On September 16, 1977, the nude body of Karen Hickman, 24, was found at Fort Benning near Colombus, Georgia. Hickman had been beaten and run over with a car. No real clues or leads developed and the murder was put on the backburner because of the presence of serial killer Carlton "The Stocking Strangler" Gary, who was operating in Colombus at that time. Gary was causing quite a stir with his killings because the victims were elderly white women and, though he had not been caught, evidence had determined that The Strangler was black.

William Hance decided to attempt to take advantage of the situation by drawing attention away from his own crimes. He penned a letter to Colombus authorities in March 1978 claiming to be a group of white radicals calling themselves "The Forces of Evil" and vowing that a black woman would die if the authorities could not locate The Strangler. He claimed that the fictitious group had already kidnapped a prostitute named Gail Jackson and would soon kill her. Jackson was indeed missing, but in reality, Hance had already killed her and was merely attempting to obscure his tracks. Hance also sent a letter about a week later asking for a ransom in exchange for Jackson's release. When no reply was forthcoming a third letter was sent claiming that a second victim had been abducted named Irene and that she would die on June 1. Like Jackson, Irene Thirkield was also truly missing, having been last seen with a black soldier on March 16.

That was no suprise to authorities. They had pretty much figured out that someone from the nearby military base was responsible for the letters and the abductions. For one thing the original letter was written on military stationary. It was no suprise when Jackson, who's real name proved to be Brenda Faison, was found in a shallow grave ust outside the military installation on March 30, her skull crushed. A few days later an anonymous call lead military police to Thirkield's headless body, hidden behind some logs near a rifle range. It wasn't long before authorities had determined that Hance was the soldier seen with Thierkield and the Army private was arrested. He confessed to all three slayings. He first stood trial for the Jackson/Faison slaying in civilian court and was found guilty and sentenced to die. He was then tried in military court for the Hickman and Thirkield murders. Found guilty and sentenced to life with hard labor, a review board did not agree and a re-trial was ordered. Military prosecutors decided against this, allowing Hance to begin his wait on Georgia's death row where he was put to death in 1994.