‘On The Case With Paula Zahn: Disconnected Story’ highlights the savage assault and slaying of 23-year-old Gail Herrera in Denver, Colorado in April 1984.
Although a suspect was promptly identified, it took 11 years for investigators to accumulate adequate evidence to accuse him of the atrocious act.
But if you are intrigued by who was accountable for the assault, we have all the responses you’re seeking. This new episode on Investigation Discovery pledges to be thought-provoking and revealing.
How did Gail Herrera pass away?
Gail Herrera was a young mother who lived in Denver, Colorado, and vended homemade burritos. On April 27, 1984, the Denver 911 dispatch center received a call from an Avon salesperson who was troubled about the safety of one of her clients, Gail Herrera.
When the salesperson phoned Gail’s home, a 3-year-old child answered the phone and said that his mother could not come to the phone because she was deceased and covered in blood.
The salesperson met the police at Gail’s residence, where they found the main door locked. They looked through a window and observed that the living room was in disarray and conversed with the child from outside.
The child informed them that he and his sister had been trying to aid their mother by putting tissues over her wounds. When the police arrived, they entered the residence through the back door and found Gail’s body lying in the bedroom.
The crime scene indicated that Gail had been deceased for some time and that she had been the victim of a homicide.
The police found evidence of food scattered all over, suggesting that the young children had been trying to feed themselves while their mother’s body lay nearby.
Gail had several puncture wounds in her upper chest and ligature marks on her neck, indicating that she had been stabbed and strangled.
A rape test kit also confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted. The police collected several cigarette butts and blood samples from the scene.
Killer of Gail Herrera – Who was on the suspect list?
Gail Herrera’s husband, Phil Herrera, arrived at the crime scene after returning home from a work trip out of state. The police had to prevent him from entering the crime scene and took him to the police station to be reunited with his children.
The detectives believed that the overkill in Gail’s murder suggested a crime of passion, indicating that it was committed by someone she knew and trusted.
The police interviewed Gail’s siblings, Gary Garcia and Glenda Gomez, who told them that Gail and Phil had a tumultuous marriage with a history of domestic violence.
Phil was ruled out as a suspect when he was able to provide an alibi, supported by several of his colleagues, for the night of the murder.
Gail’s son, PJ Herrera, claimed to have seen the attacker and said it was not his father, but gave the name “Eddie,” which could not be corroborated by anyone in Gail’s family or social circle.
The police found a lead in a 911 call made around the time of the murder in which a woman’s voice could be heard saying “Charlie! Charlie!…” before the line disconnected.
Gail’s family recognized her voice in the audio and Phil told the police that he knew only one person named Charlie – his high school friend, Charles Wilson.
When Charles was brought in for questioning, he claimed to have been out drinking with friends and returned home at around 8:30-9:00 pm, an alibi supported by his wife.
However, the police obtained a search warrant for Charles’s home after one of his friends said they had been drinking at a bar within a mile of Gail’s apartment.
Where is Charles Wilson now?
Despite a thorough search of Charles Wilson’s home, the police were unable to find any physical evidence linking him to the murder of Gail Herrera.
The prosecutors declined to bring the case to trial based on circumstantial evidence alone, so Charles was released.
He and his wife left the state and did not respond to any further inquiries about the case. The case remained dormant until it was reopened after Charles was charged with a similar crime in New Mexico.
He was accused of assaulting a colleague and was in prison awaiting trial. The police interviewed Charles’ wife again, suspecting that she may have been afraid to speak out against him before.
Their suspicions were confirmed when she admitted that she had provided a false alibi and that Charles had not returned home on the night of Gail’s murder. However, this admission was still not enough to prosecute Charles for murder.
Using the biological evidence from Gail’s rape kit, the police created a DNA profile of the perpetrator, and, about 11 years after the murder, they found a match for the profile: Charles Wilson.
With sufficient evidence, the prosecution charged Charles with first-degree murder. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. No official records are available on Charles’ current location.
