Brandi June Henderson (1975-1994) was a sweet woman killed by one of America’s worst serial killers, Henry Louis Wallace, the Charlotte Strangler. She was just 18, a high school student. He also tried to kill her ten-month-old baby, Tyrece. Henderson’s murder helped to lead the police to Wallace.
Wallace was a friend of her boyfriend, Verness Lamar “Squeaky” Woods. He and Wallace worked together at Chuck E. Cheese. The year before they had worked together at Golden Corral – along with Henderson herself.
Henderson lived in the Lake apartments in east Charlotte, North Carolina, right near the Eastland Mall. (They are now called the Sailboat Bay Apartments.) Wallace often came by even when Woods was not there. On the night of March 8th 1994 he came there to rob, rape and kill her.
When he first came to the apartment Woods was there, so Wallace said he was leaving town and wanted to say goodbye. He then visited one of their neighbours, Betty Baucum, and robbed and killed her. After that he came back. Henderson was alone.
She let him in. He pressed her to him and demanded money. She gave him what little she had: $15 in her purse and some change in an old Pringles can. Then he took her to her bedroom and forced her to have sex. After that she was on her knees praying. He said he was not going to hurt her and asked for a hug. When she hugged him he put a towel round her neck and killed her.
After that Wallace heard the baby crying. He put a towel round his neck too till he stopped crying. Then he took Henderson’s television and stereo, put them in the back of Baucum’s car and later sold them to buy some crack.
Later that night when Woods came back from work he found her dead but he was able to get the baby to the hospital in time to save his life.
Because Henderson willingly let the killer into the apartment, the police saw that it had to be someone she knew. They also knew the killer drove Baucum’s car and left his handprint on the back of it. Those two facts led them to Wallace.
Her funeral was heartbreaking. The pastor said:
We are living in some terrible times. We are living in some troubled times where the value of a human life is too low.
She was laid to rest wearing a pink dress, holding a picture of her baby boy.
At the trial her cousin, one of the last people to talk to her, asked Wallace why he killed her. He gave no answer.
People remember her as being sweet, as someone who loved people.
She met Verness Woods two years before. They had Tyrece ten months before she was killed. She loved being a mother.
Her son Tyrece is now 15 and lives in Chicago with Woods, his father.
See also:
- Sweet Innocence: The Short Life of Brandi J. Henderson 1975-1994
- Henry Louis Wallace
- Shawna Hawk – also killed by Wallace
Thanks, Abagond for saluting a beautiful and promising young woman whose life was taken by brutality in 1994.
May God help you in your worst time, Abagond. Please stay strong for your family.
La Reyna
LikeLike
I will. Thank you.
LikeLike
..So tragic, R.I.P. Brandi Henderson..
LikeLike
Brandi and I were classmates in elementary school. When she visited her grandmother we would walk home together from school and play. She was such a sweetheart and I was so sadden by her death. Continue to sleep in peace Brandi.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Reblogged this on Steph's Blog and commented:
Rest in peace, Brandi Henderson.
LikeLike
RIH Brandi
LikeLike
Tyrece’s father died in 1998, not long after Brandi’s murder. He was essentially an orphan for many years until 2010. Currently, he resides in Tampa with his wife and three children.
LikeLike