A man propped his dead wife on the sofa, stuck sunglasses on her face and had their children open Christmas presents in front of her body, prosecutors in California said Monday as William Wallace of Anaheim went on trial in the 2011 holiday crime.
The trial of 39-year-old William Wallace began in southern California this week more than a decade after he allegedly killed his wife on Christmas Eve, then propped her up on the couch the next day and had their kids open Christmas presents in front of her lifeless body.
An alleged killer propped up his wife’s dead body on the couch for her children opening Christmas presents, a court heard. William Wallace is accused of killing Za’Zell Preston on 24 December 2011, before putting her in the living room the next day with sunglasses on and telling their three children that “Mummy ruined Christmas.” Prosecutors say that the couple had gone to a holiday party on Christmas Eve in Anaheim, California, before returning.