A 75-year-old man with a sterling record and a concealed carry license snapped on the night of March 7. In a 911 call, he identified himself and told the operator a chilling truth: he had just murdered his girlfriend of 25 years and her 71-year-old sister.
When asked why, William Wallace had a simple answer: “They got on my m*********ing nerves.”
In Chicago, where murder cases often drag on for years, Wallace wasted no time. Just months after that horrible night, he pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in exchange for a life sentence from Judge Alfredo Maldonado. Wallace, now 76, will live out his remaining years downstate at Menard Correctional Center.
According to prosecutors, the evening began at a bar, where Wallace had gone with his girlfriend of a quarter-century, 68-year-old Phyllis Goolsby, and her son. Goolsby became upset when Wallace accepted someone’s offer of a second drink. He ultimately declined it, and the couple left around 9:45 p.m., returning to the home they shared with Goolsby’s sister in the 10400 block of South Peoria Street.
About an hour later, Wallace called 911. He identified himself, told the operator he had just shot “two m***********s,” provided his address, and explained that the victims were sisters, prosecutors said.
Chicago police arrived minutes later, and Wallace answered the door — once again stating that he had killed the two women, that one was upstairs, and that the firearm was with her. Officers secured Wallace and entered the home, finding Goolsby on the living room couch, shot twice, with a 9mm handgun on the nearby coffee table. Her sister was in a first-floor bedroom, shot three times in the back. There were no signs of a struggle anywhere in the home, according to prosecutors.
After police swabbed Wallace’s hands for gunshot residue, an officer thanked him for his patience.
“I don’t have no damn patience,” Wallace allegedly replied. “I’m 75 f****** years old, and I have no patience. That’s what happened tonight. I have no patience. My patience is gone.”
While in custody, Wallace was allowed to make two phone calls. Prosecutors said he left voicemails for two relatives, admitting in each to killing the victims and saying he was in jail facing murder charges. Wallace’s criminal history is limited to a 1974 arrest for unlawful use of a weapon — a case that was dropped.
