HomeMy WebLinkAboutAlbert WalkerT H E D E C E P T I O N S O F A L B E R T W A L K E R
THE RUNAWAY
FINANCIER
Early Life: Born in 1946; established Walker Financial Services in Woodstock, Ontario, during
the 1980s as a smooth-talking, trusted investment planner.
The Laundering Scheme: Stripped the life savings of roughly 70 unsuspecting clients—including
close friends and elderly retirees—by running a classic affinity fraud and embezzlement ring.
The Flight: In 1990, just as the financial walls closed in, he stole an estimated $3.2 million, took
his 15-year-old daughter Sheena, and vanished to the UK, climbing to #4 on Interpol’s most-
wanted list.
T H E F IR S T D E C E P TI O N : A L B ERT W AL K E R A S HI M S E L F
THE NOT-SO-
FRESH NEW
START
T H E SEC O ND DEC E P TI O N :A L BERT WAL K E R A S D A V ID DAVI S
Lif e as D avid Davi s: Se ttle d i nto quiet
English v i l l ages in Essex, ad op ting the alias
"Dav i d Da vis" to c ompletely obscure his
Ca nadian past.
The Inces tuous Li e : To a vo i d suspic i on
while m ov i ng a roun d w i th a tee na ge g i rl,
W alker forced h i s daughter Sheena to p os e
publicly as his wife; they had ch i l dre n
togeth er who we re raised to c all him
"Dad ."
Befriending Pla tt: Met Ronald Platt, an
isolated , unass u min g loc al TV repair man.
W alker s t rate gically gain ed his trust,
re co gniz i ng P l att as th e perfe ct target f or
a com ple te id entity th eft.
L I F E
T H E T H IR D D E C E PTI ON : A L BERT WAL K E R A S R O NAL D PL A T T
The C ana da Trap : Walk er fun de d a one-wa y t icke t f or Pl att to
m ove to Canad a i n 1992, e x pl icitly a sk ing P la tt to l ea ve
be hin d his driv er’s licen ce , si g n a ture sta m ps , a nd bi rth
ce r ti fi cat e so "Dav id Davis" co u ld manage hi s U K a ffa irs.
The Return: In 1 9 9 6 , P la tt u nexp ec tedl y ra n out o f mone y and
r eturn ed to En gl an d, thre at ening to comp le tel y unrav e l
Wa lk e r 's st ole n identi ty and d oub le l if e.
The Murde r: On July 20, 1 9 96, Walker to ok Plat t out on hi s
fish ing b oa t, the Lad y Ja ne, int o th e English C ha nnel. He
kn oc ked Pla tt un co nsci ous, attac hed a h ea vy 4.5k g s hip's
an ch or to h is bel t, an d d u mped hi m i nt o the sea
D O U B L E
TIME IS
G LD
T h e Discover y : Two w e ek s lat er , a fi shi ng tra wl e r acc id enta ll y p u lle d up
a se verely decomp ose d, u niden ti fi abl e mal e bo dy fro m t he ocean f loo r .
T h e Rolex Cl ue: Th e onl y i nt act ite m o n the body wa s a R ole x Oy st er
Perp et ual w r is twat ch . B ec aus e Rolex ke ep s m etic u lous re co r ds , De von
and Cornw all P olic e u sed th e watch's uniq ue seri al num be r and se r vi ce
history to i de nt if y t h e b od y a s Ro na ld Pl att.
T h e Ti meline Trap : The Ro lex was w a terpr oof an d des igned to kee p
w indin g itsel f t h r oug h hu m an mo vemen t. F orensic exp erts an a ly ze d t he
w atc h 's cal end a r and po wer res er ve to p inpoint the e x act da y and ti m e
Plat t s topp ed mo vin g —and d ro wne d.
T h e Ca t ch: Po li ce tra ckin g t he real Plat t's a ddres s f ound W alke r liv in g
there under P lat t's name. In 1 9 98, W alke r w as co nvic ted of m urder, l a ter
tr an sf erred bac k t o C an ada, and r e m ai ns den ied p arole t o this da y.
TH E LA S T D E C E PTI ON : A L BERT WAL K E R A S T H E M UR DE RER
REFERENCES
h tt ps://w ww.b r an tf ord ex po si tor.ca /n ews /l oc al-
news/co nm an -a lbert -wa lk er-l ose s-ano the r -p arole-bi d
ht tps://ww w .cbc .ca/news/canad a/f u gitive -financie r -
t u r ned-k il ler-senten ced-to-4-years -fo r -fraud -1.68 078 3
ht tps://www .cbc .ca/radio /podc astn ews /tra nscript -
crim e-s tory-epi sode-81-1.75157 48
ht tps://ww w.bo bs wa tches.co m /rolex-blo g/j u st -
be caus e /ro lex-w a tc h-he lped-s olv e-murd er -myste r y.ht m l
h tt ps://the canad ianen cyc lopedi a.c a/en /art ic le /wal ker
-m oney-h un t
h tt ps://w ww.b r oa dca st now .co.uk/i nte r na ti onal/t he-
chamel eon-the -killin g-of-r onald-plat t/5180940 .art ic le