Case 342: Julia Wallace
When 52-year-old Julia Wallace was found brutally murdered in her Liverpool home in 1931, no one could have anticipated the complex and challenging investigation that would follow, centred on her husband, William, and a mysterious figure known only as R. M. Qualtrough.
Team:
Anonymous Host - narration
Milly Raso - research, writing
Mike Migas - production, music
Anthony Telfer - audio editing
Comments (19)
The writing on this episode was incredible! Well done Casefile Team ❤️
This was so fascinating and it's a fun change whenever you guys cover an older case. I loved hearing Casey quote some of the old-timey language in his great Aussie accent :-)
I always love the episodes on older cases and this one didn’t disappoint. I had a good laugh over William’s diary entry about the argument him and Julia had over her buying too many newspapers. Great episode Casefile team.
One comment that struck me as odd and inaccurate was the narrator's suggestion that William was not capable of such a strategic plan bc he wasn't good at chess. The game of chess, unlike life, includes perfect information, fixed rules, and a defined win condition. Being bad at it doesn't mean you are a bad strategist in life. I very much think the man was innocent but the chess analogy seemed like pointless (and inaccurate) editorializing.
It’s scary how little evidence there was back before DNA testing or even CCTV were possible. If they pop on a pair of gloves and there’s basically no evidence whatsoever unless there are eyewitnesses.
Great episode. So many of your cases and others I listen to convince me that police and prosecutors do not want to solve crimes they just want an arrest. Then innocent people go through the churn of the court system with a very fallible jury system. Frightening!
I’m not convinced he didn’t kill her to be honest. Strange case. No one seemed to have a solid motive. Rest in Peace Julia 🌷
What is it specifically that makes you unconvinced?
Did I really just hear the definition of directory? I
Reminds me of Agatha Christie’s ‘the abc murders’ which features a hapless dominoes player framed by a cunning businessman who ensures Mr dominoes has a clumsy alibi etc.
Strong Todd Kendhammer parallels here. by every account a loving couple, zero evident motive, universal community support, a very composed husband with no known history of violence, and an otherwise straightforward case made baffling mainly because of what seems to be its sheer psychological improbability.
Omg a case where I'm from!!
Can anyone suggest why my email (gmail) notification this week appeared under "Promotions" instead of "Primary"? I could have easily missed it. Does anyone [ALMOST anyone, ie. (n-1) out of n people are free to answer] know how to ensure these emails always go to my primary mailbox in future? Did anyone else notice the same thing?
Hi Bob, if you open your Gmail account on a desktop, select the Casefile email and drag it over to the primary tab it will move it there. It should then present an option to do this with all future messages from this sender, so just click ‘Yes’
Love this podcast, hate the background music
I never notice music. I am always surprised when someone comments that there was music in an episode I've just listened to.
Yes! I love old timey cases! Thanks Milly for writing it and whoever suggested it on the Casey team!
Indeed. Two of my favourite episodes are the Batavia (ep 138 from 400 years ago) and The Murchison murders (Rabbit Proof Fence, ep 150 from almost a century ago).
Yay. Happy long weekend!