Valencia Michele Jumper, a 21-year-old Black female, was a senior at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, studying political science. She also held jobs at Food Lion on Central Avenue and Hecht’s in South Park Mall. On the night of August 9, 1993, she spoke with a friend, Zachery Douglas, about meeting later. In the early hours of August 10, Douglas arrived at her apartment and noticed smoke coming from inside. He found the door unlocked but was unable to enter due to the heavy smoke. A neighbor called the fire department, and firefighters discovered a pot burning on the stove, which they initially believed had caused the fire.
Inside the apartment, firefighters found the extensively charred body of Valencia Jumper, a 21-year-old Black female, in the bedroom. The initial autopsy, conducted by Dr. Michael Sullivan, listed thermal burns as the cause of death, based on the assumption that the fire had been accidental. However, further examination revealed no soot in her airway and no carbon monoxide in her blood, indicating she had not inhaled smoke and was likely dead before the fire started.
The case took a dramatic turn when Henry Louis Wallace, a serial killer later dubbed the "Taco Bell Strangler," confessed to murdering Valencia Jumper. Wallace, who knew Jumper personally and considered her like a younger sister, admitted to visiting her apartment twice that night. During the second visit, he asked her to call his girlfriend, McKnight, after a fight. When Jumper reached for the phone, Wallace put her in a chokehold and forced her into the bedroom. Jumper, terrified, pleaded with him not to hurt her and agreed to comply with his demands. Wallace claimed they engaged in sexual acts, after which he strangled her with a towel until she passed out and eventually died.
To cover up the crime, Wallace poured rum on Jumper’s body, the bed, and the surrounding floor. He then placed a pot of beans on the stove, turned the burner on high, removed the smoke detector battery, and lit a match to ignite the rum-soaked area. Wallace left the apartment and returned about twenty minutes later, saw smoke pouring out, and fled. He later admitted to stealing jewelry from Jumper’s body and pawning it.
Henry Louis Wallace, a Black male born in 1965, was arrested in March 1994 and ultimately confessed to murdering eleven women, including Valencia Jumper. He was convicted of nine counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1997. Jumper’s death was one of several that highlighted systemic failures in recognizing patterns of violence against young Black women in Charlotte during that time.
