Body Found In Kentucky Identified As Kristen Edwards

A dismembered body, stuffed into a tote bag, was discovered by a man fishing in Kentucky’s Green River on July 23. The remains have now been identified as 22-year-old Kristen Edwards, a mother of two, from Glasgow, Kentucky. Glasgow is about 30 miles south of the Hart County area, where the young mother was found.

George Bruton told Wave3 News he had planned for a quiet day of fishing when he noticed a canvas tote bag floating in the river. He had noticed a bad smell, which had also been noted by other visitors to the area, so he decided to investigate.

“I took my gaffe that I use to pull fish in and I reached and hooked the tote and kind of flipped it over, then I actually cut it a little bit more so I could see further into it.”

Upon opening the bag, Bruton saw a human hand and contacted the authorities. An autopsy was done the day after she was found, with the victim’s identity not released until late Tuesday.

According to her Facebook page, Kristen had recently gotten married, but no information posted names a husband. She also has two young children, one of whom is less than a year old.

Her family shared her last post, according to WDRB News, from July 14, which stated, “Somehow I know there’s more to life than this.”

With so little publicly known about Edwards, it’s difficult to speculate what could have happened to her. Was she someone who engaged in high-risk behaviors, which could have put her in danger?

Cameron Kendall, a close, lifelong friend to Kristen, said, “She never caused any kind of harm or drama. She was never about no trouble. Just a quiet girl. A country girl.”

But it’s possible there could’ve been things in her life that even those closest to her don’t know about. In cases like this, the people closest to her would be first investigated, like a spouse or relative, but beyond that, it could be literally anyone. It would, however, take a pretty sick and demented individual to cut up another person, stuff them in a bag, and throw them in a river.

Who was the last person she was last known to be with? How long had she been gone? Where were her children during the time she was missing? At this time, there’s no reports to indicate that she had even been reported as a missing person, which seems strange, considering another fisherman claims to have noticed the bag there about a week prior to Bruton finding it. She is not the only person missing in the state of Kentucky, and lately, it seems many missing people are just going off on their own, choosing to escape the constant tracking of social media, but perhaps someone had noticed something amiss.

One thing that may be worth mentioning is that Kristen was arrested on April 12 for second-degree assault-domestic violence, for which she was released on $1,000 bond. Those charges are still pending. It is believed that her boyfriend/husband was also arrested that day on the same charges.

There has been almost nothing released by police that would give any kind of timeline of Kristen’s last movements. They have also not named any suspects in her murder.

Kristen’s family and friends are all grieving the loss of this girl, with cousin James Edwards saying, “She was a great little girl, and I’m heartbroken over her. She had a really hard life and did not deserve this. No one does.”

Truer words were never spoken. No ones life should end this way. Hopefully, the authorities’ tight lips mean they already have a lot to go on and an arrest will be coming soon.

Anyone with information about Kristen’s death is asked to contact the Kentucky State Police at 270-782-2010.

[Photo by Ted S. Warren/AP Images]