Justice finally caught up with a cold-blooded killer 40 years after he brutally murdered an 18-year-old woman in Salt Lake City.
Advances in DNA technology have brought closure to the grieving family of Christine Gallegos.
However, the fact that her killer died before facing justice shows how criminals can escape punishment for decades while victims’ families suffer endlessly.
Salt Lake City police announced it has solved the 1985 murder of Gallegos, identifying Rickie Lee Stallworth as her killer through DNA evidence and genealogy testing.
Stallworth, who was a 27-year-old airman stationed at Hill Air Force Base at the time of the murder, died of natural causes in July 2023 at age 65 before he could be questioned or brought to justice for his crimes.
Gallegos was last seen hitchhiking to work on May 15, 1985. Her body was discovered the following morning in a field.
She had been beaten, stabbed, and shot twice in the head after being sexually assaulted.
The young woman had been engaged and making plans for a family at the time of her murder.
The breakthrough came when investigators reexamined the case in 2023 using advanced DNA analysis and investigative genetic genealogy.
Texas-based Othram Labs conducted the analysis, which led detectives to identify Stallworth as the prime suspect.
DNA from Stallworth’s son confirmed the match to evidence collected from the crime scene.
Investigators discovered that Stallworth had a concerning history that should have raised red flags.
Salt Lake City police solved a 40-year-old murder of Christine Gallegos using DNA and genealogy testing. Ricky Lee Stallworth, a deceased airman, was identified as the suspect. The case was closed without an arrest, but justice was partially served for her family. pic.twitter.com/SadrT81pBP
— Sushi News (@sushi_news) May 16, 2025
He was known as a “State Street stalker” with a pattern of suspicious behavior, including unexplained overnight absences and associations with prostitutes.
Even more disturbing, one of Stallworth’s ex-wives was not surprised when she learned that his DNA was being collected for a murder investigation.
The funding for the DNA testing that cracked this case came from a grant from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
Despite the resolution, no criminal charges will be filed since Stallworth is dead, leaving some measure of justice incomplete.
For Gallegos’ family, including her mother Leah, the resolution brings some closure after four decades of unanswered questions.
In an emotional statement at the police press conference, Leah Gallegos expressed gratitude for the investigators’ persistence while sharing her enduring grief.
She spoke of wondering about the grandchildren she would never have and the life that was stolen from her daughter.
“They have never given up. Even though I had thought they had given up, they’d never given up,” Leah stated.
She continued, “[Christine] 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,” Leah concluded.
Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd emphasized the department’s commitment to solving cold cases
