Police Solve 40-Year-Old South Austin Murder Case

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX — Austin police have solved a nearly 40-year cold case related to the rape and murder of a South Austin woman in 1979, law enforcement officials announced Thursday.

A grand jury has indicted Michael Anthony Galvan, 64, one one count of capital murder and another count on murder in the sexual assault and killing of Debra Sue Reiding at her apartment at 1222 Algarita Avenue, police said in a press advisory. The early morning incident occurred on Jan. 22, 1979, when the victim was 18 years old, police added.

At the time of her death, Reiding was a newlywed who had recently moved to Austin from Montana with her husband, Robert John Reiding. Galvan immediately emerged as a suspect, but insufficient evidence prevented officials from filing charges against him, police said. But advances in DNA technology have now allowed cold case detectives to positively link him to the crime, police noted.

Undated photo of Debra Sue Reiding courtesy of Austin Police Department

Police said Galvan has worked and lived in Austin since the time of the crime. A news conference will be planned for early next week, when police will provide further details, police said Thursday while declining further comment.

The cold case resolution comes as the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, along with APD's Cold Case Unit, have recently teamed up to collaborate efforts when investigating cold case murders, police said. To that end, more than 20 assistant district attorneys were hand-picked to work with detectives responsible for nearly 190 such cases, police explained. The tandem efforts have led to the solving of 28 cases to date by the APD Cold Case Unit/Travis County District Attorney’s Office team, police noted.

“We want to commend the Austin Police Department, specifically the Cold Case Unit, in its perseverance and dedication to this case," Assistant District Attorney Keith M. Henneke, the lead prosecutor in the Galvan case, said in a prepared statement.

Galvan has since been arrested and booked into Travis County Jail with a bond set at $750,000, according to records. A booking photo of Galvan will be released by Friday morning, police said. The lead detective in the cold case investigation was Jeff Gabler, officials added.

>>> Michael Anthony Galvan booking photo via Austin Police Department