Justice finally arrives for a young woman brutally murdered in 1985 as police cracked the case using cutting-edge DNA technology.
An Air Force airman stationed at Hill Air Force Base has been identified as Christine Gallegos’ killer nearly 40 years after the crime.
Salt Lake City police announced the resolution of the 1985 brutal slaying of 18-year-old Gallegos exactly 40 years after her death.
The breakthrough came through advanced DNA technology and investigative genetic genealogy, bringing closure to a case that has haunted the community for decades.
For years, traditional police work failed to identify her killer, but modern science finally exposed the truth.
Identified as Rickie Lee Stallworth, the murderer was a 27-year-old airman at Hill Air Force Base when he committed the crime.
Investigators found that Gallegos, who was engaged with plans for a family, was last seen hitchhiking to work on May 15, 1985.
The next morning, her body was discovered beaten, sexually assaulted, stabbed, and shot twice in the head.
Known by some as a “State Street stalker,” Stallworth died of natural causes in July 2023 at age 65, before he could face justice in the American court system.
Police confirmed his identity through DNA evidence processed by Texas-based Othram Labs, using a sample from Stallworth’s son that matched evidence from the crime scene.
The investigation was funded by a grant from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
Police in Salt Lake City announced Thursday they have solved the cold case murder of Christine Gallegos, 40 years after the 18-year-old was killed while trying to hitchhike to work. https://t.co/p72SebGHKA
— ABC News (@ABC) May 16, 2025
“Today, we can say with certainty that he was responsible for the death of Christine Gallegos. And we are officially announcing the closing of this case,” said Salt Lake police detective Cordon Parks.
Gallegos’ mother, Leah, expressed gratitude for the police department’s persistence in solving the case.
Leah said:
“They have never given up. Even though I had thought they had given up, they’d never given up. She was just special. She was outgoing, she was sweet, she was in love with her fiancé, Troy. They had a family planned. They took so much away when they took her away.
“You never quit thinking about it, you never quit crying about it. It’s just always there. I just know that I sure miss this girl every day. I wonder about the kids that she would have, and I watch other people with their daughters, their grandkids.”
What makes this case particularly troubling is that Stallworth was never previously identified as a suspect.
He was allowed to live a full life while Gallegos’ family suffered decades of grief and uncertainty.
Even more disturbing, Stallworth apparently had a pattern of suspicious behavior.
One of his ex-wives admitted she was not surprised when DNA was collected for a murder investigation.
Reports also indicate he was known for unexplained overnight absences and associations with prostitutes.
Although the resolution brings some measure of peace to the Gallegos family, the fact remains that no criminal charges will ever be filed due to Stallworth’s death.
