Texas Teen Sex-Trafficking Victim Murdered, DNA Confirms After Five-Year Wait
The tragic death of Kristen Galvan, a teenage girl who disappeared after being sex-trafficked in 2020, has been officially confirmed through DNA testing. Partial remains discovered under a bridge in Missouri City, Texas, just three weeks after she vanished at age 15, have now been identified as belonging to the missing teen.
Mother's Agonising Search Ends With DNA Match
Robyn Cory, Kristen's mother, spent more than five years desperately searching for her daughter. She revealed that mitochondrial DNA testing in August 2025 finally confirmed the remains were those of her child. However, police requested she withhold this information publicly for several months while they continued their investigation.
Cory first became aware of a "Jane Doe" profile on the Department of Justice's NamUs database in 2022. The profile described an unidentified girl aged between 12 and 18, accompanied by a forensic facial reconstruction that Cory insists strongly resembled her daughter. Despite her requests, law enforcement officers investigating Kristen's disappearance initially dismissed the possibility and declined to test the DNA.
Instagram Grooming and Gang Exploitation
Kristen's ordeal began in 2019 when gang members operating in Houston identified her as a target through a scout at her school. Using Instagram, they bombarded the teenager with flattering comments and party invitations, eventually luring her away from her family home.
Although police found her in Houston's red-light district two weeks later and returned her home, Kristen returned deeply traumatised. She testified against her trafficker, local rapper Aryion Jackson, who was subsequently convicted. Court documents reveal Jackson ran a "trap house" holding up to 12 girls and women, forcing them into commercial sex work under threat of violence.
Final Disappearance and Brutal Murder
On 3 January 2020, five months after her initial rescue, Kristen disappeared for a second and final time. Her mother believes fear for her family's safety compelled her to comply with traffickers' demands. Forensic evidence suggests she was bound with duct tape, beaten, and stabbed to death. Only parts of her skull were recovered in 2020, with her limbs, lower body, and additional skull fragments never found.
Life Before Trafficking
Known affectionately as "Kiki" to family and friends, Kristen was an accomplished student who earned good grades, participated in Girl Scouts and her school's drill team, and aspired to a military career. She was particularly adored by her two younger brothers, according to her mother.
Systemic Failures and Delayed Justice
The remains were discovered on 29 January 2020 but remained classified as "Jane Doe" rather than being linked to Kristen's missing person case. DNA from the body wasn't tested until July 2025, creating a five-year gap between discovery and identification.
Court records from Jackson's trial reveal he used multiple Instagram accounts to promote himself as a pimp, even continuing to operate his sex-trafficking ring using a smartphone while incarcerated. Evidence included posts featuring stacks of cash with captions boasting about earnings from exploited victims.
Mother's Continuing Mission
While desperately hoping one rescued girl might be her daughter, Cory has been working with private investigators and organisations to recover underage trafficking victims from Houston's red-light district. She now knows Kristen had been "hidden in plain sight" all along as the unidentified girl whose forensic sketch was publicly available online.
"No parent should have to solve their own daughter's case," Cory stated, highlighting the systemic failures that prolonged her family's agony. The case underscores the dangers of online grooming and the devastating consequences of sex trafficking, particularly when victims are minors who cannot legally consent to commercial sexual acts.
