unsolved murders and mysteries

Julia Wallace

Julia Wallace was wife of William Herbert Wallace. Julia was found murdered on Tuesday, January 20, 1931. The same year as Julia's murder, William was convicted of the crime but his conviction would later be overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal. The case itself would go down in history for two reasons, firstly it was the first case in British legal history in which an appeal had been granted after evidence had been re-examined, and secondly because it is noted as an unbeatable case.

The night before Julia's murder her husband was at the Liverpool Chess Club playing a game when he was handed a message. The message had been taken down over the telephone 25 minutes before William had arrived to play his scheduled game. The message demanded that William go to 25 Menlove Gardens East, Liverpool at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, January 20. The intent of this meeting was to discuss insurance with R.M. Qualtrough. The following evening, William followed the instructions on the note and headed to the address. When he arrived close to the destination William found that there was no East Menlove Gardens. William asked many people, including a patrolling police officer and a newsagent to direct him to the address but no one was able to assist him in his search. William even tried calling 25 Menlove Gardens West but no avail. William searched the area for forty-five minutes before he returned home. When he reached his home William ran into his next door neighbors who were leaving for the evening. William met them in the alley and informed them that he was unable to get into his home through either the front or the back entrance. As his neighbors stood watching, William once again tried the back door only to get inside and find his wife beaten to death in the living room.

Two weeks later, William was arrested for the crime but based on re-examination of the evidence in an appeal; William was cleared of the murder. No one was ever held responsible for Julia's death.