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Real-life Ripley

Who was Ronald Platt and where is his killer Albert Walker aka The Rolex Killer now?

Ronald’s death was solved by the watch found on his body
Photo of Ronald Platt, who was murdered.

RONALD Platt was murdered by Albert Walker, a Canadian criminal known as the Rolex Killer. 

His tragic murder will be explored in Channel 5 documentary Body at the Bottom of the Ocean: Murder of Ronald Platt.

Ronald was thrown into the sea and weighed down with an anchor
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Ronald was thrown into the sea and weighed down with an anchorCredit: PA: Press Association

Meeting his killer

Ronald Joseph Platt was a television repairman who befriended Walker, after his soon-to-be-killer moved to the UK. 

Unbeknownst to Ronald, Walker had assumed a fake identity. 

Walker was claiming that his name was David Davis, so that he could escape prosecution back in Canada.

Ronald had also been raised in Canada and wanted to return to his home country, around the same time that he met Walker. 

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Walker bankrolled the trip, but claimed that he needed Roger’s birth certificate, driver’s license and signature stamp beforehand. 

When Roger headed to Canada in 1992, Walker assumed his identity. 

Ronald tragic murder

When Ronald returned to the UK in 1995, he had run out of money. 

Just a year later, on July 20, 1996, he was killed by Walker who weighed his body down with an anchor and dropped his body into the sea. 

Ronald’s body was discovered by a fisherman named John Copik in the English Channel, over two weeks after his death.

Since his Rolex wristwatch was the only identifiable object on his body, the police had to trace the accessory’s serial number to determine his identity. 

They also used the watch to determine Ronald’s time of death, with a small margin of error. 

Their investigation led them to Walker who was arrested. 

Ronald was murdered on a boat by Walker
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Ronald was murdered on a boat by WalkerCredit: PA: Press Association

Walker faces justice

Walker was found guilty in 1998 and was handed a life sentence for his crime. 

His conviction meant that he was not transferred back to Canada where the criminal became one of the most wanted criminals in the country. 

He had also been the second most wanted criminal by Interpol.

In Canada, Walker had defrauded 70 clients of $3.2 million and had been charged with 18 counts of money laundering, theft and fraud. 

However, in 2005, he was eventually transferred to Ontario in 2007 where he received a four year sentence for fraud and another year for violating the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

In August 2023, the Sun revealed that Walker had been granted parole in Canada and was being given a 60-day trial period out of prison. 

Body at the Bottom of the Ocean

Walker’s sinister crimes will be examined in the Channel 5 documentary Body at the Bottom of the Ocean: Murder of Ronald Platt. 

READ MORE SUN STORIES

His crime has been compared to the events of the novel and film The Talented Mr Ripley, which sees a man murder someone before assuming their identity.

The Channel 5 documentary will air at 10pm on Wednesday 18, 2024.

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