They condemn him for murdering his wife and placing the corpse in an armchair while the children open the Christmas presents | the Chronicle

A heinous crime who shocked the U.S. county of Anaheim, California, in 2011, ultimately received a court conviction and the culprit was sentenced to jail.

The tragic event happened ten years ago on Christmas Eve. William wallace with his wife Za’Zell Preston they went to dinner with a neighbor. A few hours later, they returned home and the neighbor in question heard screams but didn’t know what was going on.

According to the victim’s eldest daughter, when her stepfather beat his mother and took her to the bathroom to clean her wounds. The, Drop it, causing him to violently bang his head on the toilet, which the impact caused death.

During the trial, the prosecutor’s office pointed out that William dragged woman’s body from bedroom to living room sofa, put on sunglasses and forced the children, a seven week old baby boy and Preston’s two daughters, aged 3 and 8, open the gifts in the presence of the corpse: “Mom ruined Christmas, she got drunk and she ruined Christmas “the murderer commented to the children.

The criminal record of the accused

During the hearings, the mother of the young woman told the hell that Za’Zell lived: “He beat and tortured my daughter and at the same time mentally murdered his children “, He said Saidell Preston. “He showed her no mercy. Show no mercy“, asked the jury.

“William Wallace stole his knowledge, wisdom and understanding from usSaidell said and continued: “Za’Zell was an amazing and talented young woman, until he came and he took it from us forever “. The woman has been left with the guardianship of the three children since then.

Prosecutors said the woman was attending college in hopes of becoming a domestic violence counselor when she was killed by Wallace, who he had already served a prison sentence for beating her.

Those close to Preston during the trial described Wallace as controlling and violent. They said there had been incidents of domestic violence and that Wallace had threatened to kill Preston on several occasions.

Preston’s grandmother testified that the found lying in a fetal position in a street after an alleged beating at the hands of Wallace. He also said that on another occasion he received a call from Za’Zell asking for help as he hid from Wallace in a store bathroom.

In a statement read in court on Friday, Lorri Gallowaand, former Anaheim city councilor and executive director of the Eli Home for Abused Women and Children, said Preston tried to escape from Wallace on several occasions. “She tried desperately, but was brutally beaten and killed before she could ”, Tenuous.

Condemnation of the murderer

For its part, Heather moorhead, the defense lawyer, assured during the trial that his client never intended to kill Preston and that he was not responsible for the injuries that caused his death, alleging that the victim tripped over the table, breaking it, due to his drunkenness.

However, the argument has not been examined by the courts. Finally, last Friday, William Wallace was convicted of second degree murder and had one convict was sentenced to between 15 years and life imprisonment for the murder of his wife, of which he placed the corpse in an armchair so that his children would not notice his death while they were unwrapping the Christmas presents.

Preston refused to testify and already He served 9 years in prison pending the end of the trial.