10 Vile Details Surrounding William Wallace, Who Killed His On Wife On Christmas Eve And Propped Her Up On A Couch For His Kids

6 /10 Deck The Halls

The scene of the Wallace-Preston home – which was technically all her home, and she invited him to live with her after he was released from prison – was nothing short of a bloodbath.

Glass was broken, holes were punched in the wall, the door was off its hinges, and Za’Zell was dead.

According to Wallace, at the time of his first arrest, she lashed out and bit him, which caused him to push her away in self-defense, where she stumbled back and hit her head on the glass table, which killed her.

Authorities kept his testimony under scrutiny for a long time.

5 /10 A Christmas Horror Story

The following day, early in the morning, Wallace called his eight-year-old and three-year-old daughters down and took his infant child with them to open presents under the tree.

The girls entered into the scene of holiday mayhem. Za’Zell was propped up and cleaned up slightly on a couch that overlooked the room. She wouldn’t move or respond to anything.

Wallace told his daughters that their mommy ruined Christmas. She got drunk, and this is what happened, so they were going to have to open presents without her – in front of her while she “watched.”

4 /10 Travesty On 34th Street

Wallace was arrested later that same day and gave his story to the police. Self-defense or not, drunk or not, it was still murder, and he was taken to court, where he was defended before a jury.

He admitted to “tossing her around a bit” as their argument escalated, which is wrong no matter how it happens.

His past allegations of domestic abuse did come up as motivators.

3 /10 Christmas Is Once A Parole

Wallace was detained before his conviction and remained behind bars, serving a sentence not yet official for ten years.

Some believed that he might have been justified in his actions through self-defense, even if it was just once, but Za’Zell’s family insisted that he was guilty.

The defense claimed that the argument was just one bad episode in a long line of a loving family.

2 /10 Early Christmas Gift

Justice came ten years later, in 2021, when Wallace was finally put on trial where his oldest daughter, at 18 years old, testified to her recollection of that unforgettable Christmas morning.

She remembered that the apartment was a wreck, blood was everywhere, and her mother’s body was cold – already dead from the night before.

Za’Zell’s mother testified that he showed no mercy, and none should be shown to him.

1 /10 The Gift Of Life

Wallace was sentenced to 15 years to life, having served ten behind bars already for second-degree murder and domestic assault.

While this did provide closure to the case and some justice for the family, it has not removed the pain of what Christmas means to them now.

Za’Zell’s children grew up with a tainted memory of one of the most joyous days of the year. He didn’t just kill their mother; he lied. He was the one who ruined Christmas, not her.