Folie a Deux Part Four: Gerald and Charlene Gallego

There have been many killer couples in criminal history. Many of the most notorious couples are of non-American descent. Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka were Canadian; Rosemary and Frederick West were English, as were Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. The infamous David and Catherine Birnie were Australian. Gerald and Charlene Gallego were yet another classic example of a folie a deux; they were also one of the first well-known killer couples from America.

Gerald Armond Gallego was born in 1946. He had never met his father who was an inmate at San Quentin Correctional Facility. His father became the first person to ever be executed by means of the gas chamber in the state of Mississippi. Gerald knew nothing of his father or of his lethal lifestyle. His mother had told him that his father was accidentally killed soon after he was born and he did not question it. His mother, Lorraine Pullen Bennett, was a prostitute and he was often forced to engage in criminal acts with her pimps. He had several problems with the law, the most severe occurring at the age of 13. It was at that time that he raped a six-year-old little girl who lived near him. By the time he met Charlene in 1977, he had a very long track record of no less than 23 criminal charges. Throughout his adolescent and early adult years, he had served time at Fred C. Nelles School for Boys, Deuel Vocational Institution, Vacaville Medical Facility and a great many county and city prisons. A majority of his criminal activities involved rape, incest and sodomy. The incest charge pertained to his daughter, Mary Ellen, who he sexually molested from the age of six.

Unlike her husband, Charlene had an idyllic upbringing. She was born in 1956 to Charles and Mercedes Williams. She was a spoiled only child and enjoyed all of the luxuries of an upper-middle class upbringing. She was a literal genius with an IQ of 160, a promising violinist and an excellent student. Despite the many advantages that she was awarded, her downfall began when she entered high school. At that time, she began using drugs, drinking heavily and engaging in promiscuous sexual activity. Charlene's scholastic performance suffered as a result of her behavior and she was barely able to graduate from high school. She attended college for one semester before she was forced to leave due to her poor grades. She married twice; both marriages were short-lived and unsuccessful. She met Gerald on September 10, 1977 at a poker bar and the two fell in love instantly. The couple moved in together within one week of their first meeting.

They had a deviant sex life and Gerald enjoyed having intercourse with multiple partners. Charlene did not want to lose Gerald, and was willing to do anything to keep him happy. She did not object when a teenage runaway was moved into their home to act as Gerald's sex slave. Not only did she not mind, but she enjoyed it. Gerald returned from work one night to find the two of them engaged in sexual activity. He became infuriated; he threw the girl out of a window and severely beat Charlene. He claimed that the revelation of her bisexuality had tainted his image of her and rendered him impotent. The fact of the matter was that Gerald was unable to perform sexually under any non-deviant circumstances. The two had a very turbulent relationship. It was not uncommon for the police to be called to their house to end their domestic disputes. In addition to verbal disagreements, the two often physically attacked each other.

As a depraved surprise for Gerald's 33^rd birthday, Charlene invited Mary Ellen and one of her friends over to the house. All three of the women had sex with Gerald as the orgy progressed. When Mary Ellen left the next day, the couple devised the idea of procuring "disposable sex slaves." They spent over two months formulating their modus operandi and began their killing rampage on September 11, 1978.

On that fateful day, Rhonda Scheffler, 17, and Kippi Vaught, 16, were shopping at a local mall. Charlene pulled up in a van and called the girls over. She looked around their age and offered them free drugs as a lure. They got into the van where Gerald was ready and waiting with a gun. He bound the two girls and left Charlene guarding them while he drove to a desolate area. Once he found a secluded spot, he instructed Charlene to drive the van into Sacramento to visit some friends, so they would have an alibi in the event that one was necessary. She was then told to drop the van off at their home and return to pick him and the girls up in their Oldsmobile. When she returned, the girls were sodomized by Gerald and forced to perform oral sex on Charlene. They were both shot and beaten to death. Their battered corpses were found two days later.

The couple married in Reno on September 30^th. Charles had found a job for his daughter. She was expected by Gerald to pay her own way. He controlled her and her finances, making her turn over most of the money that she made to him.

On June 24, 1979, the couple killed again. Brenda Judd, 14, and Sandra Colley, 13, were on their way home from a local fair when a young woman approached them. She said that she needed help distributing flyers and asked if they would be interested in earning some extra money. Gerald watched from a distance as Charlene and the two girls got into the van. He followed and bound the girls, while holding them at gunpoint. Gerald stopped at a hardware store along the way to purchase a hammer and shovel. He returned to the van and violated the girls while Charlene drove. She became infuriated that he began the rape without her and shot him; the bullet grazed his arm. Gerald watched as Charlene molested the two girls. He then led the girls away from the van where he killed and buried them. The two girls were still considered to be missing in 1982 when Charlene confessed to their murders.

The next two victims were claimed on April 24, 1980. Stacy Ann Redican and Karen Twiggs* were picked up by the couple in the parking lot of a local shopping mall. Charlene lured the young ladies with the promise of free drugs. As Charlene drove the van to a secluded area, Gerald repeatedly raped the teenage girls. Once he finished, he led the girls away from the car, bludgeoned them with a hammer and buried their bodies. Charlene disposed of the hammer.

The previous year, Charlene became pregnant and was forced by Gerald to have an abortion ... at her own expense. Soon after the Redican-Twiggs murder, she discovered that she pregnant again. Much to her surprise, Gerald wanted to keep the baby. The two repeated their vows in Reno on June 1, 1980. Gerald used the pseudonym "Steven Robert Feil." He stole the I.D. card of Charlene's cousin, a police officer, and planned on using it to obtain a duplicate birth certificate and a driver's license. Charlene's parents were witnesses of the second marriage.

The couple decided to spend their second honeymoon in Oregon, fishing. On June 8, 1980, Gerald spotted Linda Aguilar, 21. She was four months pregnant and on her way home from a store when she was approached by Gerald. He pulled up in his van and offered her a ride, which she accepted. Once in the vehicle, Charlene took over the driving as Gerald assaulted the young woman. Once in an isolated area, Gerald led Linda away from the van. He bludgeoned her with a rock and strangled her. Her family reported her missing twelve days later. On June 22, 1980, Linda's body was found near Gold Beach. She was bound by her wrists and ankles and her skull had been shattered. The necropsy showed the presence of sand in her throat, nose and mouth, implying that she was alive at the time of her burial. Linda had an abusive ex-boyfriend who was considered to be the prime suspect in her murder until the true identity of the killer(s) was revealed.

On July 16, 1980, Gerald and Charlene had spent much of their day getting drunk at a local tavern. When the bar was closing, the couple waited in the dark parking lot and abducted Virginia Mochel, the 34-year-old barmaid. The couple's MO slightly changed this time; instead of driving to a secluded area as usual, the couple brought the woman back to their house. The two violated the young woman and Charlene left to watch television while Gerald finished assaulting Virginia. When he was ready, the three of them boarded the van and Charlene drove as Gerald asphyxiated her. Her still-bound body was found in Clarksburg, California on October 30, 1980. Virginia was the mother of two and her disappearance was taken very seriously. Gerald and Charlene were traced back to the Sail Inn on the night in question. They were interrogated and vehemently denied having any knowledge of Virginia's whereabouts.

The next and final killing took place on November 2, 1980. The couple borrowed Charlene's parents' Oldsmobile and picked up Craig Miller, 22, and his date, Mary Elizabeth Sowers, 21, as they were leaving a dance in Sacramento. Friends of Craig had observed him and Mary Elizabeth getting into the vehicle. One friend approached the car to talk to Craig, at which point Charlene ordered that he get away from the car and sped off. Craig's friends memorized the license plate number of the vehicle. Charlene drove until Gerald found a suitable spot. He led Craig out of the car and shot him in the head 3 times. The couple returned to their home and Charlene watched television as Gerald raped Mary Elizabeth. When he finished, Charlene drove to a desolate area and Gerald shot Mary Elizabeth 3 times and dumped her body in a ditch. It was not discovered until November 22, 1980. On November 3, Craig's dead body was found, prompting his friends to share the license plate number with the local police.

That same day, Charlene and Gerald went to the home of Charlene's parents for a visit and much to their surprise, the police were there waiting for them. Gerald fled and Charlene was left with the task of lying to the officers. When asked about her whereabouts on the previous night, she claimed that she and her "boyfriend" went to see a movie. When asked what vehicle they were driving, she announced that they took her boyfriend's red Triumph. The police informed her that the Triumph had been parked near the house the whole night, at which point Charlene claimed that she was too drunk to recall which vehicle they were using. The officers were very suspicious of the dubious couple. They had no choice but to leave due to the lack of concrete evidence, but planned to keep a watchful eye on the two.

Gerald and Charlene realized that the police were wise to their recent activities. They had not done a good job of hiding Craig's body and planned to rectify that. Upon arriving at Craig's burial site, they were unable to locate the body. Authorities had already located it the day before. Realizing that it was only a matter of time before they were caught, the couple drove to Reno, at which point they abandoned their vehicle and continued their journey by bus. They headed to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Meanwhile, back in Sacramento, Charlene's father informed the police that his son-in-law's name was Gerald Gallego, not Steven Feil. Police officers showed a photograph of Gerald to one of Craig's friends, who was able to confirm that the man in the picture was the same man that he saw sitting in the vehicle with Craig and Mary Elizabeth. The police were also able to match the bullets that were taken from Craig's body to bullets that were recovered when Gerald shot the ceiling of a bar that he worked at.

Upon arriving in Utah, the couple phoned Charlene's parents and requested that they wire them some money; Charles and Mercedes reluctantly acquiesced. From Utah, they traveled to Denver, Colorado. They ended their journey in Omaha, Nebraska and once again phoned Charlene's parents for money. Charles and Mercedes agreed to wire the money and informed the police of their activities. When the couple arrived at the Western Union office in Omaha on November 17^th to redeem their funds, the police easily arrested them.

In July 1981, Charlene arranged a plea bargain: a confession and testimony against her husband in exchange for leniency. She did as agreed and received a sentence of 16 years and 8 months in prison. In July of 1997, Charlene was released from prison, having completed her sentence.

Gerald received two trials, one in California and one in Nevada. He was sentenced to death in both states. In the ensuing years, he continues to proclaim his innocence. He died on July 18, 2002 from rectal cancer.

Gerald and Charlene Gallego are a classic example of a folie a deux. They were extremely codependent and fed off of each other's depravity. They encouraged one another to commit heinous acts of abduction, murder and rape. Charlene was driven to commit these deeds by her love for Gerald. He was already violent and had a long criminal record when he met her, but it is very possible that Charlene would not have progressed to becoming a murderess had she never met Gerald.

There is much controversy as to whether serial killers are a product of bad genes or bad environments: the "Nature v. Nurture" debate. Some think that killers are born, where others feel that they are created. I personally feel that it is a combination of the two. Gerald never met his father and knew nothing of his life. He ironically ended up following his father's lead, committing crimes that would culminate in the receipt of a death sentence. It is obvious that some form of mental illness ran in his family and there is no concrete proof that genetics were not to blame for his behavior.

*Some sources list Karen Twiggs as Karen Chipman.