Who murdered Charles Walton on 14 February 1945?
20842609#0
Charles Walton (1870–1945) was found murdered on the evening of 14 February 1945, (St Valentine’s Day), at The Firs farm on the slopes of Meon Hill, Lower Quinton in Warwickshire, England. The case is notable as the foremost police detective of the era, Chief Inspector Robert Fabian, led the investigation into Walton's death. The chief suspect for the murder was the manager of The Firs, Alfred John Potter, for whom Walton was working on the day he died. However, there was insufficient evidence to convict Potter and the case is currently the oldest unsolved murder in the Warwickshire Constabulary records. The case has earned some notoriety in popular culture due to its supposed connection with the local belief in witchcraft.
Charles Walton (murder victim)
20842609#4
On 14 February 1945 Walton left home with a pitchfork and a slash hook – a double-edged pruning implement with a sharpened straight edge on one side and concave cutting edge on the other. Edith stated that Walton had left his purse at home on 14 February. He was witnessesed to have passed through the churchyard between 9 am and 9.30 am. On this particular day, he was slashing hedges in a field known as Hillground on the slopes of Meon Hill.
Charles Walton (murder victim)
20842609#31
Statements were taken from over 500 residents of Lower Quinton, some as young as eleven years old, as well as other individuals who were in and around the area on 14 February. A detailed search of the entire area surrounding the murder scene was undertaken, with the help of the Royal Engineers using mine detectors, in an attempt to find Walton’s pocket watch or some other clue, but to no avail.
Charles Walton (murder victim)
20842609#10
At 11 pm on 14 February, Detective Inspector Tombs took a statement from Alfred Potter. Potter stated that he had been at the farm for about five years and had known Walton for all that time. He had employed Walton casually for the last nine months and that Walton had worked when the weather permitted. Walton had been engaged on hedging for the previous few months and Hillground was the last field needing attention.
Charles Walton (murder victim)
20842609#37
On 13 February 1954, the eve of the ninth anniversary of Walton’s murder, the Daily Mirror revisited the killing of Ann Tennant and alleged similarity between that event and Walton's murder. The report stated: "The police have found one other link between the killings, but I am pledged not to reveal it." One possible explanation was that the police had discovered that Charles Walton and Ann Tennant were related.
Charles Walton (murder victim)
20842609#28
When Harry Beasley was interviewed he told the police that he was employed by Harry Ball of Henney's Farm in the village. He said that "Potter had a reputation as a decent man to work for". On the night of 14 February he recalled Potter saying of Walton, "I saw him at work at 12.15". Beasley also confirmed that Edith Walton had been going out with one Edgar Goode for some years, although Goode was later eliminated from the police enquiries. Beasley said he was confident that Potter realised Walton was dead from the moment he saw Walton's body.
Charles Walton (murder victim)
20842609#40
The two reports that Fabian wrote on the case in 1945 and which are preserved on the police file make no mention of witchcraft, ritualistic killing, black dogs, natterjack toads or blood sacrifices. However, twenty-five years later he wrote the following:I advise anybody who is tempted at any time to venture into Black Magic, witchcraft, Shamanism – call it what you will – to remember Charles Walton and to think of his death, which was clearly the ghastly climax of a pagan rite. There is no stronger argument for keeping as far away as possible from the villains with their swords, incense and mumbo-jumbo. It is prudence on which your future peace of mind and even your life could depend.
Charles Walton (murder victim)
20842609#1
Charles Walton, born 12 May 1870, was a 74-year-old agricultural worker who had lived in Lower Quinton all his life. He was a widower who shared a small cottage, 15 Lower Quinton, with his thirty-three-year-old niece, Edith Isabel Walton, whom he had adopted thirty years previously upon the death of her mother. Walton was described as something of a loner who had earned a reputation as a trainer of horses in his youth. It is said that he did not socialise with his neighbours but that he was far from being disliked.
Charles Walton (murder victim)
20842609#14
The Chief Constable has asked me to get the assistance of Scotland Yard to assist in a brutal case of murder that took place yesterday. The deceased is a man named CHARLES WALTON, age 75, and he was killed with an instrument known as a slash hook. The murder was either committed by a madman or one of the Italian prisoners who are in a camp nearby. The assistance of an Italian interpreter would be necessary, I think. Dr Webster states deceased was killed between 1 and 2 pm yesterday. A metal watch is missing from the body. It is being circulated.
Charles Walton (murder victim)
20842609#20
On 17 February, Potter was interviewed for a second time, on this occasion by Detective Sergeant Webb. Potter stated that Walton had usually worked about four days each week, but never in wet weather. Potter stated that he paid him eighteen pence per hour and usually at the end of each fortnight, although sometimes by the week. He said that he left it to Walton to say how many hours he had completed and implied that Walton was sometimes paid for hours he had not actually worked. He had last paid Walton for the fortnight ending 10 February when he had given him £2.15s.0.
Charles Walton (murder victim)