In the spring of 1980, the life of 17-year-old Stacy Ann Redican was tragically cut short in an ordeal that began in Sacramento, California, and ended in the desolate landscape of Pershing County, Nevada. On April 24, Redican and her friend, Karen Chipman Twiggs, also 17, were at a shopping mall when they were approached by Charlene Gallego. Unbeknownst to them, this seemingly innocent encounter was a calculated trap set by Charlene and her husband, Gerald Armond Gallego, a pair who were in the
midst of a violent crime spree.
Charlene lured the two teenage girls into their van with the promise of smoking marijuana. Once inside, the horrific reality of their situation became clear as Gerald Gallego brandished a. 357 Magnum. As Charlene drove, Gerald subjected both girls to repeated sexual assaults in the back of the van. Their terrifying journey ended in remote Limerick Canyon, Nevada. There, Gerald Gallego led the girls to their deaths, viciously bludgeoning them with a hammer he had purchased along the way.
For months, the fate of Stacy Redican and Karen Twiggs remained a mystery. It wasn’t until July 27, 1980, that their bodies were discovered by picnickers in shallow graves. The brutality of the crime was evident; their hands were bound with a distinctive type of macrame rope, and an autopsy confirmed they had died from multiple blows to the head. The investigation into their murders eventually led authorities to the Gallegos, who were responsible for a string of kidnappings and murders across California and Nevada.
Charlene Gallego ultimately testified against her husband in exchange for a plea deal, providing crucial evidence that linked him to the murders of Redican and Twiggs, among others. Gerald Gallego was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death in Nevada. The prosecution in Pershing County was so financially strained that a Sacramento newspaper columnist had to appeal to the public for donations to help cover the trial costs, a campaign that raised over $20,000. After numerous appeals, Gerald Gallego died of cancer on death row in 2002 before his execution could be carried out. Charlene Gallego was sentenced to prison and was released after serving nearly 17 years.
