Information Credibility

This site contains a comprehensive collection of documented case files for the Wallace case, including official police records, materials from the defense’s Hector Munro, and contributions from author Jonathan Goodman.

Unlike some other high-profile cases—such as the JonBenét Ramsey murder, which has seen books authored by professional law enforcement agents—no one who has written about the Wallace case possesses comparable expertise. Instead, the authors tend to be armchair detectives, who have the freedom to explore unlikely theories and publish unverified or unreliable information without the constraints of professional accountability. By contrast, professionals in law enforcement or legal fields are held to higher standards of accuracy and rigor.

Understanding the credibility of the source is crucial when evaluating information about the Wallace case or any other complex investigation. Readers often take the written word at face value, especially in books, without considering whether the author might omit or distort facts to craft a more compelling narrative. Verifying an author’s qualifications, motivations, and adherence to evidence-based analysis is essential for gaining an accurate understanding of any case.

Authors on this case include:

Antony M. Brown

Antony M. Brown is a philosopher and fiction writer with an interest in mathematics. He authored the “Cold Case Jury” series, where he outlines various theories before providing his own thoughts, and invites readers to vote on his site, as though serving on a jury. However, Brown later admitted the jury polls were not as genuine as believed as they now rely on entries he manually inputs from emails, because maintaining a functional online poll became too costly.

While the blend of fact and fiction can create a compelling narrative, the dialogue is often straight out of a soap opera, rather than being based on historically accurate accounts. This introduces a lot of confusion, as the reader is left in the dark as to what elements are real and what elements were fictionalised by the author. As such, the works should be considered fiction first and foremost, as are the many other fiction works based on real events (various movies, fiction books, and so on, employ this interesting concept with great success).

However, the books, such as the one on the Wallace case titled “Move to Murder”, have tantalized many readers across the country, and make a compelling nightstand book or Christmas gift for a quick entertaining bedtime read.

Of note, his initial Wallace book draft supported John Gannon’s conspiracy theory, but his publisher requested he craft a more marketable, novel theory. With assistance from Rod Stringer, a Blundellsands resident and avid Wallace case fan known for controversial theories on various topics (for example, that the Holocaust did not happen), Brown developed the scenario presented in his book.

Stringer’s own credentials are harder to find. Brown suggests he is a businessman, but I have not been able to find any Rod (or Rodney) Stringer in any Companies House records and cannot find any evidence of his business, education, or any record of any employment, even historically.

Other books penned by Brown include “The Shark Arm Mystery” and the “Crime & Mystery Hour” series.

Antony M. Brown:
Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: 0.

Rod Stringer:
Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: 0.

John Gannon

John Gannon is a full time professional fiction writer with a BSc in Earth Science and a Master’s degree in screenwriting, winning the Lynda La Plante Screenwriting Award in 2006. His book on the Wallace case is extremely in-depth, but largely speculative, and makes many leaps of faith, such as suggesting the pension age Julia was in fact paying Gordon and Marsden to have sex with her, and that Wallace enticed them to murder her in exchange for him not telling the general public about their double lives as rent boys.

Gannon claims that Julia would hide money up her skirt for the young men to hunt for when they serviced her, with Wallace’s blessing. He suggests that Marsden killed Julia while having sex with her on the couch and provides some dubious scientific claims interpreted by himself, such as claiming the state of digestion in the body proves she was killed after 7.00 PM on the night of the killing.

Other works by Gannon include “The lives of three rhinoceroses exhibited in London 1790–1814”. He has also contributed in regards to providing important documents of evidence for this site.

Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: 0.

James Murphy

James Murphy is a fiction writer, noted for writing a trilogy of cold war spy thrillers. He wrote a book on the Wallace case which uncovered some new facts (it was written after the case files were released to the public), but also included elements of fiction and pseudoscience such as the claim that Gordon cannot be guilty because he was left-handed, neither claim of which is supported by science, or any known fact about Gordon.

Other books he has written include a translation of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”, and “The Microscopic Bugs that Live in Your Eyebrows”.

Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: 0.

Tom Slemen

Popular writer Tom Slemen has penned a great number of books about ghosts, aliens, and paranormal entities at large.

Tom claims he made contact with a man simply referred to as “Stan”, who transmitted to him some information through the radiowaves that the neighbour, John Sharpe Johnston, had confessed to killing Julia during a huge plot involving the Wallace’s pet cat “Puss”.

Tom’s work includes columns such as “Stalked by a UFO” and “The truth about demons that live in our homes”, as well as books like the popular “Haunted Liverpool” anthology.

Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: 0.

Dorothy L. Sayers

Dorothy L. Sayers is a famous figure, known for writing fiction. Her work in fictional detective tales attracted her to write a long essay in “Anatomy of Murder” about the Julia Wallace case.

Being a fiction writer is likely what attracted her to the case’s fantastical elements. She spends a lot of time musing about the state of the locks in the house.

Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: 0.

Edgar Lustgarten

Crime writer Edgar Lustgarten practiced as a barrister for about 10 years, beginning around 1930. His legal background informed his analysis of the Wallace case in “Verdict in Dispute” (1950). He later branched out into detective fiction writing.

While his insights into evidence and legal proceedings add credibility, legal expertise does not guarantee historical or investigative accuracy.

Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: ~10 discluding education.

Yseult Bridges

Yseult Bridges, granddaughter of Victorian-era artist Amelia Elizabeth Guppy, primarily wrote novels about her early life in Trinidad and Tobago and works of fiction. Her plays were televised, earning her an IMDb entry, but she had no background in law enforcement or legal matters.

Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: 0.

John Rowland

John Rowland, a lesser-known author, held a B.Sc. in Chemistry and wrote for the tabloid “The Inquirer.” His tabloid writing was often sensationalist, prioritizing entertainment over accuracy. He later became a religious minister.

Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: 0.

Jonathan Goodman

Jonathan Goodman’s majorly popular book on the case is a major source of information for armchair detectives. His reliance on unverified accounts from the public as well as limited direct contact with key figures and limited access to official investigative files, led to the publishing of a large amount of unvetted and unverified claims about factual matters in the case. These small slips have since become mixed in with verified evidence, highlighting the butterfly effect of releasing false information, and how that information can unintentionally spread incredibly far down the grapevine if left unchecked.

Goodman put in the effort to seek input from figures close to the investigation. His papers show that he corresponded extensively with defense solicitor Hector Munro, and attempted communication with other significant individuals in the case (albeit these communications were more limited and sometimes one-sided). For example defense counsel Roland Oliver only wrote a response to refuse discussing the case, and PC Rothwell (who alleged to have seen Wallace crying) only wrote in a letter or two where he did not provide any information other than to re-assert the testimony he gave on the witness stand. This can be seen for yourself in the research files published on this site.

Notably, he hunted down and confronted Gordon Parry while Gordon was still alive, writing two separate sets of notes on the encounter (curiously the notes differ from each other in slight ways, suggesting he was recalling the encounter from memory). Goodman asserts from these encounters that he was certain he had “beheld Qualtrough” based on Gordon’s alleged false bonhomie charm, and proclaims that Gordon could be shown to be a “sex maniac” by him having bold blue eyes.

Goodman also can’t seen to remember whether Parry was tall or medium height, or whether he called William sexually odd (which most interpreted as meaning gay) or a sexual sadist. The many discrepancies between his notes, including about simple matters such as Gordon’s height, sheds light on the casual approach Goodman took to ensuring accuracy in this investigation, and may help explain some of the other inaccuracies in his book.

Years of law enforcement experience: 0.
Years of legal experience: 0.