too have read that the dividing wall between the Wallace's and Johnston's front parlours was wafer thin and I find it quite remarkable that nobody [and there were several occupants] in the Johnston household that Tuesday evening seem to have heard any disturbance next door. What a late hour [8.45 'ish] on a cold and damp winter's night to be wanting to leave their warm home to visit their married daughter. Were they planning to return, I wonder, to number 31 later that night or were they intending to spend the night at their daughter's ? They were to move home for good the following day, too ! Perhaps they didn't like music and couldn't tolerate any more of Julia and William's piano and violin efforts permeating through the thin dividing walls. Only kidding of course.

According to - as far as I know - nobody but them, they were moving in with their daughter the next day. They said they were going out to visit Phyllis, not to stay over, and certainly they did not bring any luggage. Furthermore, they obviously did not care about the security of their back yard, because unlike William, nobody followed them down the yard to bolt the yard door behind them as they ventured out. Apparently Phyllis in a statement said that she was NOT expecting her parents to visit that night, and that when they did it would usually be between 6 and 7.

Their moving is one of those facts that can be interpreted two ways... They are guilty: And really were moving and so thought what better timing to rob the Wallace home with financially comfortable William and "rich French origin" Mrs. Bucket tier Julia. Or, they are innocent: And moved because they were traumatized by what they saw, or really were just straight up moving coincidentally.

You might consider though, that there is no objection to Caird in collaboration with Parry. Or Caird in collaboration with Johnston, AFTER a practical joke by Parry unintentionally set such wheels in motion.. Or even Johnston, Parry, and Caird.

Hear it out... Caird lives at 3 Letchworth Street, he is essentially a neighbor of the residents of Wolverton Street... And interestingly, in the book by Hussey, he draws a diagram where he thinks "Qualtrough" would have staked out the home (he favor's William's innocence), and without knowing Caird lives there, places his marker at Caird's house... Also, if the plan was murder, then clearly the plan was not such a clever intricate one, because as we see Julia wound up dead...

The coins on the floor may shed some light on one possibility... With the box up 7 feet high, a man shorter than William may have had to stretch, perhaps even while standing on something, and therefore be more liable to accidentally pull it off the shelf rather than getting a firm grip on it, as you have probably all experienced in your own lives trying to reach and take down things you could barely reach (smashed crockery anyone?). I BELIEVE it was said the lid of the box was broken, despite it being replaced, which, because the box wasn't locked, would indicate it had fallen and broken accidentally. THAT may have been the noise that alerted Julia and caused the distraction-person in the parlour to silence her and prevent her from investigating the noise.

Further, a few more points about Caird:

1) He was not due to attend the club on monday and was not set up with a partner for that night, monday nights were for second rate players like William.

2) Caird immediately offered to play William. If William had accepted he (Caird) would have been in perfect position to discreetly discuss the message and trip after Beattie delivered it.

3) Caird prompted Beattie that Wallace was at the club (OR Beattie asked him a question and then he pointed out William which would be a totally innocent act) so the message would be delivered.

4) Caird knew that Wallace had received the message. He also knew which route William would take on the journey, as well as the name of the client he was going to meet, the address, the time of the appointment, William's home address, and the interior of William's home.

5) During their discussion about the trip on the way home, Caird pressed Wallace: "so I take it you've decided to go then", and some sources say William responded saying something about who was he to turn down such a potentially handsome commission.

6) Caird's chess club nights were Thursdays (which is why William saw Beattie and Caird while he was leaving the police station on Thursday, they were going to the chess club). He was not due to play anyone on the Monday that he went. Parry's drama club nights were on a Thursday.

---

Therefore, Caird would probably know Parry, at the very least by sight, considering they have for some time been attending the same cafe on the same nights. And as well as visiting William lives practically as a neighbor himself, and so may well have known at least some members of the Johnston family. If he was on friendly terms with both, then it stands to reason he could have functioned as a link between the two, or even that Parry would also know of Johnston already through a friendship with Caird.

So it's not farfetched by any stretch of the imagination... Either of these combos has all the information needed to commit the crime. Even Johnston and Parry without Caird. Or Johnstons alone after Parry plays a practical joke after seeing William while driving to Lily Lloyd's (a route which would pass by the phone booth). All three have been inside William's home. We know the Johnstons had also been there while William was not even present. Parry also claimed to have visited Julia for "musical interludes" which William makes no mention of. Caird had often gone over for games of chess. Considering chess would require a table and the two were close friends, it is not even close to difficult to imagine they would have played these games in the living kitchen, where the cash box was kept on top of that shelf, as it always had been.

---

I will post more dissections of each publication, just had a lot going on this week. I am also in contact with a private investigator to try and determine HOW Julia came to own a house like that from such an impoverished home, and the exact details of the crime at 19 Wolverton Street just a month earlier.

[Sherlock Houses]

[QUOTE=Sam Flynn;n724325]

More than a few decades. My grandparents had squares of cut newspaper hanging on a piece of string on the door of their outside toilet in the early 1970s.

Snap, Sam. Just like my Auntie's outside toilet in Fazakerley in the 1970's too. Not a place to linger too long on a cold, dark winter's evening.

[Sherlock Houses]

[B]

Emphasis on the fact the assailant killed her in the parlour without attracting the attention of neighbours despite the thin party walls. Mitigated if the Johnstons had involvement to any degree at all. If MacFall is right that she was killed near the armchair by the fireplace, not only was she killed in the adjacent room, but very, very close to that thin wall as well.

I can well understand how the Johnstons may have fallen under some suspicion at one time. I too have read that the dividing wall between the Wallace's and Johnston's front parlours was wafer thin and I find it quite remarkable that nobody [and there were several occupants] in the Johnston household that Tuesday evening seem to have heard any disturbance next door. What a late hour [8.45 'ish] on a cold and damp winter's night to be wanting to leave their warm home to visit their married daughter. Were they planning to return, I wonder, to number 31 later that night or were they intending to spend the night at their daughter's ? They were to move home for good the following day, too ! Perhaps they didn't like music and couldn't tolerate any more of Julia and William's piano and violin efforts permeating through the thin dividing walls. Only kidding of course.

[Sam Flynn]

[QUOTE=Sherlock Houses;n724324]

Newspaper was often used as a substitute for toilet paper WWH in those days and even a few decades later.

More than a few decades. My grandparents had squares of cut newspaper hanging on a piece of string on the door of their outside toilet in the early 1970s.

[Sherlock Houses]

[QUOTE=Sherlock Houses;n724323]

[B]
Photos of the toilet and sink. That cannot be a blood mark on the tap or no doubt that would be brought up I'm sure. Not sure why there is newspaper on the floor by the toilet:

https://i.imgur.com/UkYg7lA.png

https://i.imgur.com/fn6hUT7.png

Newspaper was often used as a substitute for toilet paper WWH in those days and even a few decades later.

[Sherlock Houses]

[QUOTE=WallaceWackedHer;n723991][B]
Photos of the toilet and sink. That cannot be a blood mark on the tap or no doubt that would be brought up I'm sure. Not sure why there is newspaper on the floor by the toilet:

https://i.imgur.com/UkYg7lA.png

https://i.imgur.com/fn6hUT7.png

Newspaper was often used as a substitute for toilet paper WWH in those days and even a few decades later.

[Sherlock Houses]

Interlude for Detective Team:

It's Yseult Bridges who claims Julia was "Julia Dennis" and that Rowland was wrong about "Julia Thorpe"... However, if her mother had remarried, or indeed if JULIA had been married before and been divorced, her birth certificate might say Julia Thorpe (or some other surname). So I am eager to get the investigation squad on this case.

Not that it makes a lot of difference WWH, and I don't know if this has been mentioned anywhere previously, but it's interesting nevertheless, to note that Julia shortened her real Christian name from Juliana to Julia at some point before she was registered as a 19 year old assistant Governess in the 1881 Census. Attached is a digital copy of the 1871 Census......

[WallaceWackedHer]

Interlude for Detective Team:

It's Yseult Bridges who claims Julia was "Julia Dennis" and that Rowland was wrong about "Julia Thorpe"... However, if her mother had remarried, or indeed if JULIA had been married before and been divorced, her birth certificate might say Julia Thorpe (or some other surname). So I am eager to get the investigation squad on this case.

The "uneducated farm-girl with poor parents" does not match with that mansion looking home she owned and lived in alone.

Anyone who can, start looking for Julia Thorpe in the birth records. I do not know where or how to access them.

Addendum: In post #9: (https://forum.casebook.org/forum/soc...001#post724001), when I said he played McCartney because it had turned 7.45 and Beattie assumed "he" wasn't turning up. The "he" I meant is F. C. Chandler. Sorry for that vital error.

[WallaceWackedHer]

Two Studies in Crime by Yseult Bridges, with a personal letter from Yseult Bridges and inscription:

It has an "Ex Libris" sticker to Jonathan Goodman, 43 Ealing Village, I wonder if it's the same Goodman who authored the Wallace book? It'd be pretty cool if I am holding his personal copy of the book. I believe there may be some pencil marks in the book, and if it is Goodman's, may point out things he found significant.

The personal letter is in here, it's addressed to "Mr Wilson", author of "The Trial of Peter Manuel". It is not much noteworthy except she said she favors the Scottish "not proven" verdict as people assume Wallace is innocent to be let off on appeal. She, in a kind way, accuses this Mr Wilson or wanting to preserve mysteries while she likes to solve them.

The letter is dated 24th May 1959, and the address on the top left reads (I assume this is Yseult's address): 54 THE MINT, 30 Mermaid Street, Rye, Sussex.

Facts from the book:

. Important: I want to get this out there first because this makes me question the validity of the birth certificate that was uncovered. Has anyone ever verified it or just accepted it as fact? Here's why... This is Julia's house, which she lived in alone in Harrogate:

https://i.imgur.com/lOjAMQV.png

This is the house of a peasant-woman? These homes are worth over half a million pounds, I have checked. Just a flat alone costs around £200,000 on this street (Julia actually made money by renting out rooms on the property alongside clerical work). The address is 11 St. Mary's Avenue, Harrogate. If Julia really is a middle-aged peasant-woman at this point, I would like to know how she came to own a house with a price-tag like that. It's open to speculation, but I think it warrants a verification of that birth certificate being the one which belongs to THE Julia Dennis of this case.

When William married Julia he moved his family into this house with Julia, including his father and sister. Further can be found later*

Moving on...

. The usual 9 PM arrival of Constable Fred Williams, and the usual William statement ending "and this is what I found..." this book states he gestured to the dead body of Julia at the end, so by "what he found" he was specifically referring to the body. He then closed the door to the parlour before leading Williams around the home.

. Emphasis on the fact all the downstairs lights were turned off and yet the killer was able to leave the house in darkness without getting blood on anything on the way out or disturbing furniture. A weak point I feel, because it was possible to have use of a match, or even a torch in those days which gangs of housebreaking youths were found in possession of.

. Emphasis on the fact the assailant killed her in the parlour without attracting the attention of neighbours despite the thin party walls. Mitigated if the Johnstons had involvement to any degree at all. If MacFall is right that she was killed near the armchair by the fireplace, not only was she killed in the adjacent room, but very, very close to that thin wall as well.

---

On William, his family, and his background:

[Much is dissected of the John Bull articles, but these are ghostwritten, though I will post her musings anyway]:

. William says he was born in the Lake District, actually born in Millom, to middle-class respectable parents Benjamin and Margery.

. Questions his "wanderlust" saying she thinks he was attracted abroad for the money, and once he returned to England he never adventured again.

. Re-iterates his thirst for academia and knowledge since boyhood.

. Alleges that his favourite relaxation in those days was to take solitary countryside walks, memorizing the highways and byways, alleys and shortcuts. (Seems like a possible prejudicial statement from the author, to show he would have memorized the side streets in Mossley Hill).

. Yseult believes it is extremely important that William never divulges details as to the exact nature and name of his illness.

. Yseult states after William had the operation to remove his kidney his health improved greatly and he became outgoing, and began to focus on social and political matters.

. Believes the statement that his "financial situation became precarious" and speculates he may have had to borrow money to tide him over.

. Yseult emphasizes William avoided naming his birthplace, nature of his illness, and connection to Harrogate.

. In Harrogate he at first took up lodgings, but then in late 1910, 9 Belmont Road was tkaen in his father's name. His mother was dead by this point. William, Jessie (his sister) and his father Benjamin all lived in this home.

. Speculates that William's family would be proud of his position at the Liberal party, that his sister would have provided good nourishing food, and that William would have probably written glowing accounts of his prospects to his brother Joseph.

. Yseult alleges he enjoyed addressing audiences, and that he was filled with a passionate longing to shine, to dazzle, and to be the centre of attention; but was held in check by the dread of rebuffs.

. Yseult claims that being in contact with a "different world from the purely commercial one he had formerly occupied, Wallace perceived his lack of poise and gained the entrée into one of those literary and artistic circles which flourish in spas and watering-places such as Harrogate; and here he met Julia."

. States it is an illusion that the Great War (WWI) was the reason he lost his post as Liberal party agent. William lost the post a year after the outbreak of the Great War. States it takes more than war to bring politics to the ground, and with so many men serving in the war, Wallace would in fact have been ideal to keep the party organization in being until peace returned... As soon as he lost his post he was succeeded by a Mr. A. Cotterill. She believes he lost his post for personal reasons, not circumstance... Goes on that it's odd they were the party in power but did not find him a post in one of the ministried being set up in connection with the war effort.

. After marrying Julia, William's father Benjamin had a stroke in the house about a year after. He was so unwell he had to sign his will by a mark rather than a signature. He then died 10 days later at a workhouse infirmary at Knaresborough. His estate was to be shared equally between William and Jessie, with Jessie as executor.

She finds it particularly disgraceful that William removed his dying father to meet his end in a workhouse infirmary, with an exclamation point to show her disgust.

. Finds it odd his father, a registered householder at 9 Belmont Road until a year before his death, died in possession of no more than £56 from six industrial life insurance policies. She suggests this is because he lost a lot of money to William's debts. No evidence he was in any kind of debt is given however.

---

On Julia Wallace and her background:

. Says she came from a somewhat higher social class than her husband.

. While living independently at 11 St. Mary's Avenue, Harrogate, she apparently sang at concerts, and invited friends over for musical evenings, as well as accompanying them to plays and concerts, and on sketching expeditions to beauty spots in the surrounding countryside. She also attended the parish church regularly and took an active part in parochial affairs.

.* She registered her name on the Burgess Roll (maybe this could be used to confirm her identity and birth certificate). In 1911 when she first meets William, the burgess roll reads Julia Dennis, then again in 1912. It does NOT appear in 1913. And in 1914 the name "Wallace" is substituted, without any first name or even initial.

Speculates the reasoning it did not appear in 1913 was because she was expecting to be married, and that the vague name in 1914 is potentially used because Julia was in the process of transferring the home by deed to William, the man she was going to marry and did on the 24th of March that year. Because William lost his post, Yseult speculates upon whether Julia's capital vanished as a result of his debts.

. In regards to the wedding she thinks is odd that there was no formal announcement or report of the marriage in the local press. Especially since she says Julia had a wide circle of friends, took an active role in church affairs, etc.

. The couple stayed in Julia's fancy home. William brought his father and sister to live with them, and their tenancy at 9 Belmont Road was relinquished. She also thinks this is strange for some reason, that Benjamin should give up tenancy when he had Jessie there to help look after him.

. Challenges author John Rowland's belief Julia was named Julia Thorpe, and states it as being Julia Dennis. Says it appears she was the only daughter of a veterinary surgeon.

---

Life Together in Liverpool:

. William was employed by the Prudential and was placed in charge of the district of Clubmoor. Apparently an agency often given to juniour agents. As we know he was never promoted from this supposedly meager position. Yseult suggests it's because his demeanour made him unlikeable, and that a higher up agent should possess personable qualities... She says that this treadmill of lowly work must have felt like purgatory for an intelligent man like Wallace.

. States that once taking up residency at 29 Wolverton Street, no one but Julia and William ever crossed the threshold of No. 29.

. Argues that William's isolation was not necessarily by choice. Emphasizes he did not join the chess club until 1923, and did not lecture in chemistry until even later. Quotes Rowland that Wallace was "an aloof, slightly priggish man".

. Says William made no attempt to disguise his disdain for his fellow-man's preoccupations with things such as the events of the racing calendar, cricket, and football fixtures, and despised their robust, commonplace geniality.

. Police investigations revealed Clubmoor residents found William to be "surly" (bad-tempered/grumpy).

. Says Julia, as an artistic woman, must have hated living in the drab Anfield area compared to her extravagent property in Harrogate.

. William attended chess not only on Mondays, but occasionally on the Thursdays too (Thursday being the night Parry's drama club met at the same cafe). I say this because if how it sounds is true, it appears it was not a one off occurence when he went there one Thursday and saw Parry there just one time, but would have probably been on multiple occasions.

. Julia continued to wear the same style of clothing as she had worn when she married William, despite the fashion of the time changing.

. Mentions the undergarments Julia was found wearing. Does not say they were for incontinence. Does mention the "pathetic" thirty shillings sewn into the corset. Suggests the undergarments were of poor quality because Julia was terrible at sewing and had made them herself out of the cheapest material.

. Accentuates how sad it is that she was so feeble at the age of 52 (Age disputed as being actually 69).

. Implies Julia wanted a social circle but was disallowed by William. She says in Liverpool Julia moved in no artistic circles, went on no sketching expeditions, and attended no concerts with her friends. She had no friends. Members of the local church said they would have liked to have been on friendly terms with Julia and she was always ready for a chat after service. But then she would "return to Wolverton Street like a hermit to a cell."

. Implies William's "we were sufficient in ourselves" was a view he himself held and FORCED upon his unwilling wife.

. States Mrs. Johnston "fell to her knees" when seeing the body, exclaiming "oh you poor darling!" (would like corroboration from the Holme family on there being obvious noise during the discovery).

. Claims Mr. Crewe was William closest friend. (I would argue it may have been James Caird who he formed the chess club with).

---

The Telephone Call

. Yseult states the 19th of January was the first contest match Wallace was down to play. But she also makes a point of the fact Wallace had not attended meetings for the past fortnight and Beattie was uncertain that he would turn up and thus had already found a replacement for him. So I think she might mean that it WOULD be the first one IF he turned up? (Would like corroboration).

. Important: Claims that an engineer, Leslie Heaton, inspected the phone box and "he had found a fault in the mechanism which he had corrected."

. Important: This excerpt appears in here but I do not believe it is in the trial book by Wyndham Brown:

Hemmerde (to Beattie): The name Qualtrough was spelt out to you over the telephone; did you spell it out to the accused?

Beattie: No.

Hemmerde: So, althought it was such an uncommon name, and Wallace protested "I don't know the chap", he knew how to spell his name?

. Important: Seems to confirm the fact in the magazine that chess club member Deyes not only said he knew of Menlove Gardens, but, relayed to Wallace by Beattie, that he "knows Menlove Gardens North, South, and West, but has never heard of Menlove Gardens East. He knows the district well and says it is not the sort of place to be knocking about in after dark."

. The other member who journeyed home with Caird and William was a man named Bethurn.

---

Next Chapter Explored: "Tuesday, 20th January 1931"

[WallaceWackedHer]

Continuing from above, I managed to find another high-res photograph online. I have marked what appears to be blood in red. In blue are marks which appear in both but may not be blood or may be an actual issue with the original photograph itself (if the marks on that seat of the chair in the foreground are blood, did MacFall ever mention those?), and in green are marks on this photograph which on my copy are entirely clean and I believe are not present:

https://i.imgur.com/x21BJyz.png

Below I will bulletpoint evidence, crime scene facts, and information from this first source I shall be researching: Which is -

"Murder Casebook issue #25 - The Perfect Murder: A true-life whodunnit in which the real killer remains unknown":

. Wallace arrived at the chess club at 7.40 PM (Disputed)

. He played a match with McCartney because it turned 7.45 and thus it was assumed he was not attending (Disputed)

. A chess club member said there was "definitely a Menlove Gardens North, South and West, but he had never come across an East," He added that the area was "not the sort to knock about in at night." (Have not heard that he said there's "definitely a North, South and West but hadn't known of an East")

. Wallace told the assembled company that his "job required him to collect premiums from houses around the Clubmoor district and he was confident he could find Menlove Gardens East."

. There were two other homes burgled on Wolverton Street, "20 to 30" in the surrounding area.

. "Walls so thin the neighbours could hear everything that happened next door."

. Re-iteration of Wallace's route on the night of the killing:

Leaves home by the back door at 18:45 > Walks 300 yard to board a tram at Belmont Road > Changes tram at Smithdown Avenue to a No. 4 > Changes tram at Penny Lane to a 5A > Arrives at Menlove Avenue at 7:20.

. Apparently conductor Thomas Phillips on the No. 4 tram had suggested "various other more direct routes to the area" first, before suggesting he stay on the No. 4 part of the way. Apparently Wallace reminded Phillips of his final destination three times over the course of the 10 minute journey.

. Much to Julia's delight, this magazine states she was 8 years younger than William and the only daughter of veterinary surgeon William Dennis and his French wife, Aimée. Which we know are fabrications made up by Julia when really her parents were uneducated and poor and she was 17 years OLDER than Wallace

. Julia, while living in Harrogate before marrying William, earned money through clerical work and renting out rooms in her house.

. William immediately noticed signs of disturbance upon entering, seeing a wooden case with its lid broken off and lying on the floor (cannot locate this on the photos).

. The bookcase is 7 feet tall, as you know the cash box is on top of this bookcase.

. In this magazine, it is stated William only searched the cash box after John had left for the police. It also states William first noticed the mackintosh after John had left for the police. These two points are contradicted or disputed on trial.

. Jewelry of Julia's was clearly visible but untouched in the master bedroom (we do not know that the killer ever went upstairs despite the blood marks).

. The shot to the FRONT left side of the temple is re-iterated as being the killing blow.

. Wallace on his voyage to India: "I imagine I felt like a second Christopher Columbus." Described his life with Julia as a "Darby and Joan existence." (Darby and Joan is a proverbial phrase for a married couple content to share a quiet life of mutual devotion.)

. Wallace had spent time living in Manchester before moving to Harrogate (important because Dorothy L. Sayers claims Qualtrough was a common surname there).

. In Shanghai, due to "immunity from Chinese law", gangs of prostitution and drugs were rife, and communist revolutionaries, and a growing body of Christians.

. The chess club ALSO met on thursdays, but was for players of a different class to Wallace, which included James Caird. This is the same night Parry attended the drama club. Could Parry have known someone at the chess club such as James Caird and concocted a scheme? James Caird, despite having nobody matched up with him, had attended the chess club on the night of the call, and by some accounts prompted Beattie that Wallace had arrived. Other accounts state Beattie asked Caird for Wallace's address at which point Caird pointed out Wallace was there.

[James Caird also lived at #3 Letchworth Street, and could basically see the entry William left his home by from the windows of his own home. The view MAY be blocked by houses but it's honestly hard to tell. But for sure he could keep watch from a mere few yards from his front door, and knew the tram route William would probably be taking. James Caird also assured William that he had heard of the name Qualtrough before.]

. Only 5 of the 7 people (unnamed) identified William as being the man they had spoken to on the night of the murder when he was asking for directions to Menlove Gardens East. The other two were identified by Wallace instead... I would like to know which of the witnesses did not identify him, considering Mr. Sydney Green identified the towering Wallace who asked him for directions as being a mere 5'10.

. Wallace could not have left his home later than 18:49 on the night of the murder turning up at the tram stop and boarding immediately, and this is apparently based on the timings of the "Anfield Harriers", the detectives who essentially sprinted the journey? From what I can discern. I'm sure William can "haul ass" in an emergency, but sprinting, hardly... And imagine someone had seen him literally sprinting Usain Bolt style? It'd be hard to miss.

. Wallace states that the two weeks waiting in jail for the trial were the worst of his life, and he "regrets that he did not commit suicide upon finding his wife dead".

. It does seem digestion of stomach contents has been used to estimate time of death to prosecute, such as in the case of Steven Truscott. We know the stomach contents of Julia from Gannon's book, and the alleged time she had eaten, but I do not know any forensic scientists who can connect his findings with a time of death.

. The judge who allowed Wallace's appeal was well known to believe in the theory that "the jury is always right", which made the defence feel unconfident about the result.

. This magazine brings up the idea of the "distraction burglary". That is, someone was in the parlour with Julia keeping her distracted while a second person entered the home through the back and stole from the cash box. It postulates the person in the parlour hit Julia to silence her because he/she was known to her, and a sound made by the robber in the back of the home had occurred which alerted Julia.

---

Next Book Explored: Two Studies in Crime by Yseult Bridges, with a personal letter from Yseult Bridges and inscription.

[WallaceWackedHer]

BRAND NEW INFORMATION. MORE INCOMING.

I have some publications which have arrived. I redact my statement in Antony M. Brown's thread about blood splatter. There is some but specks. And all concentrated on one area. I will show you:

https://i.imgur.com/oscd3lq.png

https://i.imgur.com/qqZpkai.png

Ignore the curtain mark in the first photo it is a glitch with the photo. The other angle (the second image) has similar marks that look to be glitches rather than blood specks (e.g. on the photos around the chair and one on the mantlepiece - I THINK these may be glitches). Here's a close up so you can see:

https://i.imgur.com/A7s5ymB.png

The dark marks on the top left are where staples have been, it is not part of the photograph.

The dots you see to the left of the fireplace are blood specks. As was said, the blood is "a little too low (for Julia) to be standing". Are we confident those are marks from the first hit, or from the followup shots flicking blood off of the weapon when she's on the ground?

Here is a close up and higher res photo of the backyard gate so you can look at the bolt mechanisms:

https://i.imgur.com/ZQDD4Ne.png

That's a double bolt. Does it necessarily matter? No, the window cleaners were easily able to scale the walls earlier in the day. However, Dorothy L. Sayers makes a point on the importance of whether the gate is on a spring (and thus shuts automatically), because she says William met the Johnstons and the back gate was shut, which does not align with panic had he found the back door fastened against him and been panicked to rush round to the front.

Though I don't think he himself says he was "panicked", just uneasy.

Here is the kitchen, circled is the cash box. Close ups as well:

https://i.imgur.com/d9WQUwM.png

https://i.imgur.com/rJ9gKAo.png

https://i.imgur.com/dLQx9ck.png

https://i.imgur.com/wOqA8Of.png

Photos of the toilet and sink. That cannot be a blood mark on the tap or no doubt that would be brought up I'm sure. Not sure why there is newspaper on the floor by the toilet:

https://i.imgur.com/UkYg7lA.png

https://i.imgur.com/fn6hUT7.png

Here is a form for the Prudential with Wallace listed as the agent, I have not seen this before:

https://i.imgur.com/kDm7kmp.png

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All the photos in one album:

https://imgur.com/a/jmNMDhr

[WallaceWackedHer]

Also a few more known facts but more obscure for casual readers, and #3 is overlooked heavily:

1) According to, I think the Wilkes book, William and Caird were actually the founders of the chess club despite Beattie being the captain. So I wonder if that means they were financially responsible for it, or in some way had some monetary stake in it.

Caird had been into the Wallaces' home many times, and his house is #3 Letchworth Street which is directly next to the lower end of Richmond Park. He may have even been able to see William leave on his journey from the window of his own house. I think it's a myth that anyone would have definitely had to have staked out William's front and back door. It looks like Richmond Park is his usual route when going out, and the only times he goes out at night are essentially for no reason other than to go to the chess club or to lecture in chemistry at the college.

On the night of the chess club Caird had turned up despite having no partner to play (in the hopes he might find someone else without a partner to have a casual chess match with), and prompted Beattie that Wallace had arrived so Beattie would deliver the message.

2) William went home with Caird and another friend that night which I assume was a very typical practice given their homes were so close together. In their conversation on the way home Caird said he had heard of the name Qualtrough after William brought it up as an odd name.

3) Known but overlooked... The chess board is directly beside the door to the café, and some might say importantly, the telephone number of the café is etched on the door's window. So anybody who had just glanced at the board while leaving would then almost immediately see the telephone number on the door, and it could very well implant an idea into their head.

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I will hopefully soon have more entirely new information. By the end of the month I should have all the publications on this matter including obscure books and old magazines (apart from The Insurance Man and William's non-ghostwritten story in tit-bits which I can't get a hold of).

[WallaceWackedHer]

The "landing stage" was and still is located at the Pier Head, WWH. It is where passengers get on and off the Mersey Ferries.

Yes that's what I meant, I'm not familiar with ferries and docks etc. etc. so just assumed dock was the correct terminology.

I have located a huge number of resources which will be coming to be shortly. I have managed to track down the ultra rare book by John Rowland (whos' agent first tried to interview Gordon Parry before even Goodman had) which may have some interesting and very obscure contemporary facts.

Dorothy L. Sayers also has some good contemporary information. By that I mean, in the modern day we have zero idea about gas jets and so on. According to her, it was completely usual to light a match in the threshold of the door to a room if you thought you would be needing to light a jet in there (she said she personally did so when out of habit when making the switch from gas to electric), and that it was also very natural to light the jet you were used to lighting, since unused jets tended to clog up and not function correctly all the time. Stuff like this is something none of us could know in the present day.

She also said it was usual if you were neighbours to walk in and out of your neighbor's back kitchen. Except here she uses that apparent fact of the times to prove that the Johnstons barely knew the Wallaces at all (since they stated they had only ever been into her parlour). It sounds weird if people at the time really did do that... She does say in the same book that the back door would have been expected to be bolted. She writes a LOT about the locks and bolts, types of locks and bolts she believes they were based on the evidence, etc.

The quote is as follows:

"On all three occasions (that the Johnstons had been into the Wallace's home) Wallace (meaning William) had been absent, so that Mrs. Johnston had never seen the Wallaces together in their own home; nor, evidently, had the two women been accustomed to run in and out of each other's back kitchens in the informal way that neighbours sometimes fall into."

[Sherlock Houses]

New Testimony: More exceptionally unknown than new. However a very persistent witness went to the police multiple times, claiming that he had seen Amy Wallace and a man he identified as William together on Scotland Road at 20:10 on the night of the murder.

The man identified as William had asked for directions to the "landing stage" (this would be at the docks). The witness told them they were going the wrong way and offered to put them on the tram. The man identified as William turned to the woman who seemed very afraid and said "we. must. not. go. on. that. car."

The "landing stage" was and still is located at the Pier Head, WWH. It is where passengers get on and off the Mersey Ferries.

[WallaceWackedHer]

In light of the above I should add the exact quote of the woman (a J. Keary) who had claimed to have been asked for directions to Menlove Gardens East by a woman she was able to connect to Amy Wallace:

https://i.imgur.com/HlgtQiU.png

And also add the reminder that the only people it is verified as fact knew William would be going on the business trip is William, Julia, and Amy Wallace. Members of the chess club or any staff who had worked there that night and been down into the basement where the meetings were held may also have known or surmised he would be going on this trip, and basically every detail about the trip down to the tram route he'd probably take.

If the witnesses are correct, then Amy Wallace had visited Julia at about the time William left the home or at the time he was seen allegedly "looking distressed", had been with Wallace or a man strongly resembling him at around 20:10 on the night of the murder, and then on the following day (or earlier the same day? It is not 100% clear what that witness means although I'm sure it means the following day before the newspapers with the story had been delivered) was in Menlove Gardens West asking someone where Menlove Gardens East was.

All allegedly.

The witness mentioned in the above post who I assume was a tram conductor seems certainly reliable, but may have been simply mistaken in his sighting and identification of the people he had seen. The lady's testimony about Amy Wallace sounds sincere on the surface but I don't know that it was Amy Wallace or anyone connected to her that she had seen. But she may have been asked that question by a woman.