Henry Louis Wallace - The Trial

The Trial

Over the next two years, Wallace's trial was delayed over choice of venue, DNA evidence from murdered victims, and jury selection. His trial began in September 1996. In the opening arguments, prosecutor Marsha Goodnow argued for the death penalty, while defense attorney Isabel Day asked for a life sentence, arguing that Wallace suffered from mental illness, and that the killings were not first-degree murder because they did not result from "premeditation and deliberation".

According to FBI serial murder expert Robert Ressler:

"If he elected to become a serial killer, he was going about it in the wrong way... Mr. Wallace always seemed to take one step forward and two steps back. He would take items and put them in the stove to destroy them by burning them and then forget to turn the stove on."

In 1994 police had asked the FBI for assistance, but the FBI said that the murders were not the work of a serial killer.

Psychologist Faye Sultan testified during the trial that Wallace was constant victim of physical and mental abuse from his mother since birth and that he suffered from mental illness at the time of the killings. Sultan argued for life sentence without parole instead of the death penalty.

On January 7, 1997, Wallace was found guilty of nine murders. On January 29, he was sentenced to 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."