Houston, Texas (Sunnyside) — May 13, 1994
Trellis Sykes was 16 years old—an honor roll student and a talented basketball player at Worthing High School.
She lived with her grandmother, May Sykes, in Houston’s Sunnyside neighborhood, where friends and family remembered her as a joyful teenager with big dreams and a bright future.
But on May 13, 1994, Trellis never came home.
Sometime after she disappeared, a devastating discovery was made.
Trellis’s body was found in an overgrown lot in the 3900 block of Redbud Street, only a few blocks from the home where she lived.
Investigators determined that the 16-year-old had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
A Young Life Cut Short
Her life was taken before she had the chance to graduate, pursue her dreams, or grow into the future that awaited her.
No one has ever been arrested for the crime.
More than 30 years later, the murder of Trellis Sykes remains unsolved.
Her family continues to live with the grief, the unanswered questions, and the painful reality that the person responsible has never been brought to justice.
Trellis was more than a case file.
She was a granddaughter.
A student.
An athlete.
A young girl whose life mattered.
Anyone with information about the murder of Trellis Sykes is urged to contact the Houston Police Department Homicide Division at 713-308-3618 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished