Alfredo Galán Sotillo (born 5 April 1978) is a Spanish serial killer who killed six people and wounded three from 4 January - 18 March 2003.

Early life

Alfredo Galán was born in

Puertollano Puertollano () is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha. The city has a population of 47,035 (2019). Contrasting to the largely rural character of the region, Puertollano stands out for the importance of ...

province of Ciudad Real The province of Ciudad Real () is a province in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Cuenca, Albacete, Jaén, Province of Córdoba (Spain), Córdoba, Province of Bada ...

, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. Galán became class president in high school, but was remembered as unremarkable and introverted. In September 1998, he joined the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

and became a corporal in the 31st Mech Regiment "Asturias" of Madrid and participated in humanitarian missions in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

. He was sent back to Spain to help deal with the clean up of the

Prestige oil spill The ''Prestige'' oil spill occurred off the coast of Galicia, Spain in November 2002, caused by the sinking of the 26-year-old, structurally deficient oil tanker , carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. During a storm, it burst a tank on 13 ...

. Galán stole a car and was sent to the

Gómez Ulla Military Hospital The Gómez Ulla Military Hospital ( es, Hospital Militar Gómez Ulla), presently know officially as ''Hospital Central de la Defensa Gómez Ulla'', is a military hospital in Madrid, located in the Aluche area in the former Carabanchel quarter of t ...

in Madrid. He was diagnosed with neurosis and anxiety and continued drinking. In March 2003, he began working as a security guard at Madrid–Barajas Airport.

Murders

On 24 January 2003, Galán shot 50-year-old Juan Francisco Ledesma in the head in front of his 2-year-old son. On 5 February, the body of 28-year-old airport cleaner Juan Carlos Martín Estacio was found shot in the head. An

ace of cups Ace of Cups is a card used in Latin suited playing cards (Italian, Spanish and tarot decks). It is the Ace from the suit of Cups. In Tarot, it is part of what card readers call the "Minor Arcana", and as the first in the suit of Cups, signifies ...

was left nearby. Later the same day, Galán entered Bar Rojas in Alcalá de Henares and shot 3 people: the bar owner, 38-year-old Teresa Sánchez García survived multiple gunshots; her 18-year-old son Mikel Jiménez Sánchez and 57-year-old customer Juana Dolores Ucles López were killed. On 7 March 2003, 27-year-old Santiago Eduardo Salas was shot in the face by Galán, but survived. Salas's friend, 29-year-old Anahid Castillo Ruperti, was able to escape unharmed. A

two of cups Two of Cups is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English language, English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily ...

was dropped at the scene. On the evening of 18 March, 2003, Galán shot and killed 40-year-olds Gheorgi Magda and his wife Diona, a Romanian couple, in

Arganda del Rey Arganda del Rey () is a municipality and city of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. Geography Located in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula, the city lies at roughly 613 metres above sea level, not far from the junction of the J ...

in Madrid as they walked home from work. Galán left two more tarot cards — the three and four of cups — at the scene. It was not originally his intention for playing cards to be his "signature". He only began leaving cards after the media sensationalized the fact that a card had been found by a victim's body.

Aftermath

On 3 July 2003, while severely inebriated, Galán surrendered at a police station and confessed to being "The Playing Card Killer." His confession included details about pen markings on the cards that were not public. Upon sobering up, he recanted, but ballistics irrefutably linked spent cartridges in his residence to the murders. It was reported that in some of the murders, Galán had wished his victims good morning and ordered them to kneel before shooting them. He killed his victims with a Tokarev 7.62-caliber TT-33 that he had bought while he was in the army in

. He smuggled the gun into Spain by hiding it in a television set. He will be released in 2028 after 25 years in prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galan, Alfredo 1978 births 2003 murders in Spain 21st-century criminals Living people People convicted of murder by Spain People from Puertollano Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Spain Security guards convicted of crimes Spanish people convicted of murder Spanish serial killers Spanish soldiers

Early life

Murders

Aftermath

See also

References