E. Keller Wilcox Jr.

I have always said that I understand that not everything can be told in the time of a one hour (plus commercials) show and I know that they are almost always bias, leaning one way or another, but this is one of those cases where I felt as if there was a lot of important information left out, as well ask not exactly true. I have also mentioned often that I love appeal records because they go through the case and the trial much better than a simple article, or even a television show. That being said, while I believe I did as much research as I could possibly have done, I feel like there are a few holes and questions to this story. I will be clear in the fact that I do believe that the correct person was convicted of the crime and that his guilt was unquestionable. I have no doubts that E. Keller Wilcox Jr. was guilty from a personal, as well as a legal level. This is not a case where I have questioned the evidence at all, or one in which I will argue that the prosecutors did not present enough to convict.

On August 31, 1972 thirty-four year old Hellen Hanks appeared to disappear. Some things will say that she failed to return home from her job at Wilcox Outdoor Advertising in Valdosta Georgia, to which is technically true but is not exactly how things played out. Somewhere between 4:45 and 5:00 in the evening Hellen's husband, James, received a phone call from E. Keller Wilcox. Wilcox and his father, E. Keller Sr., aka Foxy (I will use this from now on), co-owned the company that Hellen worked for. It was said that she was a bookkeeper as well as a secretary for Foxy but Wilcox was also obviously one of her bosses. Wilcox told James that he and his father had returned to the office and while Hellen's car was in the parking lot she was no where to be found. James, a correctional officer at a nearby jail/prison, headed over to Wilcox Outdoor Advertising, and Wilcox allegedly called the police.

James claims that when he got to the business he too saw Hellen's car in the parking lot and when he went inside he found Wilcox going through his wife's purse. James says that when he asked Wilcox what he was doing he said looking for Hellen's car keys and James claims that Wilcox made some odd comment about how Hellen would not be needing them anymore. It is unclear just when this comment was related to officers who would arrive at the scene soon after James. Wilcox would later claim that he never went through the purse, nor made any sort of comment. He would claim that it was James who found the car keys and stated that he then handed them to Wilcox. For me this does not make any sense. Why would James find his wife's keys and then hand them to Wilcox?

Not only does this not make any sense since obviously James was also an owner of the vehicle, but it makes even less sense considering that James, their three children, co-workers and even friends of Hellen's would state that there were issues between Hellen and Wilcox. It seems that the twenty-one year old Wilcox had made several advances towards Hellen. She would tell multiple people that she had thwart these advances and that once she had slapped him when he had grabbed her backside as he walked by. There were other issues too. It was said that Hellen had stated that she was being required to keep two sets of books at the company but my research did not indicate whether both father and son were involved or not. Hellen had also told many friends and family that she was actively searching for another job as she was afraid of Wilcox. In fact, it was said that she had job applications in her purse.

The next dispute appears to have been about how long investigators were at the business looking into Hellen being missing. There also seemed to be a dispute as to whether Foxy was there at the time. Wilcox would later be quoted as saying that while he had dinner to attend in his honor (I was unclear what it was for) that evening that the investigators did not leave until about 8:00 and that he had called his wife and told her to go without him and he would meet her there. He also stated that while the investigators were there Foxy was in his office. Investigators would later say that they left the business around 6:30 after they had gathered all of the information that they could, which was very little, and that not only was Foxy not in his office, but his vehicle was not in the parking lot. While I cannot prove this I got the impression that there were photographs of the parking lot which would later back up the police officers.

I want to point out here that it was said that after work Hellen had planned to have a typewriter repaired and have work done on her hair piece, a common accessory for women in the 1970's. Both of those items were found in her car. I was never able to determine at what point they were put in there but it appears as if Hellen disappeared around the time that she had planned to leave.

The trail for Hellen went really cold, really fast. But, I am unsure that I feel that it should have. There seemed to be little indication that investigators looked very deep into Wilcox at the time of Hellen's disappearance. He would say that he and his father had been out of town for several days leading up to the 31^st. First, I should be clear in stating that the town appeared to be less than two hours away. However, Wilcox apparently gave a timeline at some point of his actions on that day. What I am unclear about is when this timeline was given. Despite the reports of issues between Wilcox and Hellen and other reports about odd things of that day I got the impression that little was done in 1972. I am unsure if this is because of the prestige of the family or the inadequacy of the investigators. Now, in fairness to Wilcox I will say that two of the people who would later help investigators were his wife, who by then was his ex-wife, and his ex-father in law. It is unclear if they were even questioned in 1972 in attempts to verify the timeline that Wilcox gave them about that day.

Then on November 24, 1980 a logger was clearing a set of woods in an area about a mile or so from the Wilcox Outdoor Advertising. His tractor had run over something and when he got out to look he discovered a box. The tractor had dislodged the lid to the box and the man looked inside. He was shocked when he saw what he believed to be a human leg bone and immediately called the police.

Investigators got to the scene and excavated the box from the ground and then looked inside, carefully removing dirt that had gotten inside. The logger was correct. He had in fact seen a human leg bone. Upon fully opening the box the rest of the body, among other things were also found. The box itself was a clue too. It had the company logo for Wilcox Outdoor Advertising.

Inside the box, aside from the skeleton, were tattered pieces of a woman's clothing. A dress and a bra both looked as if they had been cut before removed. Also inside the box were ledgers and money boxes, also belonging to the business. There was also a rope inside the box. Under the box were other things too, including an ignition key to a vehicle. Investigators gathered all of this evidence, not knowing what it all would mean. It was said that at some point one of the investigators had call Wilcox Outdoor Advertising and had spoken to Keller to ask a question about something they had found. Apparently the investigator must have told Keller where they were located because soon after Keller showed up at the scene although the investigator stated he had not asked him to come. Once at the scene Keller confirmed that the box, the ledger, and the money boxes had come from the company.

With all of this evidence pointing to the Wilcox Outdoor Advertising Company investigators were certain not only that the body inside was likely that of Hellen Hanks, but that whatever had happened to her at the very least involved someone, or someones, who were also linked to the company. According to the television show I watched they gave a polygraph to all of the employees. However, I am unsure if this included Keller and his father, Foxy. It was said that two of the employees had failed the test. Considering what investigators would come to find out about Hellen's death I find it odd that only these two failed the test if Keller and his father were also given the test.

The two men that failed the test were two elderly black men who had worked for the company for many, many years. Their names were Ed Wrentz and Lorenzo Marshall. Investigators brought them back into interview them and see what they knew. At first both men denied knowing anything about Hellen's murder. Finally, the older of the two men, Ed Wrentz, who was in his early 70's cracked.

Now, there is a bit of confusion as to exactly how things occurred. I heard one story on the television show, but read a bit of a different story through appeal papers. According to the television show Ed Wrentz told investigators that late on the night of August 31, 1972 he had received a call from Foxy Wilcox who said he needed his help with something at the business. To be fair I do not recall if it was indicated that Wrentz was to get a hold of Lorenzo Marshall or if Foxy allegedly called him also. But, the story was that the two men went to the business and once there were basically told to help Keller place Hellen's body in the crate that her skeleton would later be found. By the time Wrentz had been interviewed an autopsy had been conducted and Hellen had actually been buried. However, a comment made by Wrentz had investigators asking that her body be exhumed. Wrentz had stated that Hellen's legs were not attached to the rest of her body. It is unclear how this was missed on the autopsy but after the exhumation it was confirmed.

The television show also indicated that after placing her body in crate the three men, Wilcox, Wrentz and Marshall got into Wilcox's truck and drove to the wooded area where the men dug a shallow hole and placed the box. The appeal papers indicated that the hole was partially dug first and the box placed at some point over the next few days. Nothing, in any of my research, indicated where Hellen's body had been located up to the point in which the two men helped Wilcox late that night. At one level I find this odd, but then again Wilcox and his father would deny involvement in the crime and it appears that only those two men would have known where the body had been when investigators were at the business in the early evening.

The television show stated that Marshall too would deny involvement or knowledge but when he was faced with the information given to investigators by Wentz he too told the same story. Where things get choppy is later when the case went to court but I will get into that in a bit. The television show I watched questioned why Wentz and Marshall had not come forward before this time and I think the explanation given was quite accurate. This was the deep south and both men were African American and it was the early 1970's when the crime occurred. There was likely a fear that if the men went to authorities with what they knew they would have been blamed for the crime. Wilcox and his father were well known and respected people in the area, and on top of that they were white men. They could likely turned the tides on the two men and made it look as if they were responsible and they knew nothing about the murder.

After speaking to the two men and having garnered information from the medical examiner it was time to speak to Wilcox. Due to the condition of the body the medical examiner could not officially determine if there had been a sexual assault but he believed there likely had been due to the condition of the clothing. He also believed that the cause of death was strangulation because the rope found in the box also contained hair consistent (remember DNA was not a thing yet) with Hellen. For his part Wilcox told investigators the same story apparently that he had been saying.

Wilcox claimed that he and his father had headed toward Valdosta that morning but had made several stops along the way. They had allegedly visited with Keller's father in law for a bit and then they were said to have gone to Foxy's home where both men would have their had their own vehicles and they headed to the business. Wilcox would say that they arrived at the business about 4:30 or so and that he had called James Hanks around 4:45. James says the call was closer to 5:00. I could not determine when a call was exactly made to the police department to see which was closer to the time. Wilcox also claimed that after investigators left he had met his wife at the party and had been with her all evening.

But then there was the issue of the ignition key found under the box. It was said that it was found to belong to a 1971 Ford pick-up, the exact type of vehicle that Wilcox drove. Things get a bit sketchy here though. The television show stated that there were two ignition keys to the truck and that Wilcox had one and Foxy had the other. The appeal paper I found stated that Hellen had the other key. The latter does not make sense unless the key was a company truck but there was no mention of this. In addition to that there did not seem to be any information in either story told by Wentz or Marshall that there was an issue leaving the scene after burying the box. This all just seemed odd to me. Investigators did learn that Wilcox sold the truck in 1979 and only had one ignition key.

It was at this point that things changed. Wilcox was now divorced and his now ex-wife told investigators that Wilcox and Foxy had shown up at the party but not until about 9:00. At around 10:30 Wilcox told his wife to head home and that he had to head to the business to make sure everything was locked up. She claims she went to bed between 11:00 and 11:30 and said that he was not home although when she woke up the next morning he was in bed.

In July 1981 Keller Wilcox was arrested and charged with murder and concealing a death. One report stated that a bail was set and he simply spent an afternoon in jail. Another report claimed that Ed Wentz and Lorenzo Marshall were charged with their part in the crime but the television show indicated they were not charged at all. The most interesting information I found about charges revolved around Foxy and also showed me once again everything you hear on television, even in these types of shows, is not true.

The television show I watched stated that Foxy was also indicted and charged with concealing a death and hindering the apprehension of a criminal. This part is apparently true. However, the show stated that the charges were not pursued because of his age and health at the time, which again could have been true. But, the investigator on the show stated that Foxy died “a few months.” This was not true. According not just to Findagrave.com, but to a picture of his actual gravestone Foxy did not died until November of 1990 at the age of eighty-three.

Wilcox went on trial in January of 1982. At the trial not only did his ex-wife testify for the prosecution, but so did her father, Willard King. They both testified about when father and son had arrived at the party and things concerning that night, but they also testified about things earlier in the day. Wilcox had told investigators that on his way back to Valdosta that day he and his father had stopped to see King. King stated this was true but that it had occurred about two hours prior to when Wilcox stated. His ex-wife also testified that while Wilcox claimed not to return to the office until around 4:30 she knew the time to be between 3:00 and 3:30. King also testified that at the time of the murder he worked at the company part-time on Saturdays. He did not work the Saturday following Hellen's disappearance but he did work the next Saturday and he noticed that a box, used for the company was missing and he reported it to Keller.

One of the most interesting things to happen at the trial involved Lorenzo Marshall. As I talked about earlier, both he and Ed Wentz had told their story to investigators about what they knew about the day that Hellen was murdered. On the stand Wentz continued to stick with that story, but now Marshall was changing his. He was now claiming that he was not there and was in fact out of town. He claimed that he had only told the investigators what he believed they wanted to hear out of fear. It was said that there were witnesses to testify that Marshall's new story was true.

Wilcox testified in his own defense arguing he knew nothing about the murder and attempted to maintain his timeline from that day. Basically Wilcox argued that all the people who had testified against him were lying and he was completely innocent. He denied that he and Hellen ever had any issues, even denied she had ever slapped him as she had told many people.

On January 14, 1982 the jury returned verdicts of guilty for all charges. I suspect that while it may not have been the people who testified that swayed the jury as much as the evidence that was found with her body. Many of the things, including the money boxes and even the container she was found in came from the company and things that no reasonable boss would have dismissed as being gone unless they were involved. I also suspect the ignition key found under the box may have been the lynch pin of the case.

Wilcox was sentenced to life for the murder charge and a twelve month consecutive sentence for the concealment of a body. My research stated that in 1985 the conviction was overturned but I was unable to determine on what grounds. The state appealed and they won that appeal in 1987. My research said this “resulted in Wilcox going back to prison” but I am unsure that he had been released or whether he had simply been moved to a county jail during his appeal.

While he was given a life sentence it did come with the option for parole. I am unsure exactly when his first date for parole came but Hellen's family were always notified and always fought it. But, they were surprised when they were notified in 2007 that a parole hearing was coming. According to them it was several years early. They then discovered that in 2006 he had given a written confession, or a letter of admittance, to the parole board, which had been basically a requirement for him to ever obtain parole. The letter was very self serving. While he took responsibility for the crime the letter saying that he and Hellen had gotten into an argument and he had “lost his temper” he also argued that he was not present when she was buried. He stated that he was scared and had called his dad and made it sound as if his father took care of it all for him. He went on to talk about how if he had made this admittance long before he could have been released and he knew that was what the parole board wanted from him.

Wilcox was released in 2008. One of the conditions of his parole was that he was not allowed to go back to the county in which the crime occurred. But, in 2017 this provision was lifted. Other conditions such as not having contact with the Hanks family , owning a weapon, not being allowed to leave the state of Georgia and having an ankle monitor remained in place. It was said that these parole conditions are said to be lifetime requirements.

Here are some side notes to the case:

Hellen's husband, James would apparently re-marry and he would die in 2001. Hellen and James' oldest daughter, Lucy died in 2017. Her obituary stated she had a son, daughter, brother, sister and half-sister still living but no names were given. Her stepmother, who was still alive, was not listed.

Hellen and James' son, David wrote a novel called “The Disappearance” that is said to be loosely based on his mother's story.

Another book, by William Rawlings about the case is called “Six Inches Deeper.” The title refers to the fact that investigators have argued that if the box had been buried just six inches deeper it likely would have never been found and Hellen's case would have remained unsolved.