True Crime Friday: Gerald and Charlene Gallego, the Sacramento Sex Slave Serial Killers
I present to you, a serial killer married couple Gerald Armond Gallego and Charlene Adell Gallego. They were a serial killer couple and rapists. They were active during the years 1978-1980 in California, Oregon and Nevada. The couple murdered at least eleven people. There are some women that participate in the abuse, neglect and demise of other women and girls. The male dominated system was at work and at the devastation and expense of women and girls.
The Early Childhood of Gerald Gallego
Gerald Armond Gallego was born on July 17, 1946. He was not born in the best of circumstances. His mother was a sex worker, and his father was a criminal. His father was executed in Mississippi via the Gas Chamber for killing two policemen in 1955. His mother had a series of boyfriends that she allowed to beat him. He was abused and neglected for years during his childhood. She also let her clients sexually abuse Gerald as a child. Gerald often begged to be hugged and was frequently left unclean and hungry. At the age of ten, Gallego was arrested for his first known felony offense. He robbed a neighbor’s home. He had twenty-three arrests and served prison time after being convicted of the first robbery.When Gerald was twelve years old when he abused a six-year-old girl which resulted in him being sentenced to a California youth authority facility. As an adult he sexually abused his own daughter. He also sexually abused the daughter of one of his friends. Gerald Gallego worked as a bartender and truck driver. He was married a total of seven times, including two marriages to the same woman. He would marry women for the money and then leave them when the money ran out. He was still married to a previous wife when he married Charlene.
The Early Childhood of Charlene Gallego
Charlene Adell Gallego was born on October 10, 1956. Charlene was considered smart and shy as a child. Unlike her husband Gerald, she grew up in a loving and supportive family. Her father was the vice president of a chain of supermarkets. Charlene’s mother would travel with her father until she was in a bad car accident. Charlene took over the professional role and traveled with her father on business trips. She was frequently lauded by her father's clients for being an educated and articulate youngster.As Charlene grew into adulthood, she started using alcohol. She made enemies at work because of her overly flirty behavior with her male peers. Charlene was disliked at work and developed a reputation as a sex addict. Charlene eventually wed a wealthy young man who was addicted to drugs. That is when she also began to use drugs as well. The marriage did not last, and she married again a few years later. This marriage also ended in divorce. Charlene had an affair with a married man. She asked the man if they could have a threesome with his wife. The man ended the affair when she asked about the threesome. After the man ended the affair, she tried to commit suicide.
Charlene met Gerald in 1977 at a poker club in Sacramento, California. After a week they moved in together. She acted as the subservient partner in the Sadomasochistic relationship. Although Charlene later claimed in court that she detested the painful experience, she continued to endure and participate in the relationship. Gerald engaged in rough intercourse with her and particularly enjoyed sodomising her. She admitted that she started liking deviant sexual fantasies to her friends.
Gerald brought home a sixteen-year-old exotic dancer and the three of them had intercourse. Gerald ensured that Charlene and the teenager did not touch each other, only him. The next day when he came home from work, he discovered that Charlene and the teenager were having sex without him.
Gerald beat Charlene after throwing the dancer out an open window. He refused to touch her for over a month claiming to be impotent. Charlene felt like Gerald was sleeping with his customers at the bar. After a year, he admitted that he required a pair of sex slaves to keep him excited. Charlene was asked to find them for him, and she was obliged.
The Victims of Gerald Gallego and Charlene Gallego
- Rhonda Scheffler, 17
- Kippi Vaught, 16
- Brenda Judd, 14
- Sandra Colley, 13
- Stacey Redican, 17
- Karen Chipman Twigg, 17
- Virginia Mochel, 31
- Craig Miller 22
- Mary Elizabeth Sowers, 21
- Sandra Kaye Butler, 16
- Linda Teresa Aguilar, 21
A friend of the victims, Miller and Sowers witnessed their abduction. He reported it to the authorities and gave them the license plate number. Police used this information to track down and arrest the Gallegos at a Western Union office. Charlene's parents were in the process of wiring her money. After their arrest, Gerald and Charlene pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping and murder. Charlene's attorneys were eventually able to convince prosecutors in several states and counties to allow Charlene to testify against Gerald for a plea deal that reduced her prison sentence to roughly sixteen years.
Lady Justice
Gerald was sentenced to death in California for the murders of Mary Beth Sowers and Craig Miller. In June 1984, Gerald was convicted in Nevada for the murders of Karen Twiggs and Stacey Redican and subsequently sentenced to death. The Nevada death sentence was overturned in 1997. Gerald Armond Gallego died in a Nevada prison on July 18, 2002 of cancer.July 1997, Charlene completed her sentence and was released from prison. While in prison, she studied Psychology, Business and Icelandic literature. During an interview with the media, Charlene claimed that she was also a victim. She stated "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." She also claimed that she "tried to save some of their lives." Charlene changed her name and moved to an undisclosed location.