Julia Wallace

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Merseyside Police Liverpool City (POLICE)

Offense Location:

Liverpool, England

Summary:

Julia Wallace was murdered in her home in Liverpool in 1931, and was the wife of a mild-mannered insurance agent, William Herbert Wallace. She was bludgeoned to death on the parlor floor. Her husband's conviction was later overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal, the first instance in British legal history where an appeal had been allowed after re-examination of evidence. The case remains officially unsolved.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

On the day before the murder, a telephone message was left for William at the Liverpool Central Chess Club at around 7.15pm. Club Captain Samuel Beattie spoke to the caller, who referred to himself as 'R.M. Qualtrough' and asked Wallace to visit his address '25 Menlove Gardens East' at 7.30pm, the following evening. At 6.45pm on 20 January 1931, William Wallace left his home at 29 Wolverton Street, Liverpool. He had just eaten dinner with his wife, Julia, and was heading for a meeting with a client in the Menlove Gardens area of the city, just over 4 miles away. He travelled by tram and asked people for directions. Upon arrival he realised that the address he had been given was false and returned home arriving around 8.40pm. When Wallace returned home, the house was dark. He entered through the back door and called for Julia but received no answer. When he arrived at his front parlor and struck a match to light the room's gas lamps, the dim light fell on the prone figure of Julia on the floor. She was lying on her stomach, her feet pointed toward the gas fireplace, her head pointed toward the doorway. At first unsure of exactly what he was looking at, Wallace bent forward to examine his wife and saw the blood pooled around her head. Julia's cause of death was listed as fracture of the skull caused with an unknown instrument.

Additional Details:

Wallace was charged with her murder and found guilty after a brief trial in April 1931. The jury was out for barely an hour of deliberations before returning with a unanimous guilty verdict. He was sentenced to death by hanging and given an execution date for the following month. However, on 19 May 1931, the sentence was overturned at the Court of Appeal. Wallace's conviction was later overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal, the first instance in British legal history where an appeal had been allowed after re-examination of evidence. After the case was overturned on appeal, the police declined to try Wallace again, and he died just two years later. He was buried beside Julia. Wallace died of a kidney ailment on 26 February 1933. In 1969, Jonathan Goodman identified Richard Gordon Parry, whom Wallace had once caused to be fired, as a potential suspect. Richard Gordon Parry was born 12/01/1909 and died 14/04/1980. Evidence was discovered that Parry had visited a local garage to wash his car with a high-powered hose, and that a garage attendant noticed one of Parry's blood-soaked gloves. Despite numerous theories, the case remains officially unsolved and is still debated by crime historians and enthusiasts today.

Case Last Updated:

Sep 25, 2026