Bad Henry: The Murderous Rampage of 'The Taco Bell Strangler'

by Ron Chepesiuk

Henry Louis Wallace terrorized Charlotte, North Carolina, from May 1992 to March 1994. Wallace preyed on lower economic-class Black women between 17 and 35 years old. He knew most of his victims, some through his job at Taco Bell, and gained their trust with his friendly demeanor and gentle nature—concealing a monster fueled by drug abuse and rage against women. A rarity in that he was an African American serial killer, his murderous rampage spurred controversy throughout the city. Community members accused local police of ignoring the murders because of the victims' race. Wallace attended the funerals of many of his victims and offered condolences to families. The ensuing investigation became the largest in North Carolina’s history. Wallace was eventually found guilty and convicted of nine counts of murder, but he admitted to more killings while incarcerated; he is potentially responsible for anywhere from 20 to 90 deaths of Black women. Wallace continues to appeal and awaits his execution at Central Prison in Raleigh. BAD The Murderous Rampage of ‘The Taco Bell Strangler’ by Ron Chepesiuk offers valuable insight into the psychology of serial killers and sheds light on issues surrounding race and policing.

Genres: True Crime

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 13, 2023

Reviews

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some repeating sentences, stories out of order, numerous quotes from other books on this same serial killer, and what seems like a word count that the author is trying to hit. However, if you can push through all of that, this is an incredibly frightening retelling. I am shocked that I hadn’t heard of this contemporary era serial killer. It’s horrific to know that if these rapes/murders were taken seriously, most of these women would have been spared (especially knowing that had the rape kits been processed, they would’ve have had the killer’s DNA in at least 5 of the cases). I understand under-staffing but I will never understand why there aren’t stricter laws requiring rape kits to be immediately processed.

[John Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very intriguing story, and my wife and I lived in Charlotte at the time this took place. Many of the places were extremely familiar.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and there were definitely places where the production engineering could have been more fine-tuned. The narration seemed to repeat in ways that were not necessary.

I am not sure if the fault is in the narrator or the author, but CMPD was repeated referred to as "Charlotte Metro Police Department." That is NOT the correct title; it is "Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department." There are also places where the narrator was not careful in enunciation like saying "Mecklen" instead of "Mecklenburg."

Overall, I found the book enlightening and seemed to fully capture the story, but the details really matter.

[Michelle DeBord · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m surprised at the collectively lower rated on this one. I thought it was super interesting!

[Mrs Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

Good book read quickly as it was such an interesting read. The trial section was not too long.overall highly recommended