Key facts
- Kristen Galvan, 15, was sex trafficked and murdered.
- Her remains were found in January 2020 and identified through advanced DNA testing in July 2023.
- Her mother alleges law enforcement failed to provide protection after Kristen gave evidence against traffickers.
- The family's requests for an Amber alert and phone ping were denied, with Kristen being mislabeled as a runaway.
- Investigators reportedly told the mother that DNA extraction was difficult after chemical processing for a facial reconstruction sketch.
- The mother claims her requests to investigate a Jane Doe profile resembling Kristen were ignored for years.
The family of Kristen Galvan, a 15-year-old Houston girl who was sex trafficked and murdered, has criticized law enforcement for alleged failures in protecting her and identifying her remains. Her mother, Robyn Cory, stated that police did not offer witness protection after Kristen provided evidence against her traffickers, a decision she believes could have saved her daughter's life. Kristen was lured away by a sex-trafficking gang in November 2019, trafficked, and later returned home traumatized. She disappeared again in January 2020, and her family's requests for an Amber alert and a phone ping were denied, with authorities reportedly mislabeling her as a runaway.
Parts of Kristen's skull, clothing, and an earring were found beneath a bridge in Missouri City in January 2020. The Texas attorney general's office announced on July 28 that her remains were positively identified using advanced DNA testing conducted over the past year. However, Cory and investigator Betty Simons claim that DNA testing could have been performed when the remains were first found, contradicting the attorney general's office. Cory also stated that investigators told her no soft tissue sample was collected before chemical processing for a facial reconstruction sketch, making DNA extraction difficult.
In 2021, a Jane Doe profile with a facial sketch resembling Kristen was listed on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Cory alleges that her requests to law enforcement to investigate this profile were not acted upon for years, despite text messages from 2022 showing her inquiries. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office stated they only received a tip that the Jane Doe might be Kristen in July 2025, a timeline discrepancy Cory disputes. The sheriff's office eventually assigned the case to its cold case division in early 2025.