HUSBAND William Wallace, 39, is accused of murdering his wife Za’Zell Preston in Christmas 2011 and then propped her dead body in front of their kids saying their mom had gotten drunk and “ruined Christmas.”
Nine years later state prosecutors are bringing forward a murder trial as Wallace had been arrested at the time and remained in custody on $1 million bail as he awaited trial.
William Wallace, 39, allegedly killed his wife at their Anaheim home during the holiday season in 2011.
It is believed he propped up her body in front of the kids, saying their mom had gotten drunk and “ruined Christmas.”
Wallace, allegedly told his kids that his wife, Za’Zell Preston, had been drinking when they began unwrapping presents Christmas morning.
He then allegedly proceeded to prop the 26-year-old’s body in front of their shared newborn son and Preston’s two daughters, then ages 3 and 8.
It’s believed that the pair had attended a neighbor’s Christmas Eve party before the woman’s death and according to a neighbor the couple was fighting after they returned home.
Wallace allegedly acknowledged they were fighting and told one of Preston’s relatives that “we were drinking and during the argument I tossed her around a bit.”
Senior deputy district attorney Heather Brown told jurors on March 8, 2021: “This Christmas story does not have a happy ending, and unfortunately this is not just a story, it is real life.”
Prosecutors say that apart from allegedly murdering his wife, Wallace dragged her dead body into the living room the next morning, placed her on the couch with sunglasses on, and allegedly told his kids “Mommy ruined Christmas, she got drunk and ruined Christmas.”
Paramedics who arrived at the scene found the woman’s dead body on the couch.
Police officers who arrived shortly after found blood throughout the apartment and several holes punched in walls, as well as a door off its hinges.
Wallace was arrested and has remained in custody for the last nine years awaiting trial.
His lawyer instead insists he has been wrongfully incarcerated and claims Preston died from injuries she sustained after she drunkenly tripped and fell onto a glass table.
