Northern California survivalist charged with 2004 murder of engaged couple

Lindsay Cutshall, left, and Jason Allen, right, were found dead on a secluded beach in Jenner, California on August, 18, 2004. (Find a Grave)

A mysterious survivalist in Northern California was charged last week in the 2004 beachside killing of Christian camp workers engaged to be married, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Authorities believe Shaun Gallon, a resident of Sonoma County, California, is responsible for murdering Cutshall and Allen in 2004. (Sonoma County Sheriff's Office)

Shaun Gallon, 39, the Sonoma County suspect, allegedly shot Lindsay Cutshall and Jason Allen with a .45-caliber rifle at close range while they slept in sleeping bags on a secluded beach in Jenner, California – approximately 90 miles north of San Francisco.

The couple had been working that summer as Christian camp counselors and had planned to return to their Midwestern home for their wedding. 

Gallon’s motives or connection to the couple remain unknown. If convicted, Gallon faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Though Gallon had long been a suspect in the beachside killing, new evidence unearthed from later charges reportedly helped authorities connect Gallon with the killings.

Gallon’s motives or connection to the couple remain unknown. If convicted, Gallon faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Gallon, 39, reportedly has a history of criminal misconduct, including attempted murder with a package bomb in in June 2004, a conviction for wounding a man with an arrow and allegedly killing his younger brother in March 2017.

“After he was in custody for the death of his brother, the Sheriff’s Department developed new evidence that linked him to the 2004 murders of Jason and Lindsay,” police said.

Gallon booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of killing his brother in  March 2017.

Authorities said they won’t disclose what the evidence was until Gallon’s preliminary hearing.

According to records cited by the Chronicle, Gallon’s past brushes with the law include resisting arrest, weapons possession, theft, drunk driving, and hunting without paperwork.