In 1922, Wallace Williams, a World War I veteran, found himself drawn into the dangerous world of Nevada's mining towns. There, in the isolated town of Tonopah, he became entangled in a deadly love triangle with a violent young man consumed by dark jealousy and his wife, twice his age. As passions boiled over, Wallace was shot in cold blood, buried in the desert, and left to rot—until the truth began to surface. Join us as we explore “a toxic love triangle spirals into murder”.

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TRANSCRIPT

Wallace Williams Jr. was a young man from Nevada City, California, who left home to serve in World War I. He returned a changed man. While his heart remained in Nevada City with his family, his life was now drawn into the gritty, dangerous world of the mining towns in Nevada.

It was here, in Tonopah in 1922, where Wallace would cross paths with George and Lena Dillon—a married couple whose lives were tangled up in moonshine, jealousy, and a dangerous love.

Lena Dillon was 20 years older than George, and while the age gap between them might have raised eyebrows, it wasn’t the only thing that stood out about their relationship. George Dillon, a 20-year-old with a violent streak, had a temper and a desire to control. But Lena? She had her own demons.

Lena and Wallace’s paths crossed during a time of high tension. George had been involved in the illegal liquor trade during Prohibition. He had a cabin where he distilled moonshine.

But there were whispers in Tonopah—whispers of an affair. An affair between Lena and Wallace. Wallace, with his undeniable charm, had become close to Lena. Their relationship wasn’t just the innocent flirtation of two lonely souls in a rough town—it was something deeper, something dangerous.

But, of course, nothing stays hidden for long. George Dillon, Lena’s husband, began to suspect. And suspicion, as we know, can be a potent thing. What started as quiet resentment soon festered into something darker. George’s jealousy began to consume him.

On the outside, George and Lena were a typical married couple in a small, isolated town—gritty, rough, and trying to make ends meet. But underneath it all, George was a man seething with insecurities. And Lena, well, Lena found herself torn between two men.

Was she in love with Wallace? Was she just looking for a way out of her troubled marriage? Or was she simply drawn to the danger that seemed to follow Wallace?

Lena’s motives remain unclear, but one thing is certain—her relationship with Wallace would ignite a deadly spark. George Dillon, already unstable, began to make threats towards Wallace.

George confided in a man named James Rios, telling him about the plan to kill Wallace and even asking James to help. But in George’s mind, this wasn’t just about revenge—it was about reclaiming what he thought was his.

He was jealous. He was consumed by a need to eliminate the one man who, in his eyes, had stolen his wife’s affection. And Lena? She was caught between loyalty to her husband and something, perhaps, more complicated.

On August 23, 1922, the unthinkable happened. George Dillon, in a fit of jealousy, shot Wallace Williams in the face. But the murder didn’t happen in the heat of the moment. It was premeditated, planned out. George had already decided that Wallace needed to die.

George wrapped Wallace in an old blanket, tightly wound with heavy wire. The wire formed handles, allowing the body to be transported over a distance, from his rooming house in Tonopah to a shallow grave north of town, hoping it would never be found. But nothing stays buried forever. A few days later, the body was discovered by buzzards, and soon after, the authorities were on their trail.

The investigation into Wallace’s death led the police to the Dillons. But it wasn’t just the crime that caught everyone’s attention—it was the dynamics of the relationship. Lena was, at first, implicated in the crime alongside her husband.

James Rios, the man George had tried to get to help him, testified in court that George had shown him a gun with three empty cartridges and confessed to shooting Williams, claiming the victim had been intimate with Mrs. Dillon. James later accompanied George to the scene, where George revealed bloodstained articles and admitted to killing Wallace, shooting him in the face, and burying his body.

George confessed in front of the jury to killing Wallace, completely exonerating his wife from any involvement. But the confession came too late to save Lena from the public’s eye. It raised a haunting and public question: Did she ever really love Wallace? Or was she simply a woman caught in a web of jealousy, manipulation, and circumstance?

Lena was acquitted. But George was found guilty of murder. Sentenced to prison, his confession spared his wife from punishment, but it didn’t absolve her of the emotional toll she would carry for the rest of her life.

James Rios also testified that Dillon later attempted to kill him, but Rios narrowly escaped and made it to Tonopah.

And Wallace? Well, his life was lost to the brutal passions of those around him—a man caught in the crossfire of love, jealousy, and betrayal.

So, what was Lena’s role in all of this? Was she just a victim of her husband’s jealousy, or was there more to her connection with Wallace? In the end, it’s a tragedy—one that speaks to the dangerous intersections of love, possession, and the destructive forces of unchecked emotions.

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Also check out:

The Sacramento Bee. (1922, October 4). Native of Nevada City (Obituary), p. 9.

Morning Union. (1922, December 17). Jealousy is given as motive for murder, p. 1.

Morning Union. (1922, December 15). Jury completed to try Dillons for Williams murder.

Find a Grave. (n.d.). Wallace C. Williams. Retrieved from https://www.findagrave.com

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