logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
1h 18m

81: Mommy Murdered the Night Before Chri...

Eleanor Neale
About this episode

In 2011, the night before Christmas, a mother of 3 and student Za’Zell

Preston was murdered hours after leaving a Christmas Eve party in California.

On Christmas morning her body was found propped up on the sofa, wearing

sunglasses, watching her children open presents, in an apartment covered in

blood. Her husband William Wallace made phone calls to the entire family, before

finally agreeing to call an Ambulance for Za’Zell. But shortly after calling

that Ambulance, William would find himself incarcerated awaiting trial, for

almost a decade.


For the 3 years leading up to her death, William had subjected Za’Zell to a

relationship from hell. William’s abuse had put Za’Zell in hospital multiple

times and he promised to kill her if she ever left Za’Zell would share her

emotional turmoil in love on Facebook and desperately tried to fix the man she

loved most, even enrolling to study domestic violence herself. But in 2011, with

plans to finally leave him for good and become a counsellor to help other women

break free from domestic violence, Za’Zell’s time to escape with her life,

would tragically run out.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Aug 30
Raoul Moat: UK's BIGGEST Manhunt for a Murderer
Rothbury, England, 2010: After being released from prison, Raoul Moat begins a violent rampage targeting his ex-girlfriend, her new partner and the police — leaving one man dead and a police officer permanently injured.What follows is one of the biggest manhunts in modern British ... Show More
1h 2m
Aug 23
The Sledgehammer Killer: Zachary Davis
Springfield, Tennessee, 2012: 15-year-old Zachary Davis walks into his mother’s bedroom in the middle of the night and attacks her with a sledgehammer. He then sets fire to the family home, leaving his older brother asleep inside.But when Zachary is arrested, investigators are co ... Show More
28m 22s
Aug 16
She Murdered Her Lover… Then Attacked Her Own Lawyer: Taylor Schabusiness
Green Bay, Wisconsin, 2023: A woman accused of an unimaginably brutal murder has just attacked her own defence lawyer in the middle of court. By this point, Taylor Schabusiness had already confessed to killing 24 year old Shad Thyrion and dismembering his body inside his mother’s ... Show More
56m 14s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
Episode 157 - Sinister Snapchats - The Murder Of Tyrone Hassel III
New Year's Eve is a time for reflection and hope. A moment to bid farewell to the past and embrace the future. But for one family in St. Joseph Township Michigan, the festivities in 2018 would be cut short in the most brutal way.At 11 PM, the police department received a chilling ... Show More
41m 33s
Aug 2022
The Petite Jasmine Tragedy
A mother loses custody of her kids to her violent and abusive ex. Did the government go one step further and effectively sanction her murder? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. 
44m 47s
Apr 2021
Killer on the Line
<p>A young, soon-to-be mom goes to a wedding with a friend and ends up dead. A 911 caller reports the murder and leads this case down a darker road than anyone imagined.</p><p>For episode information and photos, please visit <a href="https://anatomyofmurder.com/">https://anatomyo ... Show More
49m 19s
Mar 2025
The Rose Petal Murder
When Christina Parcell was brutally killed in her own home, all eyes when to the custody issues she was having. However, the investigation revealed that although that was related, the truth was far darker. Send your scary stories to: mikeohhello@gmail.com  Instagram: https://ww ... Show More
44m 45s
Nov 2023
Murders Under Mistletoe
Holiday cheer ends in holiday fear, when Jean Wholaver and her two daughters are murdered in their home on Christmas Eve. Detectives in Middletown, Pennsylvania, check their list of suspects twice and are shocked by the killer's true identity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva ... Show More
43m 7s
Sep 2019
Memories
A pregnant woman is brutally attacked in her own home and her unborn child is killed. Was her husband wrongly convicted?To learn more about how HLN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acas ... Show More
20m 9s