Dockworker William Wallace, 39, has been sentenced to 15 years to life for killing his wife 26-year-old Za’Zell Preston who was also a mother of three. After murdering his wife Wallace propped her body up on Christmas day 2011 to open gifts with the kids in one of the disturbing murders in recent times.
A California man who allegedly murdered his wife hid her death from their children in a sickening way. William Wallace, 39, is accused of killing his wife, Za’Zell Preston, 26, and propping up her dead body on a couch while their unsuspecting children opened Christmas gifts. The Orange County Register reports that prosecutors made the shocking allegation during Wallace's murder trial for Preston's 2011 death. Prosecutors told jurors that Wallace was abusive to his wife and "expected her to survive like she always did" after a night of violence. When that didn't happen, he allegedly took drastic measures. Prosecutors including Senior Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown told jurors that the couple went to a party at a neighbor’s before returning home to the apartment they shared with their newborn son and Preston’s daughters who were then three and eight years old. A neighbor said they heard the two arguing and another neighbor told investigators Wallace could be seen "picking up what appeared to be a body by an apartment gate."