William Henry Hance

Serial Killer

William Henry Hance: The "Forces of Evil" Killer

Background

William Henry Hance was an American soldier and serial killer whose known crimes occurred primarily around Fort Benning, near Columbus, Georgia, during 1977 and 1978. Born on November 10, 1951, in Lexington, Virginia, Hance served first in the United States Marine Corps and later joined the United States Army. By the late 1970s he was stationed at Fort Benning, where he worked as a truck driver. His crimes became especially notorious because he attempted to disguise his responsibility by inventing a fictitious organization that he called the "Forces of Evil." At the time, Columbus was already frightened by a separate series of murders attributed to the so-called "Stocking Strangler." Hance attempted to exploit that atmosphere. He sent letters to authorities claiming that a group of white men calling themselves the Forces of Evil had kidnapped a Black woman and intended to kill her unless the Stocking Strangler was captured. The supposed organization did not exist. Investigators eventually concluded that Hance himself had written the letters in an effort to confuse police and divert suspicion from his own crimes.

Known Victims

• Karen Ann Hickman September 6, 1977 Fort Benning, Georgia: Hickman was a 24-year-old U.S. Army private stationed at Fort Benning. Her body was discovered near the women's barracks on September 6, 1977. She had suffered severe blunt-force injuries and had also been struck or run over with a vehicle. Investigators believed she had been killed elsewhere before her body was moved to the location where it was discovered. Hance later confessed to killing Hickman. He was prosecuted for the crime through the military justice system.
• Brenda Gail Faison, also known as Gail Jackson and Gail Bogen on or about February 28, 1978 near Columbus and Fort Benning, Georgia: Faison was 21 years old. According to the evidence presented in Hance's Georgia murder case, Hance encountered her at the Sand Hill Bar near Fort Benning on or about February 28, 1978. He drove with her to a secluded area and attacked her. She was killed through severe blunt-force violence, and Hance concealed her remains in a wooded location. Her body was not recovered until March 30, 1978, after Hance anonymously telephoned military police and told them where to find it. This was the murder for which Hance received his civilian murder conviction and death sentence.
• Irene Thirkield March 15, 1978 Fort Benning, Georgia: Thirkield was 32 years old. Witnesses reported seeing her with Hance at Vice Mitchell's Tavern on March 15, 1978, and the two were seen leaving together. Hance subsequently killed her using extreme blunt-force violence and concealed her body behind logs on the Fort Benning military reservation, near a rifle-range area. As part of his Forces of Evil deception, Hance later incorporated Irene's name into his communications with authorities. He was prosecuted for Thirkield's death through the military justice system.

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Confirmed Victims: (3)

Brenda Gail Faison Age: (21), Date of Death: 1978-02-28

William Henry Hance - Wikipedia