An East Ridge man who was dubbed the “red-headed stranger” and terrorized local women in late 1988 and early 1989 is expected to be put to death Dec. 11 for the rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman.
“People were on edge,” his trial attorney, Rosemarie Hill, said of that time in the Chattanooga area.
Harold Wayne Nichols, 64, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder, aggravated rape and first-degree burglary in connection with Karen Pulley’s death, court records show.
It was a bit of an odd case in that Nichols started out his final crime spree with the murder of Pulley and then went on to rape others that “just because they didn’t result in death weren’t as violent,” Hill said by phone, adding that such people typically get more violent along the way rather than starting with their most violent offense.
Nichols worked for Godfather’s Pizza at the time, and according to Hill, prosecutors said he would often stake out women’s houses based on where he was making pizza deliveries.