Gerald & Charlene Gallego

Things settled down.  Gerald found new sexual intrigue with another woman, and Charlene was relieved that his demands on her and their accompanying frustrations (Gerald was often impotent when attempting normal intercourse) had lessened.  But in time, the novelty of his new conquest wore off and Gerald was again seeking excitement.  It was time, he told Charlene, for more love slaves.

April 24, 1980 found Gerald and Charlene eyeing the crowds of teenagers in the parking lot of Tower Records in Sacramento. Seeing too many cops mixed in for their liking, they moved on to the Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, about 20 minutes outside Sacramento.  Theyd had good luck at a mall with their first victims, they reasoned, so why not try again?

Stacey Ann Redican and Karen Twiggs, both seventeen, were worldly girls, but not wise enough to realize that the offer Charlene made to them of free drugs and a ride in a cool van would lead to their deaths.  Even as Gerald pointed his .357 Magnum at them and ordered Charlene to drive they seemed more inquisitive than frightened, as if they thought the situation was some sort of grown-up game they should play along with.  Presently, though, reality sank inthis was no game.  As Charlene headed east on I-80 Gerald crawled in the back of the van and raped them repeatedly.  Every so often, he paused to shout some directions to Charlene, and after a while they ended up at Limerick Canyon near Lovelock.  As he had done before, he walked the girls away from the van one at a time and dispatched them with a hammer.  This time, though, Charlene wouldnt let him keep his weapon; she flung the hammer out the van window on the way back to Sacramento.

Charlene, who had had an abortion the previous year, realized that she was once again pregnant.  She steeled herself for Geralds reaction, expecting the worst, and was shocked when he seemed rather pleased.  The idea of creating life fed his enormous ego, and besides, domesticity provided an excellent cover for his true depravity.  He even went as far as marrying Charlene again, this time using his Stephen Robert Feil alias.  Feeling that his new marriage helped to cement his new identity and further obfuscate his old one, Gerald breathed easy. 

And he began to take risks.