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Gerald and Charlene Gallego

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Gerald and Charlene Gallego
Charlene (top) and Gerald (bottom) Gallego
Born
Gerald Armond Gallego
Charlene Adell Williams

(1946-07-17)July 17, 1946 (G.G.)
(1956-10-10) October 10, 1956 (age 68) (C.G.)
Sacramento, California (G.G. and C.G.)
DiedJuly 18, 2002(2002-07-18) (aged 56) (G.G.) Died of cancer before his death sentence could be carried out.
Nevada, (G.G.)
Other namesThe Love Slave Killers
The Gallego Sex Slaves Killers
Conviction(s)Armed robbery (G.G.)
Lewd and lascivious acts with a child (G.G.)
Murder (G.G. and C.G.)
Criminal penaltyDeath (G.G.)
Sixteen years and eight months (C.G.)
Details
Victims10
Span of crimes
September 11, 1978 – November 2, 1980
CountryUnited States
State(s)California
Nevada
Oregon
Date apprehended
November 17, 1980

Gerald Armond Gallego (July 17, 1946 – July 18, 2002) and Charlene Adell (Williams) Gallego (born October 10, 1956) are two American serial killers who terrorized Sacramento, California between 1978 and 1980. They murdered 10 victims, mostly teenagers, all of whom they kept as sex slaves before killing them.

Gerald Armond Gallego

Gerald Armond Gallego (a.k.a. "Stephen Feil," "Stephen Styles")[1] was born on 17 July 1946 in Sacramento, California; he was the son of a prostitute and an executed murderer.[2] Gerald worked as a bartender and truck driver.[1] He began his criminal career at age 13 when he sexually abused a 6 year old girl;[3] he had 23 arrests and served time after being convicted of robbery prior to committing murder.[1] Gerald was married a total of 7 times, including two marriages to the same woman. He was still married to his previous wife when he married Charlene.[3]

Charlene Adell (Williams) Gallego

Charlene Adell Williams was born on 19 October 1956 in Stockton, California. She was a smart, shy child from a supportive home.[2] The trajectory of her life began to change when, as a young adult, she started using drugs and alcohol. She had two failed marriages before meeting Gerald.[4]

Victims

Rhonda Scheffler and Kippi Vaught

On 11 September 1978, two teenagers – Rhonda Scheffler and Kippi Vaught – disappeared from a mall in Sacramento. Charlene lured them to a nearby van, and the couple abducted the teenagers. Gerald used a handgun to threaten the girls and tied them up. They drove to Baxter, California, where Gerald raped and then executed the girls, each with a single shot to the back of their heads.[1]

Brenda Judd and Sandra Colley

On 24 June 1979, Brenda Judd and Sandra Colley were similarly abducted from the Washoe County Fair in Reno, Nevada. Charlene testified that Gerald beat the girls to death with a shovel or hammer.[1] Their remains were finally found and identified 20 years after their murder, in late 1999.[5]

Stacy Ann Redican and Karen Chipman-Twiggs

Similarly, on 24 April 1980, Stacy Ann Redican and Karen Chipman-Twiggs went missing from a Sacramento mall. They were found in July, sexually abused and bludgeoned to death.[3]

Linda Teresa Aguilar

While hitchhiking on 6 June 1980, Linda Teresa Augilar – who was pregnant – was abducted, murdered with a blunt object, and buried in a shallow grave.[3]

Virginia Mochel

On July 17, 1980, 34-year-old Virginia Mochel was abducted from the parking lot of a West Sacramento tavern, where she worked as a bartender. Her skeletal remains, still bound with nylon fishing line, were found three months later outside of Clarksburg, California. Loops of cord from the victim's neck were admitted as proof of death by strangulation.[6]

Craig Miller and Mary Elizabeth Sowers

While leaving a fraternity party on 1 November 1980, Craig Miller and Mary Elizabeth Sowers were forced into the Gallego's car at gunpoint.[2] Miller was ordered out of the car and shot; his body was found near Bass Lake, California. The couple returned to their apartment with Sowers, where Gerald sexually abused her before taking her to a field in Placer County, California, where he then executed her.[1]

Capture and trial

A friend of Miller and Sowers noticed their abduction and managed to catch the car's license plate number.[2] Police used this information to track and capture the fugitives. Gerald and Charlene pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and murder. However, prosecutors eventually convinced Charlene to testify against Gerald for a plea deal that reduced her prison sentence to 16 years and eight months. Gerald was found guilty of murdering Miller and Sowers and sentenced to death by gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison. He then faced charges for the murder of Redican and Twiggs, for which he faced the death penalty by lethal injection.[3]

In July 1997, Charlene completed her sentence and was released.[4] While in prison, she extensively studied subjects, including psychology, business, and Icelandic literature. She reportedly had a photographic memory, which was helpful during the trials.[7] During an interview, Charlene claimed that she was also a victim when she said, "There were victims who died, and there were victims who lived. It's taken me a hell of a long time to realize that I'm one of the ones who lived."[8] She also claimed that she "tried to save some of their lives."[9]

In 2002, Gerald died of cancer in a Nevada prison medical center while awaiting execution.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Frasier, David K. (1996). Murder cases of the twentieth century : biographies and bibliographies of 280 convicted or accused killers. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 167–9. ISBN 0786401842.
  2. ^ a b c d Flowers, R. Barri (26 November 1996). "Chapter 18 – Gerald and Charlene Gallego". The dynamics of murder: kill or be killed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. pp. 233–52. ISBN 978-1439879740. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hickey, Eric W. (1991). Serial murderers and their victims (3 ed.). Pacific Grove, CA.: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co. pp. 198–9. ISBN 9780534154141.
  4. ^ a b Newton, Michael (2006). The encyclopedia of serial killers (2 ed.). New York: Facts On File. pp. 87–9. ISBN 9780816069873. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  5. ^ Chereb, Sandra (23 February 2000). "DNA tests confirm remains of Sparks teens". LasVegas Sun. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  6. ^ Serial Killer Couples: Bonded by Sexual Depravity, Abduction, and Murder. pp. 22, 23, 24. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  7. ^ Vronsky, Peter (2007). Female serial killers: How and why women become monsters. New York: Berkley Books. pp. 288–90.
  8. ^ "Gallego's ex says she was victim". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada: Ganette. 29 October 1997. p. 13. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Sacramento's 'Sex Slave Murders' Killer Discovered Living In Area; Speaks After Years Of Silence". CBS Sacramento. CBS Broadcasting inc. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  10. ^ Taylor, Michael (20 July 2002). "'Sex-slave' killer dies of cancer in Nevada prison hospital". SF Gate. Hearst Communications, inc. Retrieved 27 April 2017.

Further reading

  • Davis, Carol Anne (2001). Women who kill: Profiles of female serial killers. London: Allison & Busby. ISBN 978-0749005351.
  • Flowers, R. Barri (1996). The Sex Slave Murders. New York: St. Martins Press. ISBN 978-1461191001.
  • Biondi, Ray; Hecox, Walter (1988). All his father's sins : inside the Gerald Gallego sex-slave murders. Rocklin, CA: Prima Pub. & Communications. ISBN 978-0914629344.
  • Van Hoffmann, Eric (1990). A venom in the blood. New York: Pinnacle Books. ISBN 978-0786006601.
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