Mendocino County woman’s viral claim that her father is a serial killer disputed by authorities

A Mendocino County woman took to Facebook with explosive claims that her elderly father is a prolific serial killer responsible for murders worldwide since the 1950s.

But after more than a year of investigation, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Monday it found no evidence linking him to any homicides.

“We’re spending a lot of time trying to keep up with this social media post,” Sheriff Matthew Kendall told The Press Democrat.

Viral allegations

The woman, who identified herself as Maria “Galina” Trefil, shared multiple posts beginning with: “I am Galina. I’m the daughter of a serial killer and need your help.”

She said she lived with her father on an 18.5-acre property in Albion in the late 1980s and began uncovering details about the alleged killings in 2012.

In a Facebook post from Thursday that was shared more than 13,000 times, she alleged that her father, now 86, admitted to killing at least one person per month from 1965 to 1999, spanning California, Idaho, Illinois, Oregon and Virginia, as well as Canada, France, the Netherlands and the Mexican border.

She also wrote that her father was willing to cooperate with law enforcement and lead them to burial sites — a claim the Sheriff’s Office disputed.

“The Sheriff’s Office has not interviewed (the father) directly regarding these allegations due to his fragile medical state and information provided by his family that he will not cooperate with law enforcement,” officials said in a statement.

Trefil did not return requests for comment from The Press Democrat.

Investigation yields no evidence

Sheriff’s officials said their investigation began in January 2023, focusing in part on a Mendocino County homicide from the 1970s after Trefil told investigators her father had confessed. She provided photos, journal entries and recordings, but detectives could not substantiate her claims.

Investigators obtained a DNA sample from her father in May 2023, but it did not match evidence from the crime scene. They also searched a remote cabin in Comptche, where she alleged victims were buried, but found no evidence.

Authorities said they also could not verify her claims about other serial killers she said her father identified, nor did they find confessions in the journals she provided.

Sheriff’s Capt. Quincy Cromer said detectives reviewed recordings she submitted, but her father’s voice was inaudible.

“It was very clear that leading questions were provided to him and then when he would make a sounds, she would say, ‘Oh, he confesses to this,’” Kendall said. “But my detectives could not hear him say yes, no or anything else. A lot of it was just strange moans.”

Officials: No credible leads so far

The Sheriff’s Office said it would continue investigating any potential links between the man and unsolved cases but maintained that no evidence had been found to support the allegations.

“When everything that is brought before us, we run it to the ground and it doesn’t turn out to be as reported, eventually we are going to get to the point where we are kind of stomping on some civil rights here, as well,” Kendall said.

Staff Writer Madison Smalstig contributed reporting.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi