When Alfredo Galan started his murder spree, Madrid Police didn’t realize they had a serial killer on their hands. Listen to the story of the Playing Card Killer’s twisted spiral into murder and how no one knew when he would strike again.
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TuneInPuertollano, Spain Feranza [CC BY-SA]
Childhood
Alfredo Galan was born on April 5, 1978.
He was a normal boy growing up in the Madrid suburb of Puertollano, but at 10 years old he was considered shy and introverted. Even with classmates early on he wasn’t easygoing or very open with them. At that same age, his mother died. According to his teachers, she was his primary support system. His mother was very attentive and involved in his life and school. His father worked most of the time and didn’t seem to really know and understand his son.
As a teenager, he became the class clown. It was evident that he was acting out as a way to seek attention.
Army
Immediately after high school, Galan joined the Spanish Army. He was sent to Bosnia for humanitarian work after the Balkan war. During his time in Bosnia, he witnessed horrible atrocities and became obsessed with firearms.
Upon leaving Bosnia he smuggled a pistol, Tokarev, out of the country. While this was a popular gun in Eastern Europe, it was extremely rare in the West. Upon his return to Spain, he was given 3 weeks leave.
In Galicia, Spain there was an oil spill in November 2002 that would turn out to be one of the biggest environmental disasters in Spain and Portugal’s history. Alfredo was called back from leave to work with civilian volunteers to clean up the mess. He was extremely upset about these conditions and ended up stealing a car after a dispute with superior officers. He was then admitted to a Madrid military hospital where he was diagnosed with neurosis and anxiety.
Alfredo Galan was officially discharged from the Spanish Army for medical reasons and he was treated for his mental state and medicated. However, this was not closely monitored and he had a tendency to mix his medications with alcohol.
He then found work as a security guard at the Madrid-Barajas Airport. Basically going from one uniform to another. At one point, he had attempted to join the police force but was turned down.
Galan’s First Murder
On January 24, 2003, Galan traveled a few kilometers from his neighborhood wearing winter clothing so he wouldn’t stand out in public. He sat, eagerly waiting for a victim. At an apartment building at 89 Alonsa Cano Street, Alfredo saw Juan Francisco Ledesma. Ledesma was a janitor by trade and was letting people into the building. Galan followed him into the building and forced him to kneel. He shot him in the back of the head using his Tokarev pistol.
When the police began to investigate they believed it was a one-off robbery gone wrong.
The Playing Card Killer
Less than a month later on February 5th, Juan Carols Martin Estacio was waiting for a bus. It was close to dawn after his overnight shift as a cleaner at the Madrid airport. Galan slithered out of the shadows, shot him, and ran off. He left a Spanish playing card, the ace of cups, near the body.
Police reported this detail to the media and it spread like wildfire. At the time, the police didn’t even think it was a major piece of evidence. They were thinking this was a robbery gone wrong with no connection to a previous murder.
Galan saw the headlines and for the first time since he was in the army, he begins to feel important. He is The Playing Card Killer.
Later that day he drove to a bar in Alcalá de Henares. It was a few kilometers from his home in a suburb of Madrid. Galan targeted and killed 18-year-old waiter Mikel Jimenez Sanchez and a woman, Juana Dolores Uclés. He shot Uclés through the eye.
He then shot the bar owner, who was a mother of 3, but she survived her injuries. Three playing cards were found at the scene. Police find that all three bullets could be linked to a Tokarev pistol.
Witnesses?
There were many witnesses that were able to give a description, but not very good ones. When the survivor was shown an array of photos, twice she identified another suspect as the killer. The man she identified was in the military and made multiple trips to Bosnia where he could have obtained the pistol. Police spent a month verifying his innocence, but he had been in prison the day of the 2nd murder.
In another Madrid suburb, Galanhe approached an Ecuadorian couple, Santiago Salas and Anna Castillo. He shot Santiago, but when he tried to shoot Anna, the gun jammed. She could do nothing as her friend died.
Six weeks after the killings started, Alfredo Galan crosses paths in another suburb with a Romanian couple George and Diona Magna. He forces them to kneel and shoots George execution-style in the head. In reaction, Diona turns to protect herself and he shoots her three times. She was able to hold on for 2 days before dying. Police once again find two playing cards.
With these attacks came witnesses that gave such differing descriptions that police began to think there were two killers using the same gun. Sketches were released, but none resembled Alfredo. According to his later testimony, he began to feel anger around the fact that he was not being recognized for his notoriety.
Confession
On July 3rd, 2003 he came to the police in his hometown of Puertollano and confessed. He claims that it was to prove to the police how stupid they were. Experts think he was just frustrated at not having the fame for himself. He was also inebriated.
The police in this town think it’s just the rambling of a drunk and send him away. He had to sober up and come back for them to take him seriously. There were details about the crime that has not been released to the press. One of which was that the back of the playing cards were marked with ink. He proceeded to give details on all 5 attacks resulting in 6 murdered and 3 injured. Galan was described as calm and pulled together during the interrogation. He seemed most worried about clarifying that he had surrendered, he hadn’t been caught by the police.
Alfredo Galan’s Trial
It wasn’t until his trial, specifically his sentencing that he showed much emotion. He seemed to be an empty shell until he realized what the consequences of his actions would be. Once in court, he attempts to blame everything on a neo-Nazi that he sold the gun to. This neo-Nazi forced him to confess to the crimes they had committed and threatened the life of his sister. But the judge wasn’t buying it.
The court squashed any insanity plea agreeing that he was capable of determining right and wrong at the time of the murderers. He was sentenced to 142 years in prison, a sentence that is he still serving.
He said to a guard – He killed because he wanted to know what it felt like to kill.
Resources
- Alfredo Galan – The Playing Card Killer
- The story of a Spanish serial Killer that left a card from a deck next to each of his victims – Uber Blog – SAM Learning & Teaching Live
- Alfredo Galán