Olgin's girlfriend, Kristene Chapa, then 18, survived. Mary Kristene Chapa, 18, and her girlfriend, Mollie Olgin, 19, were shot in the head at Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas on June 22. Members and supporters of the gay community held a vigil on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif., at the corner of Castro and Market Streets for the two lesbian teens who were shot on Friday near Corpus Christi, Texas. Wright said that police were operating on the assumption that the two girls were dating based on of information from family and friends. Olgin had already died of a gunshot wound to the head, and Chapa was in grave condition but survived to tell about the ordeal. DNA evidence was collected from the bodies at this time. Orr and prosecutors with the San Patricio County District Attorney's officecould not immediately be reached for comment. [12][14][15], Attorneys for Strickland filed a motion for his conviction to be overturned based on the newfound DNA evidence, which District Attorney Sam Smith dismissed on an updated episode of Dateline. Portland police have not provided details about how Strickland was linked to the case. In September 2016, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The biological evidence then became a point of contention, seemingly highlighting his potential involvement in the crime. She was found the next day. Chief Wright said that although the events did seem more like measured attacks than a random action, they were not currently investigating the murder as a hate crime. The Portland, Texas couple was found shot in the head on Saturday, June 23. Due to the attacks brutal nature, it received heavy media coverage and resulted in public outrage. Shell casings collected from the crime scene then matched one of Davids firearms. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Marshals and Texas Rangers in the San Antonio suburb of Helotes, local media reported. 5-year-old dead after double homicide-suicide in Portland. Dateline originally aired an episode on the case in 2017 after a San Patricio County Judge found David Strickland, a Portland, Texas, man, guilty of capital murder. Olgin, 19, died at the scene. PORTLAND, Texas A husband, wife and their five-year-old son are dead after a murder suicide in the City of Portland, according to police. Chapa suffered tunnel vision and lost part of her mobility. Police have not identified any suspects or announced any arrests. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. A psychologist also concluded in 2009 that David had hallucinations and suicidal ideations. The type of DNA testing being done uses technology that wasn't available at the time of Strickland's trial. Police have not identified any suspects or announced any arrests. [11] The charge was dismissed. 2023 www.caller.com. Chapa was also sexually assaulted. Mollie Judith Olgin, 19, and her girlfriend Mary Kristene Chapa, 18, were found shot in the head last Saturday in a Portland, Tx park. On Jan. 31, police announced that Jerry Walter McFadden of Texas had killed Anna Marie Hlavka in Portland on Jan. 24, 1979. PORTLAND, Texas Portland police confirm a double-homicide suicide took place early Saturday morning. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The following morning, a couple discovered the bodies of the two women in knee-high grass near a scenic lookout in the park, police said. My sympathies and condolences go to the victims and their families who had to endure this wicked act of violence.. "There are still a lot of things that that we cannot release but we're confident that we do have our person.". WebMollie Olgin was a 19-year-old woman murdered on June 22, 2012 in Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas after she and her girlfriend were attacked and shot. Plz, help.. 1 most stressful city for workers in U.S. Turner: State takeover of Houston ISD could happen as soon as next week, Houston rap royalty Bun B on returning to Rodeo for another Takeover, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston-area pastor calls for state book ban, Kevin Porter Jr. return can't end Rockets' growing losing streak, W&P Porter bowl review: A container that makes office lunch easy, A new musical spotlights a Texas bank-robbing legend. Its apparent in the investigation that once the suspect Mr. Garza made the call to the police department, he committed suicide in the bedroom where the wife and child had already been killed, Cory said. He contacted family members Friday evening, said Cory, who did not elaborate much. The hair was matched to an initial suspect in the crime, Dylan Spellman, who had recently pleaded guilty to his involvement in an armed robbery in Nevada in which he and his cohorts referred to each other by numbers, mirroring the way Mollie and Kristene were referred to as "number one" and "number two" during their assault. Eyewitnesses also placed Spellman at Violet Andrews Park both before and after the crime. Carol got started in journalism while teaching English in Poland during martial law. WebPortland police solved a 40-year-old murder case by matching DNA found at the crime scene with data in a public genealogy site. Portland Police Chief Randy Wright confirmed the identities of the two girls to local NBC affiliates and to MSNBC. [3], Police used GPS to discover that David Strickland's cell phone had been near the Chapa home when the letter had been hand-delivered. They said incidents like this are rare, with the last being five years ago. IE 11 is not supported. Olgin died from her wounds, but Chapa is currently recovering in a local hospital. McFadden was executed in Texas in October 1999 for the murders of three other women. [3], Other evidence included in the arrest warrant included the fact that a gun in Strickland's possession was matched to bullet casings at the crime scene. Crimes scene investigators take evidence back to their vans Saturday, June 23, 2012 at Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas. A new Dateline NBC episode that aired in Decembertook another look at the sexual assaultand shooting of two South Texas women nearly a decade ago. A memorial is seen at the corner of Market and Castro Streets during a vigil for Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa (pictured). Ultimately, David Malcolm Strickland was arrested and later found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. WebPortland police solved a 40-year-old murder case by matching DNA found at the crime scene with data in a public genealogy site. Photo: Portland Police Department. Attorneys for convicted killer David Strickland are asking for a hearing along with records they hope will prove someone else was to blame for the 2012 double shooting in a Portland park. Members and supporters of the gay community held a vigil on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif., at the corner of Castro and Market Streets for Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa, two lesbian teens who were shot on Friday near Corpus Christi, Texas. [15] The appeal was denied in January 2020. Police say Garza did not have any prior history of violence. Chapa was also sexually assaulted. Chapa is currently taking college courses while writing a book about her experience. Olgin died and Chapa continues to recover after the two were shot June 23 at the park. The case garnered national attention and sparked outrage amongst the public, as homophobia initially was suspected to be a motivating factor in the crime. A man murdered his wife and young son, made a cryptic 911 call and died by suicide, according to police in Portland, Texas. Paroled in December 1978. Gay rights groups have called for a thorough police investigation into the fatal shooting of a teenage woman and wounding of her girlfriend in the park. William Davis, who worked at Christus Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, Texas, was convicted of capital murder on Oct. 19. Here's the latest. Roel Garza, 52, allegedly shot and killed wife Jennifer Phillips, 36, and their son Eli Garza, 5. The Portland, Texas couple was found shot in the head on Saturday, June 23. The Portland, Texas couple was found shot in the head on Saturday, June 23. The following morning, a couple discovered the bodies of the two women in knee-high grass near a scenic lookout in the park, police said. The 2019 Portland crime rate fell by 29% compared to 2018. A friend said Chapa remembers the night of the shooting. The following morning, a couple discovered the bodies of the two women in knee-high grass near a scenic lookout in the park, police said. [emailprotected]. The investigators worked the case, eventually arresting the culprit, David Strickland. While Mollie Olgin died, her girlfriend, Mary Kristene Chapa, miraculously survived. Corpus Christi police concluded that the robbery was targeted. Two young women believed to be in a romantic relationship were apparently shot by a mysterious assailant in Portland, Texas Friday night. They remained Tuesday in the San Patricio County Jail on no bond. WebCrime rate in Portland, TX The 2019 crime rate in Portland, TX is 110 (City-Data.com crime index), which is 2.4 times lower than the U.S. average. He called 911 on Saturday at about 1:30 a.m., but he did not reveal much, cops said, according to KIII-TV. We have a lot of evidence to still continue to process, he said. NBCs Dateline: The Overlook chronicles how the police zeroed in on David using a letter sent to Kristenes father. Portland, Oregons, homicide rate soared a staggering 1,900% in 2021, with 20 killings, compared with one during the first three months of 2020. Vigils were held across the county by the LGBT community, and some suspected the case could be a hate crime. Although a bullet casing was found on the scene, no weapon has been discovered and there are currently no suspects in the shooting. Nearly two years after a teenager and her girlfriend were both shot in the head on a grassy hillside in South Texas, killing one of them and leaving the other with serious injuries, authorities have arrested a man in the attack. David Malcolm Strickland, 27, was arrested Friday by U.S. Mary Kristene Chapa, 18, and her girlfriend, Mollie Olgin, 19, were shot in the head at Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas on June 22. Olgin died at the scene and Chapa is in stable condition in the hospital. The episode can be streamed on the NBC app or online atwww.nbcnews.com/dateline. Just come now, Roel Garza said in 911 audio obtained by KRIS-TV. Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-News, David Strickland, 27, was arrested June 20, 2014, in Helotes. The investigators worked the case, eventually arresting the culprit, David Strickland. It points out that a jury found "ample evidence" to convict Strickland. Gerald Walter McFadden was born on March 21, 1948, in Haskell County Texas. And it wont bring Mollie back, she said. Received a 911 call from a distraught male who was advising that he needed law enforcement assistance, Portland Police Chief Mark Cory told reporters. Sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1973 for two counts of rape. McFadden was executed in Texas in October 1999 for the murders of three other women. The chief described the mother as struck multiple times in the head., We had four officers on scene, and it was rough on them, Cory said. Vigils for the women are also scheduled for Friday in Washington, D.C., and Portland, Texas, among other cities. Members and supporters of the gay community held a vigil on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif., at the corner of Castro and Market Streets for Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa, two lesbian teens who were shot on Friday near Corpus Christi, Texas. Chapa had to relearn how to walk, talk and even smile again after the attack, she said, noting that she's now "doing well" overall. Portland police say they don't know the motive for the shooting Friday night that killed 19-year-old Mollie Olgin and wounded 18-year-old Mary Kristene Chapa in Violet Andrews Park. Strickland told investigators that Olgin and Chapa were rude to his wife, who was a server at Chili's, and he followed them back to the park where he shot them, but prosecutors believed Olgin and Chapa did not visit Chili's the night of the shooting. A friend said Chapa remembers the night of the shooting. He is now appealing the conviction based on new DNA evidence that his attorneys claim prove he was wrongly convicted. U.S. Olgin died at the scene and Chapa is in stable condition in the hospital. I do miss it a lot and, like, even being able to pick up my niece and nephews. Its a difficult situation when you walk in on a welfare check and then you discover three deceased bodies, and especially ones a child.. David remains incarcerated at the William G. McConnell Unit in Beeville, Texas. Arrested in May 1986 for the rape and murder of 18-year-old high school cheerleader Suzanne Harrison and the murder of 20-year-old Gena Turner and 19-year old Bryan Boone who were shot. 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