His mother and sister are the only ones who call him ``Bubba. But despite his home life and without a familiar father figure in his childhood, Wallace was well-liked in high school. She had none. Investigators located it in a parking lot and lifted a palm print. His mother, Brandi Henderson, was in the same bedroom, murdered -- strangled to death. Im so sorry,' Sumpter recalls. Wiping tears, Wallace sat down as a victims cousin shouted: Why did you kill them?. In January 1988, he was arrested while trying to steal a VCR, a television and a microwave oven from a hardware store in Bremerton. By Susan Welsh, Joseph Diaz, Andrew Paparella, and Haley Yamada May 12, 2022, 12:34 PM 7:34 Dee Sumpter holds a photo of her daughter Shawna Hawk in 2022. Henry Wallace began his life as a model student. His close brush with death at just 10 months has molded him as a man. There was no way I could stop: Wallace confesses to murders in jailhouse interviews, (Watch the video above: There was no way I could stop: Wallace confesses to murders in jailhouse interviews). Wallace accompanied his sister to Jumper . [1] Contents 1 Early life 2 Early criminal career 3 Murder Victims 4 Aftermath and criticism 5 Trial 6 On death row Wallace was found guilty in January 1997 of nine murders, plus rape, sexual offenses and robbery. Dee Sumpter and two others started Mothers of Murdered Offspring. He never harmed his wife but thought about it, saying he just couldnt bring himself to do it. (Watch the video below: Interview: Sister of last known victim killed by Charlotte serial killer Henry Wallace) . The young family relocated to Washington state. With his options limited, Wallace joined the Naval Reserve shortly after his termination (via ThoughtCo). . Convicted serial killer Henry Louis Wallace was born to a single mother in Barnwell, South Carolina. {{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. (Watch the video above: There was no way I could stop: Wallace confesses to murders in jailhouse interviews). Police in Barnwell questioned Wallace in April 1990 about the disappearance of 18-year-old Tashanda Bethea, who was strangled and found in a pond outside Barnwell. He tried to choke the baby as well, but the kid survived. Woods was found with a ligature wrapped around his neck. Serial killer Henry Louis Wallace killing spree began in 1990 with the murder of Tashonda Bethea in his hometown of Barnwell, South Carolina. 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. Investigators didnt figure out a serial killer was at large until Wallace murdered two women who lived in the same apartment complex on back-to-back days in March 1994. Records indicate that he awaits execution at the Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina. By then, he had a criminal history; he had committed sexual crimes, burglary, and larceny in the past. Henry Louis Wallace: A Calamity Waiting to Happen . He said he hoped nobody thought I did a bad job raising him.. But within several years of joining the Navy, Wallace began experimenting with drugs. The authorities were led to Henry through some physical evidence. On June 22, he raped and strangled coworker Audrey Spain. He leans over to hug me and says, Ive been wanting to come and see you. Wallace made at least one of his victims shower to wash off DNA evidence. On Feb. 20 and 21, 1991, police in Allendale and Barnwell counties in South Carolina charged him with larceny and third-degree burglary after he was convicted of breaking into Barnwell High School and WDOG radio station. In May of 1992, Wallace committed murder again. Love was a friend of Wallace's girlfriend. Henry Louis Wallace terrorized east Charlotte for more than two years. George Burrell is the cousin of Brandi Henderson. In November of that year, he relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina where he found work at several fast-food restaurants. How Danny Rolling, the Gainesville Ripper, Was Caught. He is currently awaiting execution at Central Prison in Raleigh. (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. They are like, I was her masterpiece.. After her daughters murder in 1993, Sumpter created a nonprofit organization called Mothers of Murdered Offspring to bring together families who have also lost loved ones to violent crimes. On August 10, 1993, Wallace raped and strangled Valencia M. Jumper a friend of his sister then set her on fire to cover up his crime. The arrest of Henry Louis Wallace in March 1994 brought an end to a protracted reign of terror in Charlotte, North Carolina. The only time the police were concerned was two murders occurred on the same day, Baucom and Henderson, Wallace said in the recording. In the days before his arrest, Betty Baucom was found murdered in her apartment; she had been strangled to death with a ligature, there was evidence of a struggle, and she had been sexually assaulted. In March, Wallace set his sights on another friend of his girlfriend,Betty Jean Baucom, and robbed her apartment afterward. Magazine Staff. He killed his 11th victim shortly after, and finally was caught and arrested on March 12, 1994. However, he believes its because society as a whole devalues Black lives, and law enforcements efforts are unduly pressured by media coverage of white crime victims, he says. Other times, she would make Wallace and his sister whip each other with switches that they were forced to cut from nearby trees. Ms. Betheas aunt, Margerite Henry, came to see Ms. Wallace on Tuesday. Wallace also served on the Student Council before graduating in 1983. Wallace gave few clues to his friends and family that something was wrong. He was sometimes forced to walk around the neighborhood in his older sister's clothing as punishment (via Crime Magazine). Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). Lottie Mae Wallace brought up Henry and his older sister, Yvonne, on her own. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. At the time, Wallace worked part-time as a disc jockey, which he preferred to college. Wallace was arrested on March 12, 1994, the same day the body of his final victim was discovered. . Police arrested Wallace on March 13, 1994, the day after he murdered his last victim, and he confessed to 11 murders. ", GREENSBORO Jurors found TikTok star Jessica Middlebrook, known as towtruckjess on social media, not guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thu. They tell me she was a great person, they say she wanted the best for me, Woods said. The defense didnt deny Wallace strangled or stabbed the women between 1991 and 1994, but said he was mentally ill. The department stated that although they were overworked and understaffed to handle the surge in homicide cases in the Charlotte metro area at the time. Police were stunned at the enormity of his crimes, McFadden says. She said she will just continue working at the factory where she sews sock toes. In Charlotte, Henrys crime spree was horrifying. Recruiting started during Wallaces trial and eventually the homicide unit grew four times larger, McFadden says. From 1992 . ET. Crime Magazine reports that Henry Louis Wallace's life unraveled after his stint in the Navy. Police finally zeroed in on Wallace after they located Baucoms car and found his palm print on the trunk. And he was just getting started. by Jason Lapeyre When he was arrested on Feb. 4, 1994, in Charlotte, N.C., Henry Louis Wallace had already raped and strangled to death five young black women. Brandi Henderson holding her newborn son Tyrece Woods. Dee Sumpter holds a photo of her daughter Shawna Hawk in 2022. The Navy honorably discharged him in 1992 after he was caught stealing, and he returned home to South Carolina. At 16, he attempted to rape a friends younger sister. A few weeks ago, 20/20 was there as Woods returned to the apartments for the first time since his mothers murder. In fact, many of these women had known him so well that they gave him a certain level of trust. Sumpter says she found out about his arrest from the TV news. In 1998, he married a former prison nurse in a ceremony at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he remains on death row. All Rights Reserved. We worked under very difficult conditions, says McFadden, now sheriff in Mecklenburg County. He had even been to some of their funerals. In 1985, he married Maretta Brabham, a high school classmate. There, lessons of , "The Wall Street Journal just so happened to have a supportive op-ed ready to publish within hours of the meeting. He went on to rape and murder nine women in Charlotte, North Carolina between 1992 and 1994. ThoughtCooutlines how most of Wallace's remaining victims were women that were known to him. His breathing was labored and he barely survived. His mother, Lottie Mae Wallace, had been having an affair with a married school teacher, who promptly left her and her unborn child to fend for themselves the moment she revealed her pregnancy to him (per Murderpedia). And why was Wallace able to claim 11 victims before being caught? WSOC FILE: Wallace murders WSOC file video of the investigation into one of Henry Wallace's murders. So, if youre wondering what happened to Henry since then, weve got you covered. He let himself in with his girlfriend's key and lay in wait in the empty apartment for Love to return home. She was such a great mother, she would have done anything at all for him, Burrell said. When the murder and rape was taking place, who I was seeing was her and not the victim.. 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). Wallace served four months in state prison in Allendale. Sumpter's daughter, Shawna Hawk, was killed by serial killer Henry Wallace in 1993. ThoughtCotells of how he tried to burn her corpse afterward. Henry Louis Wallace terrorized east Charlotte for more than two years. On March 8, 1994, Wallace robbed and strangled Betty Jean Baucom. From 1992 to 1994, Wallace killed 10 women. I fight for my own breath sometimes. PREVIOUS: Investigation Discovery to document 1990s Charlotte serial killer. Henry was like the perfect human predator. Sumpters 20-year-old daughter, Shawna Hawk, was murdered by Wallace in 1993. All of a sudden, they started seeing connections in things that had happened 20 months ago.. 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 also strangled Henderson's son, but he was able to survive the attack. What Was Jeffrey Dahmers Childhood Like? Her corpse was not discovered until weeks later. 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