Charlene Williams began life in a warm and sheltered home environment. An only child, she was doted on by her middle-class parents to the point of being spoiled. She had a knack for the violin, being described in some places as a prodigy, and she scored 160 on an IQ test. But her home life was disrupted by an accident that disabled her mother, and rather than excelling in school, the teenaged Williams indulged in drink, drugs, sex, and gambling with her mother's money.
Williams had two failed marriages behind her when she married Gerald Gallego, a dangerous man with a criminal record for rape, assault, and robbery that she later claimed she was unaware of. As a couple, they were responsible for what became known as the Sex Slave Murders, beginning in 1978. Allegedly due to Gallego's erectile dysfunction, they sought sexual pleasure by kidnapping young victims, raping them, and killing them. Williams lured potential targets in, and Gallego dispensed with them.
After their capture in 1980, Williams confessed to her crimes, testified against Gallego, and maintained that she had been coerced and brainwashed. Until his death in 2002, Gallego insisted otherwise, saying she pinned the blame on him to save herself. Some of the victims' parents also considered Williams just as guilty as her husband. Nevertheless, Williams received a deal for her cooperation. She was released in 1997 and has maintained that she's turned her life around since.
