The Case of the G-girl and the Killer Gift
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Arlington Detective Captain Dudley H. Rector reported that it appeared Miss Sallie Wood was the unfortunate victim of an almost inconceivable freak accident involving a shotgun she had purchased as a gift.
Nonetheless, law enforcement and security officials were investigating all potential leads. A Signal Corps officer went to Miss Wood's apartment to gather any security-related documents she might have had on hand.
Sallie Stewart Wood, 23, was the daughter of Charles Hiram Wood and Elizabeth Stewart Bean. She was born in Medfield, Massachusetts, on April 14, 1931, and was one of four siblings. The Wood family lived on an expansive 200-acre estate near Medfield. Mr. Wood operated a road equipment business, and the family was actively engaged in social events.
Sallie attended prestigious girls' schools and earned a master’s degree in languages from the University of Michigan. She was proficient in Russian and French and was enrolled in a political science course at George Washington University when she died.
Detectives learned from speaking to Pentagon officials that Miss Wood was respected and well-liked by her colleagues and friends. She held a GS-7 position as an analyst, earning a minimum annual salary of $4,205. The NSA had employed her since November 19, 1953.
In addition to her parents, Miss Wood was survived by her brother, Marine Sergeant Stewart Wood.
Sallie attended prestigious girls' schools and earned a master’s degree in languages from the University of Michigan. She was proficient in Russian and French and was enrolled in a political science course at George Washington University when she died.
Detectives learned from speaking to Pentagon officials that Miss Wood was respected and well-liked by her colleagues and friends. She held a GS-7 position as an analyst, earning a minimum annual salary of $4,205. The NSA had employed her since November 19, 1953.
In addition to her parents, Miss Wood was survived by her brother, Marine Sergeant Stewart Wood.
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Sallie lived at Arlington Towers, located in the Rosslyn area of Arlington, just across the Key Bridge from Georgetown. The new development, positioned along the Potomac River, was notable for its impressive scale and for being the first high-rise complex constructed in Arlington. The apartment community comprised four eight-story buildings and housed approximately 1,700 units.
Sallie had chosen the apartment in anticipation of her wedding, which was initially set to take place before Christmas but had since been postponed. The intended groom was Herbert Bower Gallegy, 33, also an NSA analyst. The couple planned to make the apartment their home after they tied the knot. "However, Sallie changed her mind once she moved in," Mr. Gallegly stated. "She wasn't happy with it and wanted to relocate as soon as we were married."
The community, situated on Arlington Boulevard near the Iwo Jima statue, was still under development. Construction workers were active and on site at all hours.
"Sallie wasn't fond of living alone in her new apartment," Mr. Gallegly explained. "She felt the place was too spacious, and shortly after moving in, she was frightened when a man entered her apartment with a passkey. It turned out he was an apartment official, unaware that it was occupied."
Sallie’s apartment occupied the third floor, just under 20 feet above ground level. The area beneath her window was a muddy landscape; only a narrow strip of solid ground remained directly below it. A row of windows could be found at the far end of her rectangular living room—an immovable picture window flanked by a foot-wide casement window on each side. These casement windows are cranked open and closed from the inside. When securely shut, a lever is engaged to lock them in place.
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Herbert said he saw Sallie for the final time at 2 p.m. but called her on the telephone at 5 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. In their final conversation, she indicated she was feeling better, and they arranged to have lunch together the next day.
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A thin man with glasses and wavy black hair, Mr. Gallegly smiled gently as he reminisced with journalists on the scene: "Sallie had a fondness for horses. She would still ride despite her allergy that triggered a skin rash whenever she was close to them." His smile gradually disappeared.
Herbert recounted how he and Sallie met. Both resided at Wesley Hall and began carpooling to work together in April 1953. "She was a shy and reserved individual," he remembered. "She struggled to make friends and preferred the company of those who had similar interests."
Sallie's heartbroken fiancé was described by one reporter as a youthful-looking analyst changed for the worse by the heavy burden of shock and grief he had endured since he, along with officials from the Arlington Towers Apartment project, made their unsettling discovery at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
When asked if he could shed any light on Sallie's shotgun purchase, Mr. Gallegly replied, "I had no idea she purchased a shotgun." He added, "I'm certain it wasn't a gift for me. Her father owns guns, and initially, I thought it might have been a gift for him. However, her mother hinted that she may have bought it for her own safety." Mr. Gallegly was then asked if Miss Wood seemed to be afraid of anyone or anything.
Gallegly absentmindedly fiddled with a tray of food that had long since gone cold, seemingly oblivious to the question, and then proceeded to discuss his relationship with Sallie. He said they shared a love for dancing, enjoyed great music, and shared a passion for swimming.
Gallegly's demeanor shifted again when he was pressed on the circumstances surrounding the postponement of their Christmas wedding. "We were hoping for the first week of February," he clarified. "We had arranged a meeting with the pastor of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church this Friday at 5:30 p.m." Had Miss Wood selected a wedding dress? "No, we planned for a simple wedding," he responded.
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The shotgun was provided to her in its original box, which was discovered on the floor of her apartment amongst the Christmas packages. Per the dealer's recommendation, Miss Wood purchased a box of shells to accompany the gun.
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At 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Herbert grew concerned when he learned Sallie had failed to attend work. He went straight to her apartment but received no answer when he knocked. After obtaining a key, he found the door secured with a chain. The chain proved to be quite stubborn; removing it required drilling, as it wasn’t the type that could be easily attached or detached from the outside, even with the most clever tools.
Upon entering the apartment, Herbert found Miss Wood lying curled up on the floor in a dressing gown, slip, undergarments, and slippers. Surrounding her was a collection of packages, some already beautifully wrapped in Christmas paper and tinsel, while others awaited their festive coverings. On the floor nearby, there was a box of ammunition from which three shells had been taken.
Miss Wood’s back was to a card table. Leaning against the opposite side of the table was a 12-gauge shotgun, its butt secured on the floor and its barrel propped against the table's edge. Nearby, on the wall, a noticeable scrape marred the freshly painted walls.
The casement windows were shut, and the levers were locked. A floor lamp illuminated the room while a record player, having long finished the six opera records it held, whirred quietly in the silence.
There was no blood on the floor and no evidence of a struggle. It was not until the body was moved that blood spilled from a half-dollar-sized wound below the right shoulder blade. Powder residue was present on her dressing gown and back, indicating that a gun had been fired at close range.
Police examined the gun. One No. 3-Shot shell had been discharged and remained in the chamber. Two other unexpended shells were in the magazine.
A wire attached an envelope measuring 4 inches wide by 7 inches long to the trigger. The envelope contained an invoice and instructions for using the firearm.
After examining the scene, Detective Rector described it as “one for Sherlock Holmes.”
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Her father told detectives that Miss Wood had no previous experience with firearms. Mr. Wood acknowledged that he owned guns but expressed doubt when asked if he thought the weapon was intended for him, saying he was not a hunter. Mr. Gallegly interjected and suggested she bought the gun for protection due to her fear of living alone in the expansive apartment.
Initially, the police were baffled as to why a girl like Miss Wood, who seemed to have such refined and intellectual interests, would be handling and loading a shotgun. However, her parents explained that mechanical things had always fascinated her. Her mother noted that Miss Wood enjoyed disassembling clocks and reassembling them, suggesting she may have developed a similar fascination with firearms.
Authorities ruled out the likelihood that an intruder could have entered the apartment unnoticed, murdered Miss Wood, and then fled. After examining the chain locks on other apartments, all fitted by the management, police concluded that it would have been impossible for anyone to secure the chain from the outside. Additionally, the windows of the third-floor apartment were closed and positioned too high for easy access.
Police quickly ruled out suicide. Pills prescribed by a physician for a nervous condition were discovered in the apartment. However, her family and Mr. Gallegly informed the police that she was not concerned about her health and that her overall physical condition was good. Mr. Gallegly even went so far as to say that with plans to marry soon, Sallie had everything to live for.
The lack of motive was not the only factor that led both the police and Dr. Welburn to reject the suicide theory altogether. The question of means was also significant. Dr. Welburn firmly asserted that she couldn't have pulled the trigger. Captain Rector, while not entirely in agreement, indicated that given her size and strength, it might have been mechanically feasible for her to simulate shooting herself in the back, though this was highly improbable.
Moreover, the position of the gun to her body further discredited the suicide theory. She was located on the opposite side of the table from the weapon, and medical evidence indicated that death occurred instantaneously. Dr. Welburn clarified that she could not have moved around the table after the shot was fired. He pointed out that the autopsy revealed the bullet had severed the aorta, the main blood vessel near the spine, highlighting that such an injury results in rapid death.
"I am confident at this moment that it was nothing but an accident," remarked Capt. Rector. "Nonetheless, we still have further inquiries to address. Concerning the possibility of suicide, that appears improbable, as the firearm was located too far from the body." Additionally, the suicide theory is weakened by the fact that the shot originated from behind, making self-inflicted injury nearly impossible.
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The wall adjacent to the card table displayed a noticeable mark. Even though no residue from the wall was found on the gun, Captain Rector maintained that the mark resulted from the butt of the gun striking the wall. With this theory in mind, the weapon was transported to police headquarters. The shells were extracted, and the police experimented. They struck the butt of the gun against the floor, and the firing pin clicked—not consistently, but twice. This demonstrated a crucial point: impact alone could trigger the gun to fire without needing to pull the trigger.
With the experiment completed, Captain Rector was able to propose a plausible accident theory. He reconstructed it as follows: Miss Wood was either sitting or kneeling on the floor, listening to music while wrapping her packages. The loaded gun was positioned on the table above her, its barrel extending over the edge. As she began to rise to her feet, she accidentally struck the gun. This caused it to bounce across the table and hit the wall, leaving a mark. The gun discharged, and Miss Wood fell.
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This conclusion was reached by Dr. W. C. Welburn, the coroner for Arlington, Virginia, after authorities spent twenty-four hours trying to solve the mystery surrounding the shooting of Sallie Wood, an analyst for the National Security Agency.
Welburn indicated that his verdict would stand "unless new evidence comes to light, which I don’t believe is probable." Capt. Dudley Rector, the head of Arlington detectives, noted that while a few questions persist, the case is expected to be officially closed today, agreeing that the incident appeared to be a tragic accident.
Miss Wood's body was found on Monday, December 14, in her Arlington apartment, with her spine injured by a shotgun blast. The firearm, discovered nearby, was reportedly one of the Christmas gifts she had been preparing to wrap.
Dr. Welburn suggested that Miss Wood may have accidentally knocked the gun off a card table, leading to the butt of the rifle hitting the wall and firing.
The official conclusion brings to mind the peculiar case of Wynona Harvey—a young employee at the Philippine Embassy who was discovered deceased at the entrance of Rocky Run, located not far from the current site of the Towers. Interestingly, Dr. W. C. Welburn also made the final determination regarding Wynona's "accidental" death.
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Virginia Department of Health; Richmond, Virginia; Virginia Deaths, 1912-2014
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