The Less Dead
Editor's note
Howdy everyone, LL here. Our very own Master of My Universe is developing her very own true-crime podcast! For a break from the news of the day, she has agreed to post a series of articles on true-crime stories she follows. This is the first one.
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"The Less Dead" is a term coined by Eric Hickey in his 2003 book, Encyclopedia of Murder and Violence Crime.
You see society considers some human beings as disposable! The Less Dead refers to Sex workers, Drug Addicts, Transients and Racial Minorities. When people of this nature are missing or unalive it means the police and the larger community are less likely to push for their cases to be actively worked as they were seen as less worthy subjects when they were alive and therefore, not worthy in death. Hence the term "The Less Dead".
Since society and the police view these people as less than, then that means evil killers will target them because they are vulnerable and not considered worthy of saving. Since most of them live a transient lifestyle they are less likely to be reported missing. They are the perfect victims of serial killers!
Which brings me to my topic for this article.
Henry Louis Wallace aka the Taco Bell Strangler, the Charlotte Strangler and Bad Henry.
In order for us to understand how someone can grow up to be a serial killer, we must explore their childhood. Childhood trauma plays a significant role in the lives of serial killers.
Henry Louis Wallace aka the Taco Bell Strangler, the Charlotte Strangler and Bad Henry.
In order for us to understand how someone can grow up to be a serial killer, we must explore their childhood. Childhood trauma plays a significant role in the lives of serial killers.
Henry Louis Wallace had a terrible childhood!
Henry Louis Wallace was born November 4, 1965 in Barnwell South Carolina. He is the only son of Lottie Mae Wallace. Lottie had two children a son and a daughter. Her children were born out of wedlock and Henry never knew his father. It was stated that Henry’s father once called him and said he was coming to visit the next day. The boy did not attend school so that he could meet his Dad for the first time. He kept watching the cars go by without one of them pulling into the drive way. His father never showed up to meet his son. It was said that this incident had an enormous affect upon Henry in which he never fully recovered.
As a single mother, Lottie Mae was a textile worker who worked long grueling hours to support her family. Because of the long hours, she needed Henry to grow up fast. She potted trained him very early and when he wet himself or the bed she would spank and ridicule the child.
The family lived in poverty and had no running water.
When Henry grew out of his cloths, he was sometimes made to wear his sisters hand me downs. For a young boy growing up in the south and the nineties this brought about bullying from his peers.
Henry asked his mother if he could play football. His mother was against this so Henry decided to try out for the Cheer Leading Squad. Although, he was made fun of for becoming a Cheer Leader he actually did a good job and was liked by his teammates. He stood out because he was over 6 feet tall. Henry attended Barnwell High School where he was elected to the student council. His teammates and classmates thought that he was charming and he would go places.
Unfortunately, he did go places but to very disturbing places!
He graduated high school in 1983, and became a D.J. for a Barnwell Radio Station.
He went to different Universities without success before joining the Navy in 1985. He married his high school sweetheart, the late Maretta Brabham in 1987. In 1988, Henry Louis Wallace was honorably discharged from the Navy.
During his stint in the Navy, Henry began using crack Cocaine and several other illicit drugs. He was served warrants in the State of Washington for several robberies in and around the Seattle area. In January 1988, Wallace was arrested for breaking into a hardware store. That June, he pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary. A judge sentenced him to two years of supervised probation. According to Patrick Seaburg, Henry’s probation officer, Henry did not show up for most mandatory meetings. If he had imagine the number of lives that could have possibly been saved.
February 1991: He broke into Barnwell High School and the radio station where he once worked as a DJ and stole valuable video and recording equipment. Henry was caught trying to pawn them for money.
November 1991: Henry’s Mom and sister moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and he decided to relocate as well. He found jobs at several fast food joints in Charlotte before becoming a manager at a Taco Bell near Eastland Mall.
May 1992: He picked up 33-year-old Sharon Nance, a sex worker and beat her to death when she asked for payment. He then dropped her body by railroad tracks where was found a few days later.
June 1992: He SA and strangled Caroline Love, 20, at her apartment that she shared with his then girlfriend. He dumped her body in a wooded area where he went back to visit on several occasions. Love had worked at a Bojangles at the time of her disappearance. Henry had the gall to actually show up at the police station with his girlfriend and Caroline Love’s sister to file a missing person report. It would be almost two years (March, 1994) before her body was discovered in a wooded area in Charlotte. Henry would have to direct the police were the body was hidden.
February 1993: he strangled 20-year-old Shawna Hawk, a college student, at her home after first SA her. He again had the gall to attend her funeral, hug her mother and give comforting words to her knowing he had murdered her child! Hawk had worked at Taco Bell where he was her manager.
June 1993: Henry Wallace SA and strangled his Taco Bell co-worker and manager, Audrey Spain, 24, Spain’s body was found on June 25 when she fell to show up for work.
August 1993: He raped and murdered Valencia M. Jumper, a 21-year-old college student from Columbia, South Carolina. She was a friend of his sister. He then set her body on fire with alcohol to cover up the crime. He attended her funeral with his sister and sent her family condolences.
September 1993: he went to the apartment of 20-year-old Michelle Stinson, a college student and friend of his from Taco Bell. He SA her later strangled and stabbed her in front of her young children.
February 1994: Henry Wallace was arrested for shoplifting. Police failed to make a connection between him and the murders.
February 1994: after Shawna’s mother appealed to the public to find her daughter's murderer, he SA and strangled Vanessa Little Mack, 25, at her home. Henry Wallace knew her and her sister, who was a co-worker of his at Taco Bell.
March 1994: He robbed, SA, and strangled 24-year-old Betty Jean Baucom. Betty Baucom and his girlfriend were co-workers at Bojangles, and Betty was the assistant manager. He murdered her and then stole her car. He also went to her home and stole things from her home. He pawned her valuables with the exception of her car. Henry left her car at a local strip mall.
March 1994: He returned to the same apartment complex knowing that his friend Berness Woods would be at work and Brandi Henderson, Berness girlfriend would be alone with his child. Brandi June Henderson, an 18-year-old high school student, homemaker, and mother of Woods’ child. He SA Henderson while she held her baby. He then strangled her and her son. Luckily her son survived.
March 12, 1994: The police increased their presence in East Charlotte after two bodies of young black women were found at The Lake Apartments complex. Henry Wallace managed to rob and strangled Debra Ann Slaughter, 35, who had been his girlfriend's co-worker. He SA, strangled, and stabbed her 38 times in the stomach and chest before taking money from her home to purchase drugs. He went back to the apartment where he did drugs while in her apartment by her slayed corpse. Her body was found on March 12, 1994. She has the unfortunate moniker of being his last victim.
March 13, 1994: Henry Louis Wallace was arrested for the murders of his friends and co-workers. He confessed to the murders of 10 Charlotte, North Carolina women. He also confessed to an 11th murder he committed in Barnwell, South Carolina. Wallace described in detail the women's appearances, as well as how he SA, robbed, and killed his friends and co-workers.
Henry Louis Wallace was born November 4, 1965 in Barnwell South Carolina. He is the only son of Lottie Mae Wallace. Lottie had two children a son and a daughter. Her children were born out of wedlock and Henry never knew his father. It was stated that Henry’s father once called him and said he was coming to visit the next day. The boy did not attend school so that he could meet his Dad for the first time. He kept watching the cars go by without one of them pulling into the drive way. His father never showed up to meet his son. It was said that this incident had an enormous affect upon Henry in which he never fully recovered.
As a single mother, Lottie Mae was a textile worker who worked long grueling hours to support her family. Because of the long hours, she needed Henry to grow up fast. She potted trained him very early and when he wet himself or the bed she would spank and ridicule the child.
The family lived in poverty and had no running water.
When Henry grew out of his cloths, he was sometimes made to wear his sisters hand me downs. For a young boy growing up in the south and the nineties this brought about bullying from his peers.
Henry asked his mother if he could play football. His mother was against this so Henry decided to try out for the Cheer Leading Squad. Although, he was made fun of for becoming a Cheer Leader he actually did a good job and was liked by his teammates. He stood out because he was over 6 feet tall. Henry attended Barnwell High School where he was elected to the student council. His teammates and classmates thought that he was charming and he would go places.
Unfortunately, he did go places but to very disturbing places!
He graduated high school in 1983, and became a D.J. for a Barnwell Radio Station.
He went to different Universities without success before joining the Navy in 1985. He married his high school sweetheart, the late Maretta Brabham in 1987. In 1988, Henry Louis Wallace was honorably discharged from the Navy.
During his stint in the Navy, Henry began using crack Cocaine and several other illicit drugs. He was served warrants in the State of Washington for several robberies in and around the Seattle area. In January 1988, Wallace was arrested for breaking into a hardware store. That June, he pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary. A judge sentenced him to two years of supervised probation. According to Patrick Seaburg, Henry’s probation officer, Henry did not show up for most mandatory meetings. If he had imagine the number of lives that could have possibly been saved.
The Victims of Henry Louis Wallace
On March 8, 1990, Wallace murdered 18-year-old Tashanda Bethea, a Barnwell High School student at he had a crush on but she was not interested in him. He then dumped her body in a lake in his hometown. It was several weeks later that her remains were discovered. Henry was questioned by the several times regarding her death but was never formally charged with murder. He was also questioned about the attempted SA of a 16-year-old Barnwell girl but was never charged. During this time in his life, his marriage to Maretta had fallen apart. He was working at Chemical Operator for Sandoz Chemical Co when he was fired.February 1991: He broke into Barnwell High School and the radio station where he once worked as a DJ and stole valuable video and recording equipment. Henry was caught trying to pawn them for money.
November 1991: Henry’s Mom and sister moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and he decided to relocate as well. He found jobs at several fast food joints in Charlotte before becoming a manager at a Taco Bell near Eastland Mall.
May 1992: He picked up 33-year-old Sharon Nance, a sex worker and beat her to death when she asked for payment. He then dropped her body by railroad tracks where was found a few days later.
June 1992: He SA and strangled Caroline Love, 20, at her apartment that she shared with his then girlfriend. He dumped her body in a wooded area where he went back to visit on several occasions. Love had worked at a Bojangles at the time of her disappearance. Henry had the gall to actually show up at the police station with his girlfriend and Caroline Love’s sister to file a missing person report. It would be almost two years (March, 1994) before her body was discovered in a wooded area in Charlotte. Henry would have to direct the police were the body was hidden.
February 1993: he strangled 20-year-old Shawna Hawk, a college student, at her home after first SA her. He again had the gall to attend her funeral, hug her mother and give comforting words to her knowing he had murdered her child! Hawk had worked at Taco Bell where he was her manager.
June 1993: Henry Wallace SA and strangled his Taco Bell co-worker and manager, Audrey Spain, 24, Spain’s body was found on June 25 when she fell to show up for work.
August 1993: He raped and murdered Valencia M. Jumper, a 21-year-old college student from Columbia, South Carolina. She was a friend of his sister. He then set her body on fire with alcohol to cover up the crime. He attended her funeral with his sister and sent her family condolences.
September 1993: he went to the apartment of 20-year-old Michelle Stinson, a college student and friend of his from Taco Bell. He SA her later strangled and stabbed her in front of her young children.
February 1994: Henry Wallace was arrested for shoplifting. Police failed to make a connection between him and the murders.
February 1994: after Shawna’s mother appealed to the public to find her daughter's murderer, he SA and strangled Vanessa Little Mack, 25, at her home. Henry Wallace knew her and her sister, who was a co-worker of his at Taco Bell.
March 1994: He robbed, SA, and strangled 24-year-old Betty Jean Baucom. Betty Baucom and his girlfriend were co-workers at Bojangles, and Betty was the assistant manager. He murdered her and then stole her car. He also went to her home and stole things from her home. He pawned her valuables with the exception of her car. Henry left her car at a local strip mall.
March 1994: He returned to the same apartment complex knowing that his friend Berness Woods would be at work and Brandi Henderson, Berness girlfriend would be alone with his child. Brandi June Henderson, an 18-year-old high school student, homemaker, and mother of Woods’ child. He SA Henderson while she held her baby. He then strangled her and her son. Luckily her son survived.
March 12, 1994: The police increased their presence in East Charlotte after two bodies of young black women were found at The Lake Apartments complex. Henry Wallace managed to rob and strangled Debra Ann Slaughter, 35, who had been his girlfriend's co-worker. He SA, strangled, and stabbed her 38 times in the stomach and chest before taking money from her home to purchase drugs. He went back to the apartment where he did drugs while in her apartment by her slayed corpse. Her body was found on March 12, 1994. She has the unfortunate moniker of being his last victim.
March 13, 1994: Henry Louis Wallace was arrested for the murders of his friends and co-workers. He confessed to the murders of 10 Charlotte, North Carolina women. He also confessed to an 11th murder he committed in Barnwell, South Carolina. Wallace described in detail the women's appearances, as well as how he SA, robbed, and killed his friends and co-workers.
Outrage/Repercussions
Charlotte's law enforcement were ecstatic at Wallace's apprehension. Police were reassuring the community that the women of East Charlotte were safe. However, many in the area's Black community criticized the police's conduct during the investigation, accusing them of neglecting the murders of young black women. Dee Sumpter, who created Mothers of Murdered Offspring programs that look into violence prevention. She is the mother of one of Henry’s victims Shawna Denise Hawk.
Sumpter stated "The victims weren't prominent people with social-economic status. They weren't special. And they were black."
At that time, the system did not recognize that there was a black serial killer in Charlotte. From their previous experiences only white males had been profiled as serial killers. Plus serial killers generally kill stranger whereas Henry Louis Wallace killed Friends and co-workers.
Police Response
Charlotte's police chief, Dennis Nowicki, said he was unaware of a killer until early March of 1994, when three young black women were murdered within four days. The Charlotte–Mecklenburg Police Department apologized to Charlotte citizens for not spotting a link between the murders sooner. However, they said the murder cases varied enough to throw them off Henry Wallace's trail. Until Wallace's murder pace picked up in the early weeks of March 1994, the deaths were sporadic and not entirely similar. It was only during the week of March 9, 1994, that Charlotte police warned the people in East Charlotte that there was a serial killer on the loose. Once the police recognized that they had a serial killer in their mist they contacted the FBI Behavioral Science Unit to do a prolife on the killer.At that time, the system did not recognize that there was a black serial killer in Charlotte. From their previous experiences only white males had been profiled as serial killers. Plus serial killers generally kill stranger whereas Henry Louis Wallace killed Friends and co-workers.
Lady Justice
On January 7, 1997, Wallace was found guilty of nine murders. On January 29, he was handed nine death sentences.
Following his sentencing, Wallace made a statement to his victims' families.
"None of these women, none of your daughters, mothers, sisters, or family members in any way deserved what they got. They did nothing to me that warranted their death." One of Brandi Henderson’s relatives shouted, “then why did you kill them?” Henry had nothing further to say.
Henry Louis Wallace remains on Death Row, and no date has been set for his execution.
Following his sentencing, Wallace made a statement to his victims' families.
"None of these women, none of your daughters, mothers, sisters, or family members in any way deserved what they got. They did nothing to me that warranted their death." One of Brandi Henderson’s relatives shouted, “then why did you kill them?” Henry had nothing further to say.
Henry Louis Wallace remains on Death Row, and no date has been set for his execution.
References from Wikipedia
- "Bad Henry: Charlotte serial killer profiled in true crime show". WCNC. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- Lapeyre, Jason. "The Serial Killer the Cops Ignored: The Henry Louis Wallace Murders". Crime Magazine. Retrieved 19 May 2012. Full content available only to subscribers.
- "Wallace's Mother and Sister Struggle With News of His Criminal Life". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
- "Man Charged With Slayings In N.C. Sought In Kitsap Case: Investigators Blame Him For 10 Murders Over 20 Months". The Seattle Times. 14 March 1994. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- Connor, Christina (16 March 1994). "Sheriff: Wallace Confesses to 11th Killing With AM-Strangulations, Bjt". AP News. COLUMBIA, S.C.: Associated Press. Retrieved 25 July 2018.