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PART2
Back in high school, Harold began skipping classes regularly. He started roaming the streets at night, sometimes not coming home at all. That pattern, quiet nights time wandering through neighborhoods with no clear destination, would follow him for the rest of his life. He graduated in August 1979 and spent the next 2 years struggling to hold down steady work.
In November 1981, he enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. While there, he became involved with a woman who was already married to another soldier. They had a daughter together in November 1983. That month, Nichols was discharged from the army for poor performance. He left the woman, left his daughter, and returned to Chattanooga in early 1984.
Within months of his return, on August 30th, 1984, Nichols broke into an apartment shared by two women. He later claimed he had only intended to steal. What followed was an attempted sexual assault. The victim managed to escape. Nichols was arrested on September 4th, 1984, and pleaded guilty in December of that year.
He received a 5-year sentence and was sent to Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. He served 18 months. Upon his release, a psychological evaluation was conducted. The finding, nothing unusual. That conclusion, made by a professional, recorded in official documents, and used to justify his freedom, would later prove to be one of the most consequential errors connected to this entire case.
After his release, Nichols missed a parole appointment on July 9th, 1986. His parole officer filed a violation. He was returned to jail from September through October 1986, then released again and ordered to live with his father until he married his then girlfriend, JoAnn. Harold and JoAnn married on November 1st, 1986.
She worked at Sathers Candy. He took a job at a local Godfathers Pizza. By all accounts, the marriage was warm and functional. JoAnn later said she was completely devoted to him and had no reason to suspect anything was wrong. But cracks were forming beneath the surface. In April 1987, JoAnn underwent surgery for a blocked fallopian tube.
Two months later, in June 1987, the woman in Kansas, the mother of the daughter Harold had abandoned, filed a paternity suit. Nichols settled out of court and paid child support. Then on June 29th, 1987 at 11:45 in the evening, a woman living in East Ridge spotted a man in a white t-shirt lurking near her home and called the police.
When officers arrived, they found Harold Wayne Nichols leaving a wooded area approximately 300 ft from the woman’s house. He was carrying a knife. He could not explain why he was there. He was arrested for prowling and carrying a dangerous weapon. On July 29th, 1987, he was returned to county jail. This time for a full year.
He was released approximately July to August of 1988. Weeks later, Karen Pulley was dead. What happened on the night of September 30th, 1988 did not begin that night. The night before, September 29th, Harold Wayne Nichols was already outside Karen Pulley’s Brainerd apartment. Through a small crack in the window blinds, he watched her roommate Lori getting ready for her night shift.
He stayed on the property and watched until Lori left. Then he walked away. He came back the following night. On September 30th, 1988, Nichols parked near the apartment and waited outside. He watched the house. He confirmed that Karen was alone. Then he moved. He entered through a bathroom window. Once inside, he located a length of 2×4 lumber within the home.