Man Allegedly Propped Wife's Dead Body On Sofa As Kids Opened Christmas Gifts

A California man allegedly propped his dead wife on the couch and had their children open their presents in front of her body one Christmas morning nearly a decade ago, prosecutors said Monday.

William Wallace faces first-degree murder charges for allegedly killing his wife, Za'Zell Preston, 26, during a violent argument on Christmas Eve in 2011, the Orange County Register and the Associated Press reported. Wallace, now 39, also previously served jail time for beating his wife during an earlier confrontation.

During his trial Monday, prosecutors said that the couple attended a party at a neighbor's house on Christmas Eve. Later that night, Wallace and Preston were heard arguing by neighbors, with one reporting seeing him picking up what appeared to be a body by an apartment gate.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown alleged that Wallace told one of Preston's relatives that “we were drinking and during the argument, I tossed her around a bit.”

The next morning, Wallace allegedly placed Preston's body on the sofa and put sunglasses on her before their kids opened Christmas gifts at their Anaheim, California home.

According to prosecutors, he told the children that their mother, who had been studying to become a domestic violence counselor, “got drunk and ruined Christmas,” the New York Post reported. Preston's two daughters were 8 and 3 years old at the time, and the couple also shared a 7-week-old newborn.

Prosecutors said although it is unclear who called 911, paramedics reported finding Preston slumped over on the couch when they arrived. Police found blood in the apartment, along with holes punched in walls and a door off its hinges.

“This Christmas story does not have a happy ending, and unfortunately this is not just a story, it is real life,” Brown said in court, adding that Wallace “did what he always did, expecting (Preston) to survive like she always did.”

Preston's relatives claimed that Wallace has always been controlling and violent as a husband, noting that there had been times when he would threaten to kill his wife on several occasions. One relative also described one instance wherein a pregnant Preston was found lying on the street in fetal position after one alleged beating.

However, Wallace's defense attorney, Heather Moorhead, denied that her client killed his wife, claiming she had died from injuries sustained after she had fallen into a glass table.

“Mr. Wallace is being accused of something that is not his fault,” Moorhead told jurors. “You will hear about a relationship that was full of arguing and yelling, but also a lot of love.”

Wallace could face 25 years to life in prison if found guilty of first-degree murder. According to jail records, he has been detained in place of a $1 million bail while awaiting his trial since his Dec. 25, 2011 arrest.