Offender Record · OFF-2026-073
Charlene Williams Gallego (photo from the Radford University biography)
Charlene Adell Williams
Also known as Charlene Gallego, Charlene Adelle Gallego, Mary Martinez
Sex
Female
Race
White
Height
5'0"
Born
1956
Custody
Released
States
NV, CA, NE
Custody
Released at Warm Springs Correctional Center, Carson City, Nevada
Custody record at the facility
Released from Warm Springs Correctional Center on July 17, 1997, after serving 16 years and 8 months.
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Summary of the record
Charlene Adell Williams was born October 10, 1956, in Stockton, California. Between September 1978 and November 1980, she was charged with and participated in kidnappings, sexual assaults, and murders with her husband Gerald Gallego. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Nevada for the deaths of a 17-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl; California charges for two additional murder victims were eventually dismissed. She was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison and released on parole in July 1997.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Apr 1980, Sacramento, California (abduction) / Limerick Canyon, Nevada (murder)
Second degree murder
Nevada District Court · Pershing County · NRS 200.020 · Arrested Nov 17, 1980 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 16 years, 8 months concurrent with California sentence
Stacey Redican, 17 years old. Charlene lured the victim from a shopping mall in Sacramento with an offer of distributing flyers. Gerald Gallego beat the victim to death with a hammer or similar blunt object after transporting her to a remote location in Nevada. Charlene pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on February 25, 1983.
SourcesCharlene Gallego; GALLEGO v. STATE (Nevada Supreme Court 1985)
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
2
Victims convicted
10
Victims confessed
0
Victims suspected
Active years
1978–1980
Victim profile
Young women, Teenagers, Couples, Strangers
Stated motive
Sexual, Thrill
Range from home
interstate
Accomplice
Yes
Confessed
Yes
Cooperated with investigators
Yes
Education
high school
Marital history
Married
Children
1
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
CA
Stockton, California
approx. 1956 – 1977 · Birthplace; raised by biological parents
Sacramento, California
approx. 1977 – 1980 · Met Gerald Gallego in poker club September 1977; lived with Gerald
Sacramento, California
approx. 1977 – 1980 · Butcher
Oregon House, California
approx. 1978 – 1980 · Interstate 80 corridor; couple hunted victims along I-80 in van
Fair Oaks, California
approx. 1997 – present · Returned to Sacramento area under assumed names including Mary Martinez
NE
Omaha, Nebraska
Nov 17, 1980 – Nov 17, 1980 · Arrested at Western Union office; FBI took her into custody
NV
Carson City, Nevada
Nov 17, 1980 – Jul 17, 1997 · Warm Springs Correctional Center, Department of Prisons Women's Center
Known Vehicles
Vehicles and approximate dates of ownership or use, as reported in the cited records. A photo next to a vehicle is the vehicle itself as published.
1980 silver Oldsmobile – Silver Oldsmobile used in final murders
approx. 1980 – 1980
Used to abduct Craig Miller and Mary Beth Sowers on November 2, 1980; license plate witnessed and reported to police
1973 Dodge van – 1973 Dodge van equipped with a cot, ropes, tinted windows and curtains used to transport victims
approx. 1978 – 1980
Used by Charlene and Gerald to lure and transport victims during murders 1978-1980
Timeline
Oct 10, 1956
Charlene Adell Williams born in Stockton, California.
Sep 1977
Charlene Williams met Gerald Gallego at a poker club in Sacramento, California.
Sep 12, 1978
Charlene participated in kidnapping, rape, and murder of two teenage girls aged 16 and 17 (Rhonda Scheffler and Kippi Vaught) from Sacramento County Club Plaza Shopping Center.
Jun 24, 1979
Charlene participated in kidnapping, rape, and murder of two teenage girls aged 13 and 14 (Brenda Judd and Sandra Colley) from Washoe County Fair in Nevada.
Apr 24, 1980
Charlene participated in kidnapping, rape, and murder of two 17-year-old girls (Stacey Redican and Karen Twiggs) from Sunrise Mall in Sacramento, California.
Jun 07, 1980
Charlene participated in abduction, rape, and murder of Linda Aguilar, a pregnant woman.
Jul 17, 1980
Charlene participated in abduction, rape, and murder of Virginia Mochel, a 34-year-old woman.
Nov 02, 1980
Charlene participated in abduction and murder of Craig Miller (22) and Mary Beth Sowers (21), college students, from Arden Fair shopping center parking lot.
Nov 17, 1980
Charlene Williams Gallego arrested in Omaha, Nebraska at Western Union office by FBI; Gerald Gallego arrested nearby.
Jun 1982
Charlene enters plea negotiations with prosecutors from California, Nevada, and Oregon concerning 10 murders.
Nov 10, 1982
Charlene pleads guilty in California to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Craig Miller and Mary Beth Sowers.
Feb 25, 1983
Charlene pleads guilty in Nevada to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Stacey Redican and Karen Twiggs; sentenced to 16 years and 8 months concurrent.
May 1983
California charges against Charlene in Miller and Sowers murders are dismissed by Sacramento County Superior Court judge.
Jul 17, 1997
Charlene Williams Gallego released from Warm Springs Correctional Center in Carson City, Nevada on parole after serving 16 years and 8 months.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Gallego, Charlene Williams“Charlene Adelle Williams was born on 10/10/1956 in Stockton, California. She was employed as a butcher. Charlene sentenced to 16 years, 8 months in prison. Charlene released from prison on parole August, 1997.”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Gerald and Charlene Gallego“Charlene Williams: October 19, 1956. Charlene accepted a plea bargain whereby she agreed to testify against Gerald and was sentenced to sixteen years and eight months imprisonment in Nevada in February 1983.”
News report · History.com ·
Serial killer couple Charlene Williams and Gerald Gallego apprehended“Charlene Williams and Gerald Gallego, one of the most sadistic serial killing couples in American history, are finally caught after killing and sexually assaulting at least 10 people over a two-year period.”
News report · Grokipedia ·
Charlene Gallego“On November 10, 1982, Charlene pleaded guilty in California to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Craig Miller and Mary Sowers. On February 25, 1983, she pleaded guilty in Nevada to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Stacey Redican and Karen Chipman-Twiggs, with a concurrent sentence of 16 years and 8 months.”
News report · San Francisco Chronicle ·
BAY AREA FOCUS -- Ex-Con Starts Life Anew“After their arrests, Williams agreed to testify against Gallego in exchange for the minimum first-degree-murder sentence of 16 years and eight months in both Nevada and California, with the sentences to run concurrently. She pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in California and one count of second-degree murder in Nevada.”
Court record · Justia ·
People v. Gallego (California Supreme Court 1990)“In late June 1982, Charlene entered into plea negotiations with prosecutors from California, Nevada and Oregon concerning 10 murders in which she implicated defendant. She pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree murder, with the understanding that she would be sentenced to sixteen years, eight months in prison.”
Court record · Justia ·
Gallego v. State (Nevada Supreme Court 1985)“Prior to Gallego's trial, Charlene had entered a guilty plea to two counts of second degree murder in the deaths of Karen and Stacey and had been sentenced in connection therewith.”
Court record · Case Mine ·
GALLEGO v. STATE (Nevada Supreme Court 1985)“Prior to Gallego's trial, Charlene had entered a guilty plea to two counts of second degree murder in the deaths of Karen and Stacey and had been sentenced in connection therewith.”
Discussion
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