Buried Bones - a historical true crime podcast with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes · Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Untold Motives

January 7, 2026·1 hr 15 min·5 clips

Paul Holes explains how blood spatter up to seven feet high reveals Julia Wallace was bludgeoned repeatedly.

This episode of Buried Bones examines the 1931 murder of Julia Wallace in Liverpool, England. Hosts Kate Winkler Dawson, a journalist, and Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator, apply modern forensic analysis to this historical mystery. The case centers on William Wallace discovering his wife Julia bludgeoned to death in their parlor at 29 Wolverton Street. The medical examiner, Professor John Edward McFall, documented ten wounds to the left side of her head from a large, hard instrument. He estimated her time of death around 6:50 p.m., two hours before she was found. A blood-drenched and partially burned raincoat belonging to William was found under Julia's body. Blood spatter in the parlor was concentrated in one corner near William's violin case, reaching up to seven feet high. City analyst William Henry Roberts later documented blood on various items, including photographs and a pound note, but none on William's clothing. The crime scene showed minimal signs of burglary, with a broken cabinet door and a few coins on the floor. William's insurance collection box was looted of four pounds but neatly returned to a high shelf. Julia's purse and jewelry were untouched, and a bed in a spare room was disordered, but no drawers were opened. A single droplet of blood was found on the rim of an upstairs toilet. Paul Holes notes the blood spatter pattern suggests multiple blows, possibly while Julia was upright. He finds the staged appearance of a burglary inconsistent with a genuine financially motivated crime. The hosts discuss the peculiar detail of the clean, wet nail brush found in the bathroom. Holes speculates the offender may have known exactly where to find money, raising suspicion. The episode presents the forensic contradictions and odd scene details that made this a famous unsolved case. The tone is analytical and conversational, blending historical narrative with investigative critique. Listeners who enjoy detailed forensic breakdowns of classic unsolved crimes will appreciate this episode. Those preferring fast-paced resolutions or purely narrative storytelling might find the methodical analysis slow.

As heard by us

A patient evidence-led read of a killing where the motive stays stubbornly uncertain.

It lingers over a murder scene that never quite settles into a neat motive. Julia's injuries, the light ransacking, the still-worn ring and brooch, and the house itself are all worked through room by room before any reading can feel secure.

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Why you'd press play

Forensic detail fans get a motive puzzle built from blood, injuries, and a sprawling house map.

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