Za’Zell and William Wallace, 30, had been together for three years (Image: undefined)
It should have been Za’Zell Preston’s most joyous Christmas, celebrating with her seven-week-old son and two other youngsters.
In 2011, the 26-year-old’s Anaheim, California flat was brimming with wrapped gifts, tiny clothes and festive trimmings – all set for an idyllic holiday period.
Yet beneath the surface, the young mother was enduring a living hell that would culminate in tragedy.
She found herself ensnared in a violent and destructive relationship with her husband, William Wallace, which had persisted for three years.
elatives and friends looked on powerlessly as the situation deteriorated into abuse, with the 30-year-old repeatedly dominating and assaulting her.
Despite this, she continually pardoned him, even after confiding to those close that he had made death threats against her on multiple occasions.
In 2008, Wallace was imprisoned for assaulting Za’Zell, serving 45 days, receiving probation and being mandated to complete a treatment programme. She subsequently obtained a restraining order and, when Wallace violated it, he was returned to custody, reports the Mirror.
Za’Zell made prison visits and he vowed he had changed. Upon learning she was expecting his baby – having already had two children from an earlier relationship – she desperately wanted to trust his word.
William Wallace brutally killed his wife (Image: undefined)
Wallace was freed in summer 2011 and returned to her residence with her daughters, as they attempted once more to create a harmonious family unit. In July, Za’Zell had shared a photograph on social media showing her kissing Wallace, with the caption: “Lovebirds for life.”
However, the reality was starkly different from that seemingly perfect image.
Resolute in breaking free from the pattern of abuse, Za’Zell had enrolled at college and was training to become a domestic violence counsellor. As Christmas drew near, she was merely weeks away from completing her qualification.
However, at 9.30am on Christmas Day, Wallace rang 999 and informed operators that his wife required urgent medical assistance. When paramedics arrived at the scene, they discovered Za’Zell collapsed on the sofa.
Blood was splattered across the walls, holes had been punched through them and a door had been torn from its hinges. Additionally, a glass table lay in pieces across the floor.
The three children remained inside the flat, oblivious to what had occurred and surrounded by torn wrapping paper and Christmas presents. Za’Zell was rushed to hospital, where she was declared dead.
Following Wallace’s arrest, the harrowing truth emerged about what had transpired the previous night. The couple had been at a neighbour’s Christmas Eve gathering.
Za’Zell Preston was murdered by William Wallace at Christmas (Image: undefined)
During the walk home, a row broke out and neighbours subsequently told police they heard shouting that sounded aggressive. Wallace struck Za’Zell repeatedly around the head and hauled her back inside when she attempted to flee.
Her eldest daughter witnessed in horror as he pushed her mum into the glass table, shattering it and sending fragments into her skin. Wallace would later claim he was “defending himself”.
Investigators rejected this account. The brutal attack continued in the bathroom, where Wallace let Za’Zell fall, causing her head to strike hard.These injuries proved fatal.
Rather than seeking emergency assistance, he committed an almost incomprehensible act. On Christmas morning, Wallace moved Za’Zell’s lifeless body into the living room.
He positioned her upright on the sofa and placed sunglasses over her eyes.
He then told the children: “Mommy got drunk and ruined Christmas.”
He proceeded to encourage them to unwrap their presents next to her body, even recording the scene.
Wallace faced murder charges, but nearly a decade passed before he stood trial. During proceedings, prosecutors exposed years of systematic abuse.
“He had been threatening to kill her for three years,” they informed the jury. “On Christmas, he made good on those threats.”
Za’Zell’s grandmother recalled discovering her granddaughter huddled on the pavement following one attack. On another occasion, Za’Zell telephoned her from a shop bathroom, concealing herself from Wallace in terror.
That Christmas morning, Wallace contacted the grandmother and nonchalantly confessed he had “tossed her around a bit”. The most distressing evidence came from Za’Zell’s teenage daughter.
She recounted assisting in removing fragments of glass from her mother’s body. She witnessed Wallace carrying her into the bathroom and letting her head drop onto the toilet.
“After she hit the toilet, I think she passed away,” the teenager testified. “He put her down to sleep while she was deceased. She was cold.”
In 2008, Wallace served time in prison after being convicted of battery against Za’Zell (Image: undefined)
The following morning, she awoke and went to open presents – her mother was already dead. “I tried to touch her,” she told the court.
“She was rock hard, cold. I said ‘Mommy’ and she didn’t respond.”
The defence attempted to undermine her testimony, arguing her account had been inconsistent, but prosecutors maintained she had been terrified and manipulated by Wallace. Meanwhile, medical experts confirmed Za’Zell had sustained repeated blows to the head.
In April 2021, Wallace was convicted of second-degree murder. Saidell Preston, Za’Zell’s mother, who assumed custody of her three grandchildren, described him as a “selfish psychopath”.
“He beat and tortured my daughter and mentally assassinated her children. He showed her no mercy. Let’s show him no mercy,” she said.
Za’Zell’s eldest daughter told the court: “I have grown up in hell since he murdered my mom. There is no childhood for me – just a downhill spiral since I was eight.”
The judge handed down a sentence of 15 years to life, accounting for the nine years already served.
