The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 11

I SERIAL MURDER INVESTIGATION THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Monday March 14 1994 11 A Trail ol terror Where and when the victims were found Fean Leslie Little (center) sister of murder with a Charlotte police officer after Betty Jean victim Vanessa Little Mack and Tracy McCain Baucum's body was discovered in her apart-(right) a resident of The Lake apartments talk ment Thursday morning 4- '( ft- 4 i-N i 9 Pl I 1 ufe a if- 4 i rl a 1 I Victims knew man police say 1 'V 1 1 SOURCE: Police report May 27 1992 SHARON LOVETTE NANCE Age: 33 Home: Greenhaven Apartments 1315 Spring St Police found Nance's body lying beside the road in the 5800 block of Rozzelle's Ferry Road They say she was a prostitute and drug addict June 15 1992 CAROLINE LOVE Age: 20 Home: Darby Terrace Apartments 4501 Central Ave Occupation: Worked at Bojangles' 51 1 1 Central Ave She was reported missing on June 1992 On Sunday police found what they believe to be the remains of her body in a wooded area off Old Statesville Road February 19 1993 SHAWNAD HAWK Age: 20 Home: 2508 Eton St Occupation: Central Piedmont Community College student also worked at Taco Bell 3812 Sharon Amity Rd She was found strangled in her bathtub at home A 1991 graduate of East Mecklenburg High School she was studying to be a paralegal June 25 1993 AUDREY ANN SPAIN Age: 24 Home: Glen Hollow apartments 4923 Central Ave Occupation: Taco Bell manager 819 Wendover Rd She was found strangled in her apartment A co-worker at Taco Bell said she had been transferred to that store only a few months before she was killed August 10 1993 VALENCIA JUMPER Age: 21 Home: 3512 Taurus Dr Greenbryre Apartments off Sharon Amity Road Occupation: Johnson Smith University student Wallace Suspect is described as ordinary person Continued from page 1A he never had nobody to stand by him "You try to raise somebody do your best and then something like this happens" said Wallace 50 who Calls her son Bubba "I busted my butt I got up at 5 in the morning so they could have things other kids have If he did this I know who he takes after Nobody in my family ever did anything like "I just don't see how it could be true" added Wallace "I understand I've never known him to be in a fight or have a problem with anybody" Henry Wallace was raised by his mother and older sister Yvonne in Barnwell a town of 6000 residents some CO miles southwest of FRANCOIS DUCKETTStaff Baucum Slaughter Home: The Lake apartments 5441 Albemarle Rd Occupation: Homemaker She was found strangled in her apartment Wednesday evening She was the mother of a 10-month-old boy who was also choked but is still alive A TV stereo and cash were stolen March 10 1994 BETTY JEAN BAUCUM Age: 24 Home: The Lake apartments 5425 Albemarle Rd Occupation: A manager at restaurant 5111 Central Ave She was found strangled in her apartment Thursday morning Police said she had been dead for at least a day and believe her car had been stolen It was found in a shopping center across the street She was originally from Laurel Hill NC March 12 1994 DEBRA ANN SLAUGHTER Age: 35 Home: Glen Hollow apartments 4903 Central Ave Occupation: Deli worker at Morrocroft Harris Teeter near South Park She was found strangled in her apartment at 2:19 pm Saturday only a few days after her mother warned her to be careful because a murderer was on the loose Compiled by Ricki Morell USS Nimitz based in Washington state then returned home to a series of jobs in the Carolinas He rarely stayed long in one place though "He could always get a job as soon as he filled out the application" said his 31 -year-old sister Yvonne who works as a sales clerk in Columbia "But he stay with He worked as a security guard at Wal-Mart in Orangeburg and then for Sandoz Chemical Co in Martin near his hometown of Barnwell Lottie Mae Wallace said her son married a Denmark SC woman in spring 1987 She said they split in late 1989 though never divorced Wallace moved in with sister Yvonne in Rock Hill in 1991 before moving north to Charlotte late that year He wound up settling in the hectic area of fast-food restaurants and apartment complexes off Central Avenue near Eastland Mall By this point Wallace had served time in South Carolina for two break-ins also been questioned by Barnwell police in connection with the murder of an Mack Henderson worked part-time at Food Lion on Central Avenue and a department store She was found dead in what was originally described as an accidental fire in her apartment family is from the Columbia area September 15 1993 MICHELLE DENISE STINSON Age: 20 Home: 3451 Marvin Rd Occupation: Central Piedmont Community College student She was found facedown in her kitchen after being killed in front of her two sons 3 and 1 police said She was studying to be a graphics artist February 20 1994 VANESSA LITTLE MACK Age: 25 Home: 2945 Greenland Ave off Wilkinson Boulevard Occupation: Patient escort at Carolinas Medical Center She was found by a family friend and baby-sitter strangled with a towel in her bedroom Her 4-month-old daughter was left unharmed in the living room A North Mecklenburg High School graduate she was divorced and had two children March 9 1994 BRANDI JUNE HENDERSON Age: 18 He grew up in a one-story tan brick house on the west side of a town where you do much without the neighbors knowing about it A bookcase in the pine-paneled den features two photographs of Wallace In one wearing his red Barnwell High cap and gown In the other in his blue Navy uniform with the US flag behind him Wallace played a year of junior varsity football and basketball and spent a year as a cheerleader before graduating from Barnwell High in 1983 He worked awhile after graduation as a part-time deejay at WBAW (99 1 FM) where he spun urban contemporary records on nights and weekends Wallace stayed at the station about HA years until he was fired following the disappearance of some equipment said station owner Drew Wilder He spent a semester each at SC State College in Orangeburg and Denmark Technical College in Denmark SC before joining the Navy and serving from 1984 to 1988 lie was stationed part of that time aboard the aircraft carrier Tillman "She and her roommate were having real bad problems Henry used to stay over to make her feel All the victims were young black women and most lived in the same section of east Charlotte around Central Avenue near Eastland Mall Friends and relatives interviewed on Sunday said many of the victims knew Wallace from their apartment complexes and their jobs in fast food restaurants particularly Taco Bell on Sharon Amity Road "Taco Bell is the key" said Sumpter The first death Wallace is charged with is Sharon Lovette It was reported almost two years ago on May 27 1992 Wallace 28 is also charged with the 1993 deaths of Hawk 20 Audrey Ann Spain 24 Jumper 21 and Michelle Stinson 20 And he is charged with five deaths this year: Vanessa Little Mack 25 Brandi Henderson 18 Betty Baucum 24 and Debra Ann Slaughter 35 and Caroline Love 20 Henderson and Baucum lived in the same apartment complex The Lake off Albemarle Road and Spain and Slaughter lived in another Glen Hollow on Central Avenue Love Hawk Spain and Baucum all worked at In the grassy area between apartment buildings where neighbors congregate residents expressed shock Sunday over the arrest of their neighbor To them Wallace was a well-spoken man who enjoyed playing cards drinking beer and listening to rap music He especially liked rap star Snoop Doggy Dog A week ago Saturday night Anita Ramirez had Wallace in her apartment to drink Michelob Lights and watch TV f'He was really respectful" said Ramirez "Never made a pass never "If you talked to Henry" said Terrell Smith think he had1 a college education" Smith thought so much of his friend that he read anything into a conversation they shared hours before Wallace's arrest mentioned that kind of screwed up about those girls getting killed" said Smith 33 "One time he said 1 just remember all the things added Smith Despite his popularity Wallace's friends feared he had a crack or Taco Bell fast food restaurants Slaughter worked in the Morrocroft Harris Teeter Jumper once worked at the Food Lion on Central Avenue And Vanessa sister once worked with Wallace at the Taco Bell on Sharon Amity Mack met Wallace through her sister Leslie Little Wallace and Little worked together from about June to October 1993 she as a crew member and he as a shift leader Leslie Little said she and Wallace struck up a friendship would fool around and go out with a lot of different women" said Little 24 "He was dating quite a few women at Taco In July 1993 Little said she introduced him to her sister Vanessa liked her but she like him" she said "He her type He was just somebody that would come in and we could laugh and trip with" On Sunday police found the remains of Love's body off Old Statesville Road According to a police report Love shared an apartment with a woman known as Wallace's girlfriend And not where the connections ended and Shawna were said Dee Sumpter "Shawna used to take Caroline to work at problem Recently they said he getting any sleep and was wearing the same clothes day after day Lottie Mae Wallace said her son told her about his drug problem when he called about a month ago Charlotte-Mecklenburg police described Wallace as a crack addict Saturday morning Wallace watched professional wrestling on TV with Smith Around 10 am he started crying during a telephone conversation with his girlfriend The two had been having problems friends said Around 2:45 pm Saturday friends gave him a Corona beer and $2 to catch a city bus to the Greyhound station uptown where he said he planned to buy a ticket home to his family in South Carolina Though his friends said Wallace often talked about leaving Charlotte and starting anew someplace else this time he said he meant it "He said Tail might not see me no said Smith Around three hours later Wallace was picked up by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police By RICKI MORELL Start Writer Dee Sumpter shivers as she remembers the day last summer when Henry Louis Wallace said he was sorry her daughter had been killed then embraced her like a family friend On Sunday Sumpter learned Wallace who once worked with her daughter at Taco Bell was the man charged with strangling her "I'm feeling numb and I'm in an emotional Sumpter said relieved that this individual (is cooperating with police) But utterly Police charged Wallace with killing Shawna Hawk 20 and nine other women over the past 20 months Most of the women were strangled in their homes or apartments Police say they had apparently let in the same man a man whom they knew and liked to spend time with met said Shante Tillman a friend of Valencia Jumper who was found dead Aug 10 1993 was a good friend of hers She had supposedly known him for a Jumper a Johnson Smith University student from the Columbia area seemed to know Wallace from South Carolina Tillman said met him when her roommate had just moved out" said SC teen and convicted of burglary in Washington State Wallace lived at Granville Apartments on North Sharon Amity Road around the corner from the Bojangles' restaurant where three of his alleged victims and his most recent girlfriend worked According to friends at the apartment complex where Wallace lived he met some victims through his girlfriend A friend said Wallace recently lost the lease on his apartment though he continued staying there A spokesman for the complex be reached Sunday Wallace who have a car worked as a cook at the Black-eyed Pea on Albemarle Road and several fast-food restaurants within walking distance of where he lived "He was a fun person to be around" said Charles a 19-year-old who worked as a cook with Wallace in Captain D's on North Sharon Amity Charles said the two generally talked about the Hornets girls and going out Charles who want his last name used said Wallace left Cafe tain D's about a year ago.