Mendocino County woman claimed her father killed hundreds. Authorities say no evidence supports her story

A Mendocino County woman’s explosive, online claims that her elderly father is a prolific serial killer, responsible for murders across multiple states and countries since the 1950s, became a viral sensation over the past week and half.

But more than two years after launching an investigation, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, in an extensive rebuttal Monday, said it found no evidence linking the man, now 86, 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.

The woman, who identifies herself as Maria “Galina” Trefil, first made her claims in a March 13 Facebook, writing: “I am Galina. I’m the daughter of a serial killer and need your help.”

The response was almost immediate and immense.

The original post and several subsequent ones are open to the public and have produced thousands of comments, a large number from followers voicing their support for Trefil or expressing shock over the allegations.

The Press Democrat reached out for an interview and Trefil indicated she would be available, but no interview could be scheduled by Friday afternoon.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Trefil lives in Fort Bragg and identifies as a rabbi and author of historical fiction and Gothic novels.

She has not said where her father is living, nor have authorities, though they indicated he is not in good health.

In the initial March 13 post, which has been shared more than 13,000 times, Trefil alleged that her father admitted to killing at least one person a month from 1965 to 1999 — or more than 400 people, which would make him, by far, the deadliest killer in modern U.S. history, an extraordinary claim on its own.

Trefil also listed specific locations — including California, Idaho, Illinois, Oregon, Virginia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and the U.S.-Mexico border — where she says her father committed murders.

Trefil, who said she lived with her father on an 18.5-acre property in Albion, on the Mendocino coast, in the late 1980s, said she began uncovering details of the alleged killings in 2012. She described three of the victims as relatives, while others were friends, acquaintances or vulnerable individuals.

“My father is a very intelligent predator,” she wrote to a Facebook follower. “He knew which victims to pick that society doesn’t pay as much attention to. Hitchhikers, hippies, patients who were poor, runaways, minorities.”

She said she has two murder weapons, including a vial of strychnine, a deadly poison, and said her father was connected to at least two other serial killers who were aware of each other’s crimes.

The Press Democrat is not printing the father’s name, as he has not been charged with a crime. Trefil describes him throughout her Facebook posts as a doctor who also worked in psychiatry. He was an avid reader, with an interest in books about serial killers. He was also soft-spoken and gentle, she said.

“It wasn’t common to see him switch over to the darkness, but when that did happen, there was no warning,” Trefil wrote in a Facebook post March 15. “His eyes, which were already dark brown, would go black. His face would flush dark red. He was incredibly physically strong. You did what he told you to. Period.”

Sheriff disputes key claims

Despite the widespread attention her posts have received, law enforcement has cast doubts on Trefil’s allegations. Sheriff Kendall stressed that after pouring significant resources into investigating the claims, his office but found nothing to support them.

Sheriff’s Capt. Quincy Cromer said Tuesday he couldn’t recall a case garnering as much attention in his time as the department’s public information officer. Investigators are familiar with details Trefil has referenced in her posts, though everything now coming out is new to the public.

At least one detail in her Facebook posts is being disputed.

Trefil alleged that her father was willing to cooperate with authorities and lead them to burial sites — something the Sheriff’s Office denied.

“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.

On Monday, after the Sheriff’s Office announced its findings in an 819-word statement, Trefil doubled down, posting on Facebook a new name of a person she believes was a victim of her father’s.

“I shouldn’t be having to do this research,” she wrote. “My posse should not be having to do this research. You the public shouldn’t be having to do this research. I’m doing it, and now a lot of you are too, because it’s the right thing to do.”