Donald Ray Wallace Jr. murdered Patrick and Teresa Gilligan, and their two children, Lisa, 5, and 4-year-old Greg, in a home invasion that went awry. Dead of Winter on Investigation Discovery examines this tragic case.
On January 14, 1980, Wallace burglarized the home of Ralph Hendricks on Aspen Drive in Evansville, Indiana, and opted to rob the house next door that appeared to be vacant.
The Gillians owned the house.
Wallace was in for a shock when the family returned to their home and found him inside the garage.
He came face-to-face with Patrick and a struggle ensued. When he was able to subdue Patrick, he brought in the rest of the family at gunpoint and tied them up before murdering them.
Wallace told his friends that he shot Patrick in the head because he was giving him a hard time. He said he shot Teresa twice because she kept screaming, and he had to make her stop.
He shot the children in the head as well because he couldn’t let them grow up without parents.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelAn investigation led to Wallace’s arrest. He was found hiding in the attack of a home belonging to one of his friends.
A jury found Wallace guilty of four counts of murder and in October 1982, he was sentenced to death.
In an interview, Wallace stated that his intention was not to murder anyone that night.
At the time, he was an angry, drug addict on a robbing spree.
Wallace was executed on March 10, 2005, by lethal injection in an Indiana state prison.
Dead of Winter — Midnight Mass, airs at 10:00 p.m. on Investigation Discovery.
They were my friends and neighbors. I was 10. They lived 3 houses up from me. It was a living nightmare.