A Harrogate reverend will feature in a Channel 5 documentary tonight, which re-counts the crimes of the notorious ‘Rolex killer’.
Revd David Hoskins, who was a minister at Harrogate Baptist Church on Victoria Avenue at the time, will talk about his encounters with Albert Walker, a Canadian fugitive posing as David Davis.
‘Davis’ was a member of his congregation in the early 1990s. Unbeknown to him or the rest of his congregation, Walker — who claimed he and his daughter had recently moved to Harrogate after “selling his New York bank and looking for a quieter life” — was on Interpol’s most-wanted list at the time.
Reverend Hoskins told the Stray Ferret that Walker and his daughter fooled everyone:
“They attended church most Sundays.
“He was urbane, dressed in blazer and striped tie, dark and good looking — he was a real smooth operator.”
However, 52-year-old Walker was actually on the run from officials after fleecing 70 clients out of nearly $4 million back in Canada.
Although never successful in swindling the members of Harrogate Baptist Church financially, Walker certainly tried, Mr Hoskins added.
He said:
“It was around the time ICI was making a lot of people redundant.
“I called a meeting to discuss how this may affect local people and he attended. He posed as a financial advisor and said he could give advice on how to invest.
“Luckily, no one in the congregation actually give him any money, but all of us bar one member, Molly, were fooled by him.”
Mr Hoskins said the conman, who lived on St Leonard’s Oval, was a “charmer”, but noted his daughter Noel, whose real name was Sheena, was “quiet and didn’t have much to say”.
It was later discovered Walker also pretended his teenage daughter was his wife.
Harrogate Baptist Church. Pic: Betty Longbottom via Geograph.
The reverend told the Stray Ferret that after around 18 months, Walker and his daughter “vanished”. Mr Hoskins said neither he, nor his congregation, heard a word from the pair again.
It was in Harrogate, however, that Walker met his soon-to-be murder victim, 51-year-old Ronald Platt, and his girlfriend Elaine Boyes.
After befriending the couple, who lived and worked in the town at the time, they told the conman about their dream to one-day move to Canada.
Walker, who was still posing as David Davis, offered to make them directors of his new company to help them save money to make the big move.
Eventually, after funding their retirement move to Canada, Walker assumed Mr Platt’s identity.
However, after Mr Platt and Ms Boyle’s relationship broke down abroad and she moved back to Harrogate, Walker moved to Essex to continue his bogus life.
Ronald Platt.
In 1996, after Mr Platt had also moved to Essex, Walker took him on a boat trip off Plymouth. On the boat, the Lady Jane, he struck Mr Platt unconscious and tied a weighted anchor to his trousers before throwing him overboard.
Weeks later, two fishermen dropped their nets and discovered Mr Platt’s body, which was identified thanks to the Rolex Oyster on his wrist.
Mr Platt was wearing the Rolex Oyster at the time of his death. It had been serviced at a Harrogate jeweller several times, which helped to identify his body and later led to Walker being dubbed the Rolex killer.
The case was eventually solved, and Albert Walker was sentenced to life in prison for embezzlement and murder at Exeter Crown Court 1988, but was transferred to a Canadian prison in 2005.
When asked how he felt after discovering Walker’s crimes, Revd Hoskins said:
“We were just sad that we hadn’t picked up on it — it was so shocking.”
Walker, now 77, was granted parole in June this year after serving 26 years behind bars.
The Devil in Disguise: The Murder of Ronald Platt will air on Channel 5 at 10pm tonight.
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