The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 4

SERIAL MURDER INVESTIGATION Police to detail investigation Murders Continued from page 1A doing is providing courtesy supervision South Carolina responsibility to do something about it Pettigrew said SC probation officials said they never received reports that Wallace was breaking the rules If they had the courts could have sent Wallace back to prison if his violations seemed serious In both Carolinas judges issued arrests warrants for Wallace for failing to appear in court on previous charges But he picked up in either case The warrant in Charlotte was issued just March 4 after Wallace missed court for a shoplifting charge Some Charlotte residents including families of the murder victims defended the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police handling of the cases "I want Charlotte to understand lost my daughter just like the rest of these mothers have but we have to quit fighting about this" said Debora Childers the mother of Brandi Henderson officers in Charlotte may not have been perfect but they stuck together and got this man and more than any of these other towns did" Staff writers Henry Eichel and Eric Frazier contributed to this article He said serial killers have escaped the attention of many police departments citing the John Wayne Gacy killings in Chicago and Jeffrey in Milwaukee one of those were identified early on as serial events by departments who pride themselves on aggressive investigations" Nowicki said Still he plans to review the handling of the murders when he takes over as chief in April And he stressed that police should give the public as much information as possible without hurting the prosecution In Barnwell Wednesday a woman who told police in 1990 that Wallace tried to rape her at gunpoint expressed anger that he has never been tried Wallace was charged with assault with intent to have sex with a minor female a felony with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years But he was placed on Pre-Trial Intervention a program by which nonviolent first-time offenders can avoid trial and keep a clean record In Charlotte Wallace managed to break his probation this year and last without any consequence Probation manager George Pettigrew said Wallace failed to report regularly to his probation officer and that it was reported to SC authorities main thing we want to do is provide more details to let the public know we did a damn good job of investigative work" said public information officer Mike Blanton result we got a suspect linked to 10 murders off the street" Many questions remain: Wiiy police see links in the case earlier? How extensively did they delve into the murders? Did they interview coworkers and friends and families? Did they know four of the victims worked at the same restaurant at various times? How often did name come up as an acquaintance or friend of the victims? He knew all but one of the victims In Chicago incoming police chief Dennis Nowicki said he only knows the basics but that the failure to spot and capture a serial killer sooner reflect negatively Henry Louis Wallace attended high school in Barnwell SC He played one season each of junior varsity football and basketball Now at age 28 he is charged in the murders of 1 1 women 10 in Charlotte and one in Barnwell SC Timeline of violence i 1 Henry Louis Wallace charged with killing at least 11 women has a history of criminal activityBorn Nov 4 1965 in Barnwell SC he graduated from' Barnwell High School He joined the Navy in 1984 and served aboard the USS Nimitz stationed at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton Wash H' IfVfA Jan 1988 Bremerton Wash: Arrested while trying to steal a VCR television set and microwave from a hardware store fa i 1 June 1988 Bremerton Wash: Pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary and received 38 days in jail and 24 months parole in Washington Left the Navy later in 1 988 r- V- mi Lf 1 S' i VvV May 1989 Martin SC: Began working as a chemical operator for Sandoz Chemical Co Employed there until October 1990 I fe GARY Remembering murder victim: Members of Mothers of Murdered apartment building where Brandi body was found Offspring and other mourners gathered in the courtyard of the last week The small group lit candles sang prayed and cried April 1990 Barnwell SC: Questioned about the disappearance of 18-year-old Tashanda Bethea who was strangled and found in a pond outside Barnwell April 1990 Barnwell SC: Charged with attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl the day after Bethea's body was found Enters program usually reserved for first-time nonviolent offenders Mourners honor murdered woman at candlelight vigil Feb 20-21 1991 Allendale and Barnwell counties SC: Charged with larceny and third-degree burglary after breaking into Barnwell High School and radio station WDOG Served four months in state prison in Allendale Released on probation for at least three years Despite violations probation never revoked Early 1991 Rock Hill: Moves in with sister Yvonne Late 1991 Charlotte: Moves to east Charlotte First it was a gospel tune: give my lifefully committed to Then cousin Aaron Harris 14 belted out an emotional So Hard a song Boyz II Men made popular: so hard To say goodbye To A prayer was said as neighbor Valerie Joyce looked on from a second-floor balcony And when it was all over Garner peeked into one of windows The cream miniblinds were shut but a dim light By DENNIS ROMERO Staff Writer Under a black quarter-moon sky Wednesday night a small group marched through the apartment complex where Brandi June Henderson was found strangled last week stapling purple ribbons and fliers to light poles Purple is the color for nonviolence proclaim the fliers It was a vigil held by Mothers of Murdered Offspring (MOMO) and it be the last Because there are so many murder victims police have charged Henry Louis Wallace with 11 murders includ ing MOMO says there will be another vigil soon to honor the rest of the dead But on this night it was time to be remembered About 14 MOMO members family and neighbors marched to her apartment in east Charlotte She was 18 had a 10-month-old son and studied at Central Piedmont Community College knew said neighbor Cheryl Julian was so Delores Garner aunt let out a cry of anguish as a ribbon and flier were stapled to apartment door she cried have A life is valuable and cannot be replaced say the fliers A circle was formed under the sway of pine trees Tall white candles were lit and struggled in the cold wind Words were said here needs to pull together now make sure that this man never gets said mother Debora Childers Brandi Your cold but your soul will never leave There was singing Feb 25 1992 Rock Hill: Charged with raping and kidnapping 17-year-old Keeber Lewis at gunpoint Released on his own recognizance Case still pending in York County May 27 1992: Police discover body of Sharon Lovette Nance Survivor says she still seeks justice June 1992: Caroline Love reported missing Wallace questioned as possible witness 1992 Charlotte: SC probation case transferred to Charlotte Despite violations probation not revoked 1 1 asked if I could use the bathroom and when I came out he started choking me threw me on the bed and started to undress me Eartha Brown who claims that murder suspect Henry Louis Wallace tried to rape her in 1990 February 1993: Shawna Hawk found strangled 69 June 1993: Audrey Spain found strangled August 1993: The burned body of Valencia Jumper found Police believe the killer might have strangled her and set the fire to cover the killing September 1993: Michelle Stinson found strangled and stabbed Feb 4 1994: Arrested on charges of stealing $49 sweater at Eastland Mall Released with written promise to appear in court a month later tS1 By HENRY EICHEL Staff Writer BARNWELL SC A Barnwell woman who told police in 1990 that Henry Louis Wallace pointed a pistol at her head and tried to rape her expressed anger Wednesday that although he was arrested and indicted by a grand jury he has never been tried wanted him to make time and I still want him to make said Eartha Brown who was 16 at the time Wallace was charged with assault with intent to have sex with a minor female a felony with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years Earlier this week Wallace confessed to raping and strangling another Barnwell teenager 18-year-old Tashanda Bethea two weeks before he took Brown to an Allendale motel where she said he choked her and threatened to kill her Allendale police arrived at the motel minutes after Wallace who police said was unnerved by screams took her from the room and drove her home mother Annette swore out a warrant for arrest two days later What happened after that remains unclear Wallace's attorney at the time Walter Bedingfield said Wallace was accepted for Pre-Trial Intervention a program by which before he raped and strangled her Barnwell authorities considered Wallace their main suspect in the murder at the time and even questioned him while he was still in jail a few days after the incident with Brown at the motel But he charged with the murder until this week Barnwell County Sheriff Joey Zorn said because of lack of evidence Brown said Wallace was an acquaintance who came to her house one night asking for the whereabouts of another teenager and then invited her to go for a ride She said they went to two Allendale nightclubs where he bought her beer and then asked her if she wanted a television Then he took her to the Rainbow Motel where he registered under a phony name and said they could steal the TV from the room asked if I could use the bathroom and when I came out he started choking me threw me on the bed and started to undress She said when she resisted he pointed a pistol at her head and said gonna kill But instead he took her out of the room and drove her home mother said that when mother and a family friend came to her home and asked her to drop charges told them no She could have been Feb 20: Vanessa Little Mack strangled nonviolent first-time offenders can avoid trial and keep a clean record after Brown and her mother agreed not to prosecute said they care about Henry going to jail they just wanted him to leave them Bedingfield said Brown and her mother say not true said I drop the charges that I wanted him behind said Annette Brown She said she even turned down a personal plea from Wallace's mother Lottie Mae to drop the charges Court records in the case are confusing in my records shows that he was ever placed on said Mary Jean Carlson Allendale County clerk of court But an assistant to 14th Circuit Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III said Wallace was placed in PTI but that the prosecution against him was reinstated after he failed to complete the program However no record of that in court documents An arrest warrant for Wallace was issued in January 1991 after he failed to appear in court on the attempted rape charge Carlson 'said But he was never arrested on the warrant or brought to trial even though Allendale deputies arrested him a month later in a burglary at a local radio station a crime for which he served 3'2 months of a 10-year sentence that was suspended to a year Bedingfield said one of the main reasons Wallace was allowed to enter PTI was that the case was a shouting match between two people who had been drinking There was no physical evidence at all If the police had found him in the motel room with a gun he never would have been put on As it was Bedingfield said was no evidence that he had a gun it was just her word for When Wallace confessed this week to Bethea's murder he said he threatened her with a pistol Iflarch 4: After Wallace failed to appear in court warrant was issued but he was never picked up March 9: Brandi Henderson strangled March 10: Betty Baucum strangled March 12: Debra Ann Slaughter strangled Wallace picked up at 6 pm at friend's house March 13: Wallace charged with 10 murders March 15: Wallace confesses to 1990 murder of Tashanda Bethea in Barnwell I.