Utah cold case solved 40 years after 18-year-old woman's murder thanks to DNA sample, police say
Christine Gallegos was found dead on May 16, 1985, along Jefferson Street in Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake City Police Department said. She had been beaten, stabbed, sexually assaulted and shot to death near an area known then as Dirk's Field.
Detectives were unable to find any leads despite years of investigative efforts and multiple rounds of forensic testing. The case went cold and remained so until 2023, when advances in DNA and genealogical testing connected the case to a man named Ricky Lee Stallworth.
Stallworth was a 27-year-old airman stationed at Hill Air Force Base at the time of the Gallegos' murder, according to police. He died of natural causes in July 2023.
Family Of Mom Murdered In Ritzy Dc Suburb Decades Ago Gets Justice As Perp Nobody Expected Pleads Guilty
"We missed being able to talk to him and interview him just by a matter of months," Detective Cordon Parks said at a news conference on Thursday. "I wish we could have got to him before he died."
Read On The Fox News App
Stallworth was first named a likely suspect after the case was reexamined in 2023, with efforts focusing on identifying an unknown male DNA profile that had been previously entered into the Combined DNA Index System, a database of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence and missing persons.
Othram Labs in The Woodlands, Texas, came up with the likely match after detectives sent evidence to the lab in late 2023 for advanced DNA analysis.
One of Stallworth's family members then provided detectives with a voluntary DNA sample, which police said confirmed Stallworth as a match.
Parks said an investigation into Stallworth revealed him to be "sort of a State Street stalker."
"Even though he was married, he would tell his spouses that he was going out for the night," Parks said. "He'd leave late in the night, and he wouldn't come back until early, early the next morning."
Detectives said a motive remains unclear and any potential relationship between Gallegos and Stallworth remains unanswered. Investigators have said it was "very obvious" that Gallegos struggled with the suspect before she was shot and stabbed.
"She left a blood trail up to the gutter of Jefferson Street," Parks said.
Detectives' True Crime Podcast Helps Dig Up Breakthrough In Case That Haunted Family: 'Drew Audible Gasp'
Gallegos' mother, Leah, thanked investigators for "never giving up" on solving the case.
"You never quit thinking about it. You never quit crying about it," Leah Gallegos said when reporters asked about her memories of her daughter.
"I wonder about the kids that she would have…" she added. "She was outgoing, she was sweet ... they took so much away when they took her away."
Utah State Bureau of Investigation Agent Steve O'Camb said he hoped that identifying the killer would bring the family closure.
"Handcuffs, however, do not equal healing," O'Camb said. "The resolution of Christine's case is a prime example. We weren't able to arrest a suspect, but hopefully we achieved some measure of justice for her and the family and friends that loved her."Original article source: Utah cold case solved 40 years after 18-year-old woman's murder thanks to DNA sample, police say
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump administration vows to ‘come after' sanctuary states and cities
Federal immigration officers helped by Rochester, N.Y., police arrest men from Guatemala after a March traffic stop. The Trump administration has threatened the city over its sanctuary policies. City officials say some officers violated the policy by assisting in the arrests. (Photo courtesy of City of Rochester) The Trump administration is once again pressuring liberal cities and states to cooperate with deportation efforts, despite previous setbacks in court. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters last week telling sanctuary states, cities and counties that 'you better be abiding by our federal policies and with our federal law enforcement, because if you aren't, we're going to come after you,' she said in a Fox News interview. She demanded the areas answer her by Tuesday. Cities and states with so-called sanctuary policies generally refuse to assist with immigration raids or accede to requests for local jails to hold prisoners for deportation. Those that responded to Stateline's questions about the letters said they were not inclined to change their positions about cooperation with immigration authorities. 'It's the tactic of a bully. And the only way to deal with a bully is to let them know that they're not going to intimidate you,' Rhode Island Democratic Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement. The Trump administration is attempting to force more cooperation with immigration arrests. But it suffered a serious court reversal on July 25, when a federal judge dismissed a sanctuary policies case against Illinois, Chicago and Cook County. The state and local policies reflect a 'decision to not participate in enforcing civil immigration law — a decision protected by the Tenth Amendment,' Judge Lindsay Jenkins wrote in an order now under appeal. Bondi's letters follow the Justice Department's Aug. 5 release of a list of sanctuary jurisdictions including 12 states, the District of Columbia, four counties and 18 cities. That's fewer jurisdictions than the 14 states and almost 500 counties and cities that appeared on an earlier list, which the agency withdrew after criticism that it included conservative counties that were fully cooperating with immigration enforcement. The states on the new list are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state. The list also includes some counties and cities in those states as well as in Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New Mexico. Other federal courts have issued injunctions to at least temporarily stop Trump administration from withholding unrelated federal funding from governments that don't cooperate on immigration. Cities, counties and states have filed lawsuits challenging Trump's executive orders targeting sanctuary policies, including a February order that federal payments to states and localities must not 'by design or effect, facilitate the subsidization or promotion of illegal immigration, or abet so-called 'sanctuary' policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation.' 'The executive orders are directing agencies to basically take a maximalist approach to putting pressure on local governments to cooperate with immigration [enforcement], even though they're not required to do so by federal law,' said Jonathan Miller, one of the attorneys working on the California case for the Public Rights Project, a California-based group promoting civil rights protections for states and cities. One city on the administration's list was Rochester, New York, which disciplined some police officers for helping federal agents make a March arrest in the city. The city already faces a lawsuit brought by the Trump administration that prominently mentions the arrest of three men from Guatemala; one of whom has since pleaded guilty to re-entering the United States after a previous deportation. A spokesperson for the city, Barbara Pierce, said in a statement to The Guardian that, 'Nothing in Attorney General Bondi's letter is new and none of it has legal merit.' 'The letter reiterates many of the frivolous arguments that the federal government has already made in its pending suit against the city of Rochester,' she added. 'These same arguments were levied against the city of Chicago and were dismissed by the federal district court for the eastern district of Illinois nearly a month ago.' Ally Sullivan, a spokesperson for Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, said in a statement that Colorado 'is not a sanctuary state. The Governor continues to be frustrated by this mistaken and incorrect label.' In a televised interview earlier this year, Polis pointed out that Colorado fully cooperates with federal authorities on criminal matters. Immigration, he said, is a civil matter. 'In Colorado, we are improving public safety, apprehending dangerous criminals, cooperating with federal law enforcement on criminal investigations, and keeping our communities safe,' Sullivan said. Nevertheless, Colorado faces a federal lawsuit brought by the administration over its alleged sanctuary policies. Polis signed a measure in May that limits local law enforcement's communication with federal immigration authorities and restricts where federal authorities can operate within schools, child care facilities, hospitals and libraries without a judicial warrant. Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont in a statement said the state's Trust Act, which the Trump administration has targeted as a sanctuary policy, was passed with bipartisan support and helps ensure local police concentrate on serious crimes. The Trust Act, passed in 2013 and expanded in 2019, limits information sharing and compliance with requests to detain immigrants for federal immigration authorities. 'Nothing about this makes Connecticut a sanctuary in any legal or practical sense — it makes our state one that upholds the Constitution, respects the rule of law, and prioritizes the safety and well-being of our communities,' Lamont said. Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at thenderson@ This article was first published by Stateline, part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@ Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Fox News anchor Bret Baier ticketed for distracted driving amid Trump DC crackdown: ‘Didn't know there was paparazzi'
Not even Fox News anchors are immune from President Trump's law and order push in Washington, DC. 'Special Report' host and Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier was spotted by an eagle-eyed cop picking up his phone while driving in the capital's tony Georgetown neighborhood Saturday. 'I picked up my ringing phone as I drove past an officer while driving my wife's car in Georgetown,' Baier confessed on X Tuesday after video of the traffic stop circulated on social media. 'He pointed to have me pull over — I did. He was very professional. I had to dig for the registration card. Got a ticket and left. I didn't know there was paparazzi,' added Baier, who punctuated his post with an eye-roll emoji. 3 Bret Baier was seen respectfully interacting with a cop after getting pulled over. Instagram/@mollaanbabbingtoncompass 3 Bret Baier scored a high-profile interview with President Trump last week. Getty Images Video captured by Mollaan Babbington Group, a real estate firm in DC, showed the moment Baier was pulled over in a white Mercedes-Benz G-Class, also known as a G-Wagon. In DC, as in many municipalities and states, it is illegal to use a cellphone to text or call while driving unless the device has hands-free functionality. When reached for comment, a Fox News spokesperson directed The Post to Baier's social media statement. 3 The Fox News anchor was driving his wife Amy's car when he got pulled over. REUTERS Baier's run-in with the law came one day after he traveled on Air Force One to Anchorage, Alaska to cover Trump's highly-anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 55-year-old interviewed Trump on the way to the summit — and golfed with the president and special envoy Steve Witkoff at Trump's northern Virginia course the same day as his traffic stop. Starting Aug. 7, Trump began deploying federal law enforcement to the streets of DC in response to a series of high-profile crimes in which public servants were victimized — most notably former Department of Government Efficiency worker Edward Coristine, who was left blooded by juveniles after he intervened to prevent a carjacking early on Aug. 3. On Aug. 11, Trump deployed the DC National Guard and federalized the DC Metropolitan Police Department for 30 days. Since the crackdown began, local cops and feds have arrested hundreds of criminal suspects, including 52 collared Monday night, according to data from the Trump administration. The latest arrests included a suspected MS-13 gang member, per Attorney General Pam Bondi. The DC Police Union claimed Monday that since Trump's Aug. 11 order, crime has plunged 8% overall, including an 83% decline in carjacking and a 46% drop in robberies. Trump indicated earlier this month he would likely ask Congress to extend federal control of the MPD beyond the minimum 30 days.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
State Department revokes over 6,000 student visas, citing law breaking and overstays
Washington — The State Department says it has revoked more than 6,000 student visas for overstays and violations of the law. The vast majority of those violations or alleged violations entailed assault, driving under the influence, burglary, and "support for terrorism," according to a State Department official, although the State Department didn't say whether those were accusations, arrests, charges or convictions. Two-thirds of the recently revoked visas were because the students violated the law, the official said. Fox News first reported the student visa revocations. Those roughly 6,000 students represent a fraction of the 1.1 million foreign students who studied at colleges and universities in the U.S. in the 2023-2024 academic year, the most recently available data. The State Department official said between 200 and 300 of the visas pulled were over accusations that they engaged in "support for terrorism" under federal statute. The Trump administration has been cracking down on foreign students participating in pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. campuses, as well as universities that allow such protests. In one high-profile incident, Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk's visa was revoked after she wrote an op-ed criticizing U.S. policy in the Middle East, and then was taken into custody by ICE. Her visa was restored and she was released after she spent six weeks in ICE detention. The Trump administration has also imposed stricter screening for student visa applications. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced in April that international students, among other visa applicants, would have their social media screened for things including antisemitic content. The State Department has also required that student visa applicants make their social media profiles public. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for additional information on the revoked visas. Camilla Schick contributed to this report.
