Burrell and Woods lost touch, but they were reunited in Charlotte a few weeks ago. In college, Henry Louis Wallace worked as a disc jockey at a local radio station. Channel 9s veteran crime reporter Glenn Counts shares the emotional story of a man who lost his mother in Henry Wallaces crime spree -- whos lucky to be alive himself. We trusted him totally.' This holds when comparing Wallace to the serial killer profile. Authorities said Wednesday they had a warrant charging Wallace with her murder. Wallace, an African American, did not fit the profile of the typical serial murderer, who is almost always caucasian. Wallaces race also might have played a role in allowing him to prey on women undetected, according to a 2004 case study on Wallace published in Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology. He diligently removed fingerprints from everything he touched and even set a fire after killing one of his victims, which resulted in the medical examiner claiming she died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Once I touched them, it was over, there was no way I could stop, Wallace said in his jailhouse interview. He is believed to be the first documented serial killer who knew all of his victims. A lot of those cases were on desks of six homicide detectives in the '90s, said McFadden. With nothing holding him in Barnwell, Wallace joined U.S. Wallace gave few clues to his friends and family that something was wrong. Love was raped, with her cause of death determined to be strangulation (via Caselaw). Two of those women lived in the same apartment complex. On August 10, 1993, Wallace raped and strangled Valencia M. Jumpera friend of his sisterthen set her on fire to cover up his crime. Dee Sumpters daughter, Shawna Denise Hawk, was Wallaces friend and third victim. After high school, Wallace spent one semester each at South Carolina State College in Orangeburg and Denmark Technical College in Denmark, S.C., according to his mother. Wallace picked her up and beat her to death after the two had sex (via Murderpedia). Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Why are we still having these debates? Vanessa was murdered at her apartment in February 1994. His other victims followed a similar pattern. At the time of his killing spree, Wallace worked as a manager at a Taco Bell on Sharon Amity Road in N.C. (per CaseLaw). Shawna Hawk pictured at her high school prom. He walked into their life, knowing that at some point he's gonna take their lives.. At 16, he attempted to rape a friends younger sister. He is known as the Taco Bell Strangler.. Later, Sumpter ran into him at a store. He told police he started having violent fantasies of dominating women after he witnessed a gang rape at age 8, according to an episode of A&Es First Blood on Wallace. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. All of that happened in this spot, Woods said. Wallace was reared by his mother, Lottie Mae, and his sister Yvonne, three years older than Henry and now a store clerk in Columbia. I dont believe it would have been any different if the victims had been 10 middle-class white women.. Eventually, he developed an addiction to crack cocaine. Henry Louis Wallace confessed to murdering the following women: 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. I fight to be here living right now.. A woman who lost her daughter to the horrific crimes found a way to support others. At one time, Wallace was married. They all knew a man named Henry Louis Wallace. That night Wallace raped and killed Henderson while she held her son. Ms. Wallace said her son told her he felt relieved after he was taken into custody. One person being a chameleon, he will adapt to anything, any environment, any situation, hes very well respected, very well-liked person, he almost lures the women in for the other person., Henry Wallace jailhouse interviews A special episode of ABCs 20/20 examines a never-before-broadcasted jailhouse interview with the killer. To cover up the crime, his sister's friend attempted to burn her body. In addition to becoming a husband, he also took on the role of stepfather to Brabham's daughter. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department was severely understaffed and could not support the exploding murder rate of Charlotte, North Carolina. She said she couldnt blame me for what happened, Ms. Wallace said. The two had recently welcomed a newborn son. From 1991 through 1994, Wallace murdered 10 Charlotte women: Sharon Nance, Caroline Love, Shawna Hawk, Audrey Spain, Valencia Jumper, Michelle Stinson, Vanessa Mack, Betty Jean Baucom, Brandi Henderson and Debra Slaughter. When Lottie felt the children needed to be disciplined, and she was too tired to do it herself, she'd often make Wallace and his sister get a switch from the yard and whip each other. She planned for her children to do better than the sock factory where she worked long hours to keep them fed, clothed and in school. We worked under very difficult conditions, says McFadden, now sheriff in Mecklenburg County. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. His mother, Brandi Henderson, was in the same bedroom, murdered -- strangled to death. This time, the victim was a sex worker namedSharon Nance. Im still here, its like Im a survivor, Woods said. He has been on death row for more than 20 years. None of these women, none of your daughters, mothers, sisters or family members in any way deserved what they got. In Charlotte, Henrys crime spree was horrifying. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. He wasn't charged, though Barnwell County Sheriff Joey Zorn was in Charlotte on Monday to question Wallace again. Wallace grew up with his mother working long hours as a textile worker. But that was how Wallace got close to people; by having a seemingly pleasant personality with a likable demeanor. For almost two years the killer remained at large, causing what led to an angry hysteria Serial Killer Henry Louis Wallace. The judge sentenced him to two years of supervisedprobation but according to his probation officer, Wallace blew off most of the mandatory meetings. From 1992 to 1994, Wallace killed 10 women. A woman who lost her daughter to the horrific crimes found a way to support others. The fast-food restaurant worker confessed to killing eleven women, with 10 in Charlotte. Eventually, he started having rough sex with sex workers. After his release from prison, Wallace moved in with his sister, Yvonne, in Rock Hill, S.C. To pay for the narcotics, he began burglarizing homes and businesses. After the murder, Wallace moved to Charlotte and resumed his crimes in 1992. He went on to rape and murder nine women in Charlotte, North Carolina between 1992 and 1994. The woman couldn't be reached for comment Monday. On the night of her murder, Henderson asked him to come over. As Wallace outgrew out his clothing, he was given his sister's hand-me-downs to wear. Henry Louis Wallace was born on November 4, 1965, in Barnwell, South Carolina, to Lottie Mae Wallace, a single mother. Several days after the murder, Wallace and his sister attended Jumper's funeral. She was such a great mother, she would have done anything at all for him, Burrell said. Brandi told me when she had Tyrece that she felt like her life was complete., READ MORE: Woman claims accused serial killer assaulted her 22 years ago. During a press conference following Wallaces arrest, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Larry Snider said police worked tremendously hard and did an excellent job investigating the cases. He killed his 11th victim shortly after, and finally was caught and arrested on March 12, 1994. And he was just getting started. Burrell and Woods lost touch, but they were reunited in Charlotte a few weeks ago. Henry Louis Wallace was born on November 4, 1965 in rural South Carolina. Dee Sumpter holds a photo of her daughter Shawna Hawk in 2022. Her boyfriend, Darryl Kirkpatrick, and her mother filed a missing person's report. But without evidence, police couldn't charge him with the crime. It would be almost two years (March 1994) before her body was discovered. For nearly three decades, Dee Sumpter has been living without her daughter. From 1992 to 1994, Wallace killed 10 women. Wallace's mother was very strict, and she was especially hard on her young son. Of the women who were his victims, three of them worked at Taco Bell and ten overall were friends and casual acquaintances (via A&E). He knew most of these women through work, his girlfriend, or his sister. He knew both of them, and both lived at the complex. His next victim, Caroline Love, was the roommate of Wallace's girlfriend. On the night of her murder, Henderson asked him to come over. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone. Their mothers worked together in the same factory. In November of that year, he relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina where he found work at several fast-food restaurants. He called 9-1-1, and after Hawk was transported to a hospital, she was pronounced dead. Wallace was arrested on March 12, 1994, the same day the body of his final victim was discovered. In May of 1992, Wallace committed murder again. When the murder and rape was taking place, who I was seeing was her and not the victim.. He had the literal gall to show up at a service for someone that he knew he personally killed, said Sumpter. After her boyfriend went to work the evening of Hendersons murder, she had been home alone with the baby and on the phone with her cousin George Burrell when Wallace arrived at her apartment. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. ABC For nearly three decades, Dee Sumpter has been living without her daughter. Henry Louis Wallace preyed on women known to him, and the next life he took was a friend of his sister's,Valencia M. Jumper, in August 1993. Wallace had been Hawk's manager at Taco Bell.After her murder, Wallace attended her wake. When visiting his hometown of Barnwell, he strangled her and dumped her body into a nearby lake. (WATCH BELOW: He had nowhere to go: Accused killer captured in SC after weeklong manhunt). In a brazen act, Henry had even shown up to the funerals of some of his victims. Between 1992 and 1994, nine young black women in Charlotte, North Carolina, were raped and strangled to death, the murders increasing in ferocity and rapidity. George Burrell is the cousin of Brandi Henderson. Henry Louis Wallace, known as The Charlotte Strangler and The Taco Bell Strangler, murdered 11 Black women in the span of four years in the 1990s. ET. You dont know what your children are doing, so what can you say?. On Friday, a special episode of ABCs 20/20 examined a jailhouse interview with the killer. Police didn't apprehend Wallace until March 1994 after he killed two women who lived in the same apartment complex, per A&E. Yvonne Wallace said she planned to visit her brother on Friday. In March, Wallace set his sights on another friend of his girlfriend,Betty Jean Baucom, and robbed her apartment afterward. Wallace confessed during questioning and in 1997, he received nine death sentences. Wallace made at least one of his victims shower to wash off DNA evidence. If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. When the murder and rape was taking place, who I was seeing was her and not the victim.. Wallace accompanied his sister to Jumper . Over the next two years, Wallace's trial was delayed due to the choice of venue, DNA evidence from murdered victims, and jury selection. Charlotte police apologized for not spotting a link between the murders sooner. Woods now lives in Florida with his wife and three kids and works for a uniform company in the Tampa area. Wallace eventually got sloppy and police caught him. Wallace served four months in state prison in Allendale. His close brush with death at just 10 months has molded him as a man. ", GREENSBORO Jurors found TikTok star Jessica Middlebrook, known as towtruckjess on social media, not guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thu. But he also said that the victims' race may have played a role in the delayed capture of Henry Louis Wallace, per A&E. Burrell is Tyreces uncle and Hendersons cousin. Wallace is still trying to appeal his sentences under North Carolinas Racial Justice Act, but remains on death row at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina, awaiting execution. She did not get along with her mother, either, and the two argued constantly. According to Crime Magazine, he was fired from the station after being caught stealing records. Some claimed that the police were slow in investigating the murders because the murdered women were all working-class black women, but the police denied that. He stole video and recording equipment and was caught trying to pawn them. It took police two years to finally track down the culprit, who was later identified as Henry Louis Wallace, America's first . [1] Early life [ edit] Im so sorry,' Sumpter recalls. All Rights Reserved. (WATCH BELOW: He had nowhere to go: Accused killer captured in SC after weeklong manhunt), He had nowhere to go: Accused killer captured in SC after weeklong manhunt. In June 1992, Wallace claimed his third victim, Caroline Love, who was his girlfriend's roommate. Henry Louis Wallace breaks the mold of the typical serial killer. 20/20: Lock the Door Behind You chronicles the work that went into the arrest and the. If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. In 1994, he murdered two women on the same day. Henry Louis Wallace terrorized east Charlotte for more than two years. Homicide investigator Garry McFadden, who worked on the case, feels that understaffing was the primary problem in the investigation. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. The following article contains information regarding sexual assault and murder. After a subsequent trial and conviction, Wallace (a.k.a. He even attended at least one of their funerals, according to a 1995 article in The Charlotte Observer. He was arrested on March 13, 1994. Proceedings began in September 1996. Her sister and Wallace's sister became friends as Winthrop University students, and he introduced himself to her at a Food Lion supermarket where she worked as a . I didn't worry about who was there because she said, Lock the door behind you. So she trusted him, said Burrell, who said he saw news of her murder during a television broadcast that next morning. The department also noted that following the Wallace investigation, they added staffing to the Homicide Unit and implemented regular mandatory meetings of its homicide detectives to discuss cases "in an attempt to better identify related cases.. 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