An 81-year-old man has been arrested in San Francisco over the brutal murder of his estranged wife more than four decades ago, confirming the lifelong suspicions of his daughter, a prominent Yale University professor.
A Lifelong Suspicion Solidified
Patrick Galvani was taken into custody last week by Foster City Police in connection with the 1982 killing of Nancy Galvani. For his daughter, Alison Galvani, the founding director of Yale's Centre for Infectious Disease Modelling and Analysis, the arrest validates a gut feeling she has carried since childhood. Alison was just five years old when her mother was murdered.
The grim discovery was made on 9 August 1982, when a fisherman found Nancy's body inside a sleeping bag floating near the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. She was clad only in her underwear, with her ankles bound together. The sleeping bag had been weighted down with a cinder block. Authorities determined she had been strangled and ruled her death a homicide.
A Troubled Marriage and a Mother's Disappearance
In the summer of her death, Nancy had filed for divorce from Patrick and sought a restraining order, citing recurring domestic violence. Alison recalled one alleged incident where she witnessed her father smothering her mother with a pillow. Nancy had moved out of the family's Pacific Heights home into a residential hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin District.
The last confirmed sighting of Nancy alive was on 8 August 1982. Patrick had called her to collect Alison from his care. She left her hotel and vanished. Her yellow Buick was later found abandoned in Patrick's garage.
Patrick was initially arrested and charged soon after the murder, but the case against him was dropped due to a lack of evidence and witnesses. The then District Attorney, Keith Sorenson, stated there was less than a 50% chance of conviction, though he notably did not declare Patrick innocent.
A Daughter's Quest and a Case Reopened
Growing up, Alison was haunted by the possibility of her father's guilt. While at an English boarding school at age 11, a peer suggested her father may have been responsible, a thought she could never shake. Her distrust was so profound that at her wedding, she made Patrick walk in front of her to avoid physical contact.
In 2008, she confronted him at her Connecticut home, yelling, "You killed my mother!" He allegedly replied, "It wasn't my fault." Determined for answers, Alison later hired a private investigator to look into her father.
The cold case was finally revisited by authorities last week, leading to Patrick's arrest. San Mateo County DA Stephen Wagstaffe confirmed new evidence had come to light, stating, "When somebody is murdered, the case is never closed. Maybe inactive, but never closed." He said Alison was "grateful that people had listened to her" after fearing she was being ignored.
Patrick Galvani's attorney, Douglas Horngrad, maintains his client's innocence, asserting the evidence remains unchanged from the 1980s and expecting another exoneration. The case continues as a stark reminder of the long shadow cast by unsolved crimes and a daughter's relentless pursuit of justice for her mother.
