The Reid Scale: Classic Unsolved Murder Cases

[sdreid]

One thing Wallace and Parry had in common was a big ego.

[sdreid]

One thing Wallace and Parry had in common was a big ego.

Wallace thought he was the brain and Parry thought he was the stud.

[sdreid]

Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit nutty, but not as bad as "He's sick [physically] so we have to get him better so we can kill him"

Personally, I wouldn't execute him as long as he behaved himself in prison.

[John G]

55% Wallace-40% Parry-5% the field

Yes, this really is the most frustrating of cases as it throws up so many arguments. If Wallace did it, presumably he was Qualtrough. But why phone the chess club from a phone box near to his own house? And surely there was a big risk that his voice would be recognized. And then there is the question of whether he had time to do it, especially considering his age and disability. And what did he do with the murder weapon?

However, much of his behaviour does seem suspicious. For instance telling his neighbour that the door was locked upon his turn, when his neighbour was able to get easy access. And then there's the fact that he kept asking people on the tram where Menlove East was, when it would surely have been logical to wait until he got to the general locality before asking directions from the locals.

Parry is no more plausible. Firstly he as an army of alibis, surely they can's have all lied for him, particularly after Wallace's conviction. And what was the motive? Robbery seems the most obvious but, of course, quite a bit of money was left in the house untouched. And a robbery gone wrong implies that Mrs Wallace caught the robber in the act; so why was she apparently attacked from behind in a surprise attack? And then there's the fact that there would have been more insurance takings later in the week Surely Parry, who had lived and worked with Wallace would have known this.

Could Parry and Wallace have been working together? Well Parkes' evidence suggests that Parry's role could have been to dispose of the murder weapon, and, of course, he could have been Qualtrough. But why would wallace trust someone who had previously shown himself to be so dishonest? And why would Parry conspire in a murder when he risked the death penalty?

It's all completely perplexing.

[sdreid]

I believe there's a theory that Wallace put Parry up to it or that he just set Parry up to take a murder charge.

[John G]

I believe there's a theory that Wallace put Parry up to it or that he just set Parry up to take a murder charge.

Hi Stan,

Yes, I've often wondered if Parry could have had some involvement, despite his many alibis. I certainly think he could have been tricked into playing the part of Qualtrough- Parkes I believe stated that he would sometimes phone people up as a joke and put on an imitation voice. And when asked if he suspected anyone, Wallace mentioned Parry, which supports the theory that he was set up. Of course, subsequently Parry might have subsequently felt he needed to keep quiet about his involvement in case he was accused of conspiracy to commit murder.

That could also explain why he amassed so many alibis- Parry may have got suspicious that he was being set up and took necessary precautions. If, however, Wallace committed the actual murder then timings obviously become an issue, However, I think he could have committed the murder earlier than the evidence suggests; the timing of Close's conversation with Julia is largely dependant on the evidence of James Alison Wildman, but he could have made a mistake. Thus, Close originally estimated that he spoke to Julia at 6:45. This time is supported by the evidence of James Alison Wildman who claims to have seen Close just before he would have entered Wolverton Street and, moreover, he had just glanced at a clock showing 6:40. However, this is contradicted by Close's own evidence in the magistrates court: "I take the milk round between 5:30 and 6:30 each night, and up to two weeks ago I delivered to Wolverton Street. I delivered milk between 6:00 and 6:30."

Of course, if Wallace was responsible there's still the matter of what happened to the murder weapon, which the police were unable to find despite an extensive search.

[sdreid]

Parry's alibis are more solid than Wallace's unless you believe that a number of people all lied for him even after he died.

[sdreid]

I believe some people thought that both men had too many alibis.

[Pcdunn]

Re the Qualtrough name, look at this

I believe some people thought that both men had too many alibis.

I wasn't familiar with this murder case till today, but have spent some time looking up information on the web about it. Certainly a very strange and intriguing case.

This link is by a descendant of the Qualtrough family which lived in Wallace's neighborhood, on a different street. Despite Wallace remarking on how strange the name is to others, including his wife, it seems to have been on a sign for the Qualtrough family business and was presumably viewable by any passer-by. Interesting!

http://www.qualtrough.org/articles/articles-uk/rm-wallace.html

[sdreid]

The Man from the Pru is a great movie but it ignores all of Parry's good alibis. I could be wrong but it appears to me that someone in charge of the movie thought Parry did it and slanted the presentation in that direction.

[John G]

Apart from Parry, the other major suspect is the husband, Herbert Wallace. Wallace, of course, ultimately had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal. Considering time lines: Wallace stated that he left the house at 6:45, catching the tram at 7:06. This testimony is supported by the milkman, Alan Close, who stated that he spoke to Julia at around 6:45. Furthermore, James Wildman, the newspaper boy, said that he saw Close whilst he was delivering newspapers next door: a couple of minutes earlier he had glanced at a clock, only recently set to the correct time, and it showed a time of 6:40.

That would suggest that Wallace had only around, say, 3 minutes to wait for his wife to return indoors, violently murder her, clean off the blood, change his clothing, and stage a robbery: the room was ransacked. Moreover, what did he do with the murder weapon that was never found?

Even if there are inaccuracies with Close and Wildman's evidence there are still difficulties. Thus, the police timed the route from the house to the tram at around 18 minutes. However, this involved younger, and much fitter, police officers sprinting and even hurdling fences ! Considering Wallace was middle aged and seriously ill, I think his own estimate of 21 minutes should be accepted, particularly as witnesses stated that he showed no sign of distress when he got on the tram.

Therefore, assuming he left his address at 6:45, then Close and Wildman must have been seriously out with their timings for Wallace to be considered a plausible candidate.

[sdreid]

The Man from the Pru is a great movie but it ignores all of Parry's good alibis. I could be wrong but it appears to me that someone in charge of the movie thought Parry did it and slanted the presentation in that direction.

I just watched the movie last week on my 34 year old Beta machine.

[Pcdunn]

I can't stop thinking that Wallace and Parry were partners in the crime, that Wallace hired or maybe blackmailed Parry into knocking off the old lady. Wallace's long day trip to a supposed meeting was just a way of getting himself seen by as many people as possible for alibi purposes. He seems to be the smarter one of the pair.

[John G]

I can't stop thinking that Wallace and Parry were partners in the crime, that Wallace hired or maybe blackmailed Parry into knocking off the old lady. Wallace's long day trip to a supposed meeting was just a way of getting himself seen by as many people as possible for alibi purposes. He seems to be the smarter one of the pair.

The difficulty is that Parry accumulated a battalion of alibis. He left work at 5:30 and visited Mrs Brine. Also present were her daughter, Savona, and nephew. He stayed for 3 hours, during which period Mrs Wallace must have been killed. Even after he left, at 8:30, he continued to accumulate alibis, visiting two shops and a private residence.

I agree it's possible that he may have been tricked into playing the Qualtrough role, I.e by Wallace, and subsequently decided to surround himself with alibis, perhaps suspecting he was being set up- although possibly for robbery rather than murder. However, as noted in my earlier post, it's difficult to see how Wallace could have been responsible either. It's a real mystery/ conundrum.

By the way, this is an excellent website giving a wealth of detail on the case:http://inacityliving.blogspot.co.uk/...rder-case.html

[sdreid]

Yes, I think we're almost to the point where we have to say that Parry couldn't have done it.