40-year-old cold case killing now solved, but some mystery remains, Utah cops say
Christine Gallegos had plans to start a family with her fiance when she was found shot to death in 1985, police and family in Utah said.
She was 18 years old, and for four decades her killing remained unsolved — until now, the Salt Lake City Police Department said in a May 15 news release, nearly 40 years to the day of her body being found.
Police believe a man named Ricky Lee Stallworth was responsible.
Stallworth, 27 years old at the time of Gallegos’ death, was stationed at an Air Force base north of Salt Lake City, according to police.
Police aren’t sure how, or if, Gallegos and Stallworth knew each other, they said, noting that Gallegos’ loved ones “have no recollection of her ever knowing” him.
And Stallworth died in July 2023, so detectives never got to interview him, according to police, who said DNA eventually linked him to the killing.
Case went cold
Gallegos was found dead May 16, 1985, near an area of Salt Lake City then known as Dirk’s Field, police said. She’d told loved ones the night before that she was going to hitchhike to work, Detective Cordon Parks said during a news conference.
Parks said “our best guess is that” Stallworth picked her up.
The case became cold “despite exhaustive efforts and multiple rounds of forensic testing over the years,” police said, but then it was revived in 2023.
Investigators forwarded evidence in late 2023 to Othram Labs in Texas “for advanced DNA analysis using investigative genetic genealogy,” police said.
That led to Stallworth being identified “as the likely suspect,” and “a voluntary DNA sample from a family member confirmed the match,” police said.
In the release, Police Chief Brian Redd said “this case highlights the determination of our detectives and the progress of forensic technology.”
He added that, “just because time passes doesn’t mean we stop searching for answers.”
Mother remembers
Gallegos’ mother, Leah Gallegos, said during the news conference that her ”sweet” daughter “was outgoing” and planning for the future.
“I wonder about the kids that she would have, and I watch other people with their daughters, their grandkids,” Leah Gallegos told those gathered.
She added that, “they took so much away when they took her away.”
This story was originally published May 16, 2025 at 12:46 PM with the headline "40-year-old cold case killing now solved, but some mystery remains, Utah cops say."
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