Man Charged with Killing Uncle

A 23-year-old La Palma man has been arrested in connection with the July 31 discovery of a body just off East Camino Cielo Road. The deceased, 58-year-old Douglas Galvin, is the uncle of Kirk Galvin, who was arrested on August 4 for his uncle’s murder.

Authorities in La Palma, a small Orange County city, believe Douglas Galvin’s murder was either initiated or completed at his nephew’s home in La Palma, and that Kirk Galvin brought the body — which was burned — up to Santa Barbara, where it was found by two people walking near East Camino Cielo by Painted Cave Road. The body was found the same day Douglas Galvin was reported missing.

Kirk Galvin was initially considered a person of interest and, after questioning, was arrested for murder. Authorities did not indicate how they believe Douglas Galvin was killed, but said they think Kirk Galvin committed the murder in his father’s apartment while his father was out of town, drove the body to Santa Barbara, and tried to destroy it by lighting it on fire.

Kirk Galvin, a recent UCSB graduate, is being held on $1 million bail in Orange County. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Kirk Galvin was charged with one felony count of murder and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. He was scheduled to be arraigned on 8/8.