Naman Shrestha
’20/20: Lock the Door Behind You’ delves deep into the horrific crimes of Henry Louis Wallace from 1990 to 1994 in and around Charlotte, North Carolina. While the main focus is on the murder of Shawna Denise Hawk, his third victim, the episode also provides a brief account of the rest of his victims. As the investigators closed in on Henry, he confessed to all his crimes in the interrogation room. The episode also features exclusive and in-depth interviews with the loved ones of the victims, allowing the viewers to get an idea about the impact Henry’s crimes left on them.
Henry Louis Wallace Had a Traumatic Childhood
Lottie Mae Wallace gave birth to Henry Louis Wallace on November 4, 1965, in Barnwell, South Carolina. Though she raised him single-handedly while working as a textile worker, it has been alleged by Wallace’s state-appointed psychiatrist, Carmeta Albarus that the environment at their home was far from peaceful and loving. When he was just 8, she added, he allegedly witnessed a gang rape and developed a fantasy for dominating women. Eight years later, he tried to realize his fantasy by attempting to rape his friend’s younger sister, it was mentioned during the trial.
He told the police that in order to satisfy his urge, he reportedly started indulging in “rough sex” with sex workers. However, he used to get commendable grades at school and was a member of the student council as well as the male cheerleading squad. After graduating from Barnwell High School in 1983, he became a disc jockey for a radio station in the city. After trying out several colleges, he decided to join the US Navy in 1985 at the age of 20. In the same year, he tied the knot with his high school sweetheart, Maretta Brabham, but the marriage didn’t last long.
While in the Navy, he developed a drug addiction, and in the next few years, he had a few run-ins with the law for burglaries in and around Seattle. Reportedly, in 1987, he committed his first rape. He was even arrested in January 1988 for breaking into a hardware store. After pleading guilty to second-degree burglary, Henry received a 2-year supervised probation sentence. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1988 and returned to South Carolina.
Henry Wreaked Havoc in the Charlotte Area, Claiming Many Women Victims
A couple of years later, Henry Louis Wallace began his killing spree of young black women in 1990, starting with the murder of an 18-year-old high school student named Tashanda Bethea on March 8, 1990. After her body was recovered on April 1, he was questioned by the police but was not charged. The next year, in November 1991, he shifted to Charlotte, North Carolina, and worked at fast-food restaurants before eventually becoming manager at one of the Taco Bells in the city. His killing streak continued in May 1992 when he killed a 33-year-old sex worker named Sharon Nance with a rock. In the same year, on June 14, Henry raped and strangled Caroline Love to death in her apartment.
His next victim was Shawna Hawk, a 20-year-old Central Piedmont student who used to work under him at Taco Bell. He raped and strangled her to death in her apartment and left her in the bathtub on February 19, 1993. Three more women — Audrey Ann Spain, Valencia M. Jumper, and Michelle Stinson — were raped and strangled to death in the same year, on June 22, August 10, and September 14, respectively. Then, several months later, on February 20, 1994, he raped and strangled 25-year-old Vanessa Mack, whose sister was his co-worker at Taco Bell. Henry’s killing spree continued, as on March 8, he raped and strangled two women, Betty Baucom and Brandi Henderson, in the same Charlotte apartment complex.
When the investigators located Betty’s car and found a handprint of the possible killer, they ran it through their database and matched it with Henry. To be sure, they even took a look at his mugshot and noticed a cross-shaped earring, which was seen on the suspect of Vanessa’s murder while he was drawing cash out of an ATM. But before the police closed in on him, he was able to take one last victim — Debra Ann Slaughter — on March 12, 1994. The following day, he was arrested and charged with the murder of his previous victim. But after hours of interrogation, Henry confessed to all the murders and wrote down the names of all his victims except Sharon Nance’s. He also led the police to the burial site of Caroline Love, whose body the authorities were not able to find.
Henry Wallace is on Death Row in a North Carolina Prison
Also known as the “Taco Bell Strangler” and “The Charlotte Strangler,” Henry’s trial for the murder charges of nine women out of the 11 began in September 1996. A few months later, Henry was convicted of nine murders, for which he received nine death sentences on January 29, 1997. After his sentencing, he addressed the victims’ families in court, saying, “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.”
While serving his sentence, Henry Louis Wallace fell in love with a former prison nurse named Rebecca Torrijas. So, on June 5, 1998, the two married next to the state’s execution chamber, with a public defender serving as an official witness and photographer. The manager of the Death Row unit of the prison was also in attendance. Over the years, the convict has tried to get his multiple death sentences overturned by claiming that he was coerced into making the confessions. However, the court upheld all his sentences in 2000 and denied his appeal the following year. As he appealed the convictions and death sentences again in 2005, he was rejected once again. Currently, he is behind bars at Central Prison at 1300 Western Boulevard in Raleigh, North Carolina, on death row.
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