Manhattan Beach Man Convicted of Killing Wife Over Loud-Music Augument

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA - A Manhattan Beach man was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder for gunning down his wife in their home more than a dozen years ago after she complained that he was playing music too loud.

Bill Lawrence Gallup, now 68, shot himself twice in the head after killing his wife, Oliva. He shot her once in the chest after she had fallen to her knees after being struck by debris from the first gunshot, then shot her at close range in the eye on July 5, 2003, according to authorities.

Along with the murder charge, jurors found true a gun allegation against Gallup, who had been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial in 2006. Court proceedings resumed in 2015 after he was determined to have regained competency.

His 50-year-old wife had asked him to turn down the volume of music he was playing, triggering an argument, according to testimony presented at the trial.

Police responding to a 911 call found Gallup’s wife dead and him on a bed with two gunshot wounds to the head, with the gun used in the killing found nearby.

Gallup — who testified in his own defense Monday — told jurors that he did not shoot his wife and didn’t remember anything about what had happened that day, the Daily Breeze reported.

Gallup is due back in court for sentencing April 22. He is facing 50 years to life in state prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Maren Dermody.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock