Albert Johnson Walker - "The Rolex Killer"
I don’t know about you guys but I LOVE a good murder mystery, so when I heard about this I thought the stars had aligned (watches + crime story = happy me). After you read this you may appreciate Rolex a bit more than you did before, as we are going to tell the story of how a Rolex Oyster Perpetual led to the conviction of a calculated murderer. Strap in, because this is a juicy one.
So, it all started when a Canadian Mr. Albert Johnson Walker started his own bookkeeping business, which at first seemed to be quite a success. However, it was soon discovered that Walker had defrauded more than 70 clients out of CAD$3.2 million (a bit cheeky if you ask me). This ended up making him Canada’s most wanted man, as well as extremely wanted by Interpol.
In 1990 Walker and his daughter fled to North Yorkshire in England to avoid his arrest, and this is where the story gets a bit weird. Albert Walker created the false identity of “David Davis” who’s life story was that of a business man who lived in England with his wife. Except his “wife” was actually his daughter, and she ended up having 2 children. No comment.
The now David Davis went into business with a Mr. Ronald Joseph Platt who was also originally from Canada. Walker/Davis told Platt that he required his personal documents (driver’s license, birth certificate etc.), for “business”. Conveniently, Platt wanted to return home to Canada, so Walker/Davis lent him some money and sent him on his way in 1992, so he could steal Platt’s identity using all of his documents.
3 years later poor Mr. Platt had run out of money and so returned back to England. Walker/Davis, now also Platt (I know, confusing), couldn’t have this as it could jeopardize his identity theft, so on July 20th 1996 he took matters into his own hands. Walker/Davis invited Platt on a fishing trip, where he hit Platt on the head leaving him unconscious and then threw him into the ocean with a heavy weight tied around him. Brutal.
2 weeks later, a fisherman discovered Platt’s body and even though the body was completely unidentifiable, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual on the corpse was still in great condition. This meant that the police could then trace the watch back to the original buyer, thanks to Rolex’s record keeping, who just so happened to be a Mr. Ronald Joseph Platt. From that, the investigators were able to calculate that Platt must have died on the 20th, a conclusion which was drawn using the Rolex’s calendar date and it’s known power reserve.
Walker was caught and arrested, and is now paying the price with a life sentence in prison. If it wasn’t for that incredibly accurate Rolex, who knows, maybe he would’ve gotten away with his crimes.
I’m guessing he’s not a fan of Rolex anymore.