Albert Walker biography

Synopsis

International Fugitive

In 1990, Ontario financial consultant and Sunday school teacher Albert Johnson Walker took his 15-year-old daughter Sheena on a skiing trip to Europe. He left his wife Barbara to look after their three other children until his return, but he had no intention of coming back.

The exceptionally gifted salesman had set up the United Canvest Corporation in the Cayman Islands and duped his fellow churchgoers and friends out of millions of dollars. Unbeknownst to his wife, Walker had re-mortgaged their house for over 44,000 pounds and amassed up 32 counts of fraud. Provincial police fraud charges amounted to over 1.67 million pounds and Walker became Canada's most wanted man and No. 4 on Interpol's list of international fugitives.

He met Elaine Boyes, a receptionist for a fine art auctioneer in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and as they chatted she told him how much she and her boyfriend, TV repairman Ronald Platt, would love to move to Canada one day. Ronald was so enthusiastic about the country he even had a maple leaf tattooed on the back of his right hand.

Walker offered the couple directorship of his company, The Cavendish Corporation. They eventually accepted and he sent them on business trips abroad, frequently asking them to convert money from Swiss francs to British pounds when they were there.

Identity Theft

In 1992, Albert Walker gave Ronald and Elaine two one-way airline tickets to Calgary as a Christmas present. He persuaded Ronald to leave him a signature stamp for corporate documents along with his driver's license, birth certificate and a credit card. The minute Ronald was out of the country Walker proceeded to steal his identity.

By 1996 Walker and Sheena had moved to Essex and were living as husband and wife under the names of Ronald and Noelle. They had two young daughters and their birth certificates cited Ronald Platt as the father.

Walker kept in contact with the real Ronald Platt and spoke to Elaine occasionally, who had eventually left Ronald in Canada. However, disillusioned with the Canadian economy, Ronald Platt returned to England and settle close to Walker and his daughter.

Walker realized his cover was about to be blown, so he invited Ronald to Devon with Sheena and their daughters and took him out for a trip on his yacht. Four miles out to sea, Walker hit Ronald over the head with an anchor, tied it around his waist and tipped his body into the English Channel. Ronald's disappearance wasn't noticed for six weeks.

On 28th July, 1996, John Copik pulled up a body tangled in the nets of his fishing trawler off the coast of south Devon.