SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Salt Lake City Police Department has announced that Christine Gallegos‘ case has been closed, 40 years to the day of her murder.
Ricky Lee Stallworth, who lived in Layton at the time of the murder, working as an airman at Hill Air Force Base, has been identified as the man who killed Christine Gallegos.
“I want to thank the dedication of the detectives, also the advances in forensic technology that are allowing these cold cases to be solved,” SLCPD Chief Brian Redd stated. “I just want to reiterate our commitment to solving cold cases.”
Christine Gallegos was last seen in 1985
Detective Cordon Parks provided a recap of the investigation into Christine Gallegos’ murder.
Christine Gallegos was 18 when she was last seen alive at 10:30 p.m. on May 15, 1985. Christine Gallegos told her family that she was hitchhiking downtown to work at a bar. She was last seen alive on 40000 West in Kearns.
One hour after she was last seen, witnesses heard two gunshots in the area of 1384 Jefferson Street in Salt Lake City. Christine Gallegos was there for several hours before being found by a passerby at 3:50 a.m. on May 16.
Gallegos was found dead, severely beaten, stabbed, and shot twice in the head. Officers believe that the person who picked her up drove her to a remote area and killed her after she fought back.
The police had no suspects at the time. Forensic testing over the years of investigation also yielded no suspects, but biological evidence was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 2010.
DNA evidence leads to the truth
In 2023, investigative genealogy was recommended by the Utah Cold Case Review Board and the State of Utah Crime Lab. According to Parks, SLCPD contacted a DNA lab in Texas — Othram — and sent them evidence.
Othram developed a profile of the suspect based on DNA and genealogy. Several months after the profile was developed, the lab called and said that they had developed a likely suspect.
Ricky Lee Stallworth was 27 at the time of Christine Gallegos’ murder. He was a U.S. Air Force airman at Hill Air Force Base in Layton, Utah.
“Law enforcement officials never stop trying to find answers and it doesn’t matter how old a case is, or whether it was hopeless in the past, there is technology here today that is able to get answers for families,” Kristen Mittelman, Chief Development Officer for Othram, is quoted in a release from the company. “Something like this is heartbreaking for a family to go through, but it’s important for them to know the truth.”
SLCPD spoke with three of his four ex-wives, spoke with a friend, and eventually made contact with a natural son of Stallworth. That son provided a voluntary DNA swab for the investigation, Parks said.
The Bureau of Forensic Services, alongside Othram, was able to determine that his DNA was a match to the biological information found on Gallegos’ body.
“We missed being able to talk to him and interview him by a matter of months,” Parks stated.
Police investigators determined that Stallworth murdered Christine Gallegos in 1985. Unfortunately, Stallworth died of natural causes in July 2023, only months before police found his name.
“Today, we can say with certainty that he was responsible for the death of Christine Gallegos,” Parks concluded.
Steve O’Camb, a Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) investigator with the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS), shared the importance of the resolution of this case. SAKI investigators got involved in the case when the initiative came to Utah in 2015 and began testing old sexual assault kits from Utah criminal cases.
“In this case, we don’t have a suspect to put handcuffs on or anyone to charge, but we hope that our efforts have just given some measure of justice to the victim, her family, who is with us today, and their friends and people who loved her,” O’Camb stated.
O’Camb shared that the SAKI initiative assisted in solving the formerly cold case homicide of Gregory Dahl Nickell in Uintah County. Five cold cases have been solved by the initiative brought to Utah in 2015.
Mother of Christine Gallegos expresses her gratitude
“I just know that I sure miss this girl every day,” Leah Gallegos, Christine’s mother, said. “I wonder about the kids she would have, and I watch other people with their daughters, their grandkids.”
Leah Gallegos has spent 40 years waiting for an answer from police. In a 2021 interview with ABC4, she expressed her frustration that it was taking so long for any progress. Today, she expressed gratitude.
“She was outgoing, she was sweet, she was in love with her fiancé, Troy,” Leah Gallegos stated. “They took so much away when they took her away.”
Marcos Ortiz contributed to this report.
