WebAMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Police say a Texas mother has been charged with murder in the death of her 2-month-old baby, KFDA reports. 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. 47 Two years after a brutal attack on a female couple near Corpus Christi made national headlines, a break in the case has resulted in two arrests. Roel Garza, 52, allegedly shot and killed wife Jennifer Phillips, 36, and their son Eli Garza, 5. Olgin, 19, and her girlfriend Chapa, 18, were found shot in the head Saturday in a Portland, Tx park. He is facing charges of capital murder, aggravated assault with a weapon and aggravated sexual assault in the June 23, 2012, attack on Mollie Olgin, 19, who died in the shooting in Portland on the Corpus Christi Bay. (PHOTOS: Teens in America: Class Pictures). McFadden was executed in Texas in October 1999 for the murders of three other women. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The teenagers were shot execution-style and left for dead in a park in Portland, Texas. While Mollie Olgin died, her girlfriend, Mary Kristene Chapa, miraculously survived. They followed my story since day one and I want to thank everybody for that.". In June 2012, a young teenage couple was found shot in a park in Portland, Texas. ', Garza replied 'just come now'. It points out that a jury found "ample evidence" to convict Strickland. The Layton man's home had been burglarized that year by David Strickland, a former friend. Paroled in December 1978. Chapa was 18 years old in June 2012 when she and her girlfriend Mollie Olgin were shot in the head execution-style at Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas. Olgin died from her wounds, but Chapa is currently recovering in a local hospital. While Mollie Olgin died, her girlfriend, Mary Kristene Chapa, miraculously survived. One girl is dead and another in serious condition after a mysterious shooting in a normally peaceful town. [2], On June 23, 2012, birdwatchers at Violet Andrews Park called police after discovering two women's bodies lying below a viewing deck. The front door was open, according to the official version of events in the KIII report. Corpus Christi police concluded that the robbery was targeted. The case garnered national attention and sparked outrage amongst the public, as homophobia initially was suspected to be a motivating factor in the crime. 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. Roel Garza, 52, allegedly shot and killed wife Jennifer Phillips, 36, and their son Eli Garza, 5. Wright said that police were operating on the assumption that the two girls were dating based on of information from family and friends. Nevertheless, the jury found David, then 30, guilty of capital murder and aggravated sexual assault. I want to have my independence back.". It was higher than in 44.6% U.S. cities. Just come now, Roel Garza said in 911 audio obtained by KRIS-TV. Mollie Judith Olgin, a 19 year old student at Texas A&M, was declared dead; Mary Christine Chapa, 18, was taken to a nearby hospital where she is said to be in serious but stable condition. Police say Garza did not have any prior history of violence. Chapa, now 27, survived. Mollie Judith Olgin, 19, and her girlfriend Mary Kristene Chapa, 18, were found shot in the head last Saturday in a Portland, Tx park. Ammunition found in his possession was identified as the same ammunition used in the killings of Boone and Turner. Chapa spoke on Tuesday to "The View's" co-hosts including Sunny Hostin, host of the show "Truth About Murder," who revisits the investigation with Chapa about the attack, her miraculous recovery and testifying during Strickland's trial. Sign up for breaking news alerts from NBC News. NBCs Dateline: The Overlook chronicles how the police zeroed in on David using a letter sent to Kristenes father. "Once we have a warrant, we start doing everything on our end to find the person as quickly as possible," Bozeman said. [16], In 2017, Kristene Chapa filed a lawsuit against David Strickland, his father Larry Joe Strickland, and Taft Pharmacy, the family business, seeking $500 million in damages. She believed the testing could help exonerate Strickland. But he could smile at my family and taunt them," she continued. December 17, 2021 In June 2012, a young teenage couple was found shot in a park in Portland, Texas. The Portland, Texas couple was found shot in the head on Saturday, June 23. We've been working very hard to make sure we get him as soon as possible. The biological evidence then became a point of contention, seemingly highlighting his potential involvement in the crime. His sentence will automatically be appealed. "GLAAD: Supporters rally and call for #justice4krisandmollie", "Texas Lesbian Couple: Survivor Remembers Night of Shooting", "Two Years Later, Arrests Have Finally Been Made in the Corpus Christi Shooting of A Teenage Lesbian Couple", "Same-Sex Teen Couple Shot: Texas Rangers investigating shooting of Mollie Olgin and Mary Chapa", "Brother of lesbian teen shot in head: She's 'fighting', "Verdict reached 4 years after deadly attack on TX lesbian teen couple", "Same-Sex Teen Couple Shooting: New sketch of suspect released in Texas attack", "Couple who found victims at Portland park testify", "Arrest Affidavit Details Link Between David Strickland, Portland Shootings", "accused-killer-in-portland-shooting-falsely-confessed-expert-says", "jury-watches-video-of-shooting-survivors-photo-lineup", "Court document: David Strickland denied appeal in killing of Mollie Olgin in 2012", "Shooting survivor Kristene Chapa files $500 million lawsuit", "Texas attack survivor's multimillion-dollar lawsuit against David Strickland gets pre-trial hearing", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Mollie_Olgin&oldid=1133689494, Violence against LGBT people in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 01:52. Teen lesbian couple found shot in Texas park, A Visual History of the Gay-Rights Movement, 13-Year-Old Girl Finds Porn On New Cell Phone, These Are North Koreas 28 State-Approved Hairstyles, Mountain Dews Dub the Dew Online Poll Goes Horribly Wrong. In the days after the attack, police said the women were known to be in a dating relationship but there was no evidence that the attack was motivated by their sexual orientation. I cant find her. Police Chief Randy Wright says there's no evidence that the attack was motivated by their relationship. Chapa, now 20, had gone with Olgin that Friday night to Violet Andrews Park in Portland outside Corpus Christi to see where her girlfriend had been baptized. Chapa was also sexually assaulted. We need time to let it sink and just process the news we've waited on for 2 years. In July 1987, he was sentenced to death for the murder of 18-year-old Suzanne Harrison, 20-year-old Gena Turner and 19-year-old Bryan Boone. A vigil was held for the girls at a local high school Sunday and a candle-lit walk is scheduled to take place in the park on Friday. Previously, DNA found on a cigarette butt and energy drink can at the scene both matched to Spellman. But Kristene, who was 18 years old at the time, was still alive and rushed to a hospital, where she recovered over time. List of people executed in Texas, 19901999, List of serial killers in the United States, "1979 cold case solved: DNA evidence links executed killer to Portland woman's murder", "Woman's 1979 murder solved using DNA evidence, Portland police say", "A popular genealogy website just helped solve a serial killer cold case in Oregon", "Cold Case Homicide Detail Solves 40-year-old Case", "URGENT Convict Known As 'Animal' Captured Without A Shot Fired", "A Town In Terror: How Jerry McFadden's 1986 crime spree stole the lives of Hawkins' best, brightest", "City Hall Update: DNA ties executed killer to 1979 murder of Portland woman", "Jerry (Animal) McFadden's escape to be featured on Investigation Discovery Channel", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerry_Walter_McFadden&oldid=1140955085, People executed by Texas by lethal injection, Violence against women in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Marshals and Texas Rangers in the San Antonio suburb of Helotes, local media reported. [4] Following intensive care and concerns that the bullet may have left her completely paralyzed,[5] Chapa regained mobility in the left side of her body and helped police create a sketch of the offender.[6][7]. IE 11 is not supported. Thats always something that were looking for, but as of this point, we have not been able to establish that that had anything to do with the attack, Wright said. Two young women believed to be in a romantic relationship were apparentlyshot by a mysterious assailantin Portland, Texas Friday night. Olgin died at the scene and Chapa is in stable condition in the hospital. The suspected shooter allegedly forced the girls down a steep incline in the quiet bayside park, bound them and shot them in the head. 0:59 David Strickland was not the person who killed a 19-year-old in a Portland park, and new DNA evidence proves it, attorneys for Strickland say. His attorney, Cynthia Orr, told the Caller-Times that the type of DNA testing technology that would be conducted on a piece of pubic hair found on Chapa was not available during the time of Strickland's trial. 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. Report: Houston is the No. "My family was there with me, and then my mom she was a big part of it," Kristene Chapa said. In May, Strickland'sattorneyCynthia Orr,Fort Worth lawyer Michael Logan Ware and Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project signed afiling for a proposed order requestingaccess to physical evidence, records and results ofDNA testing, hair and trace evidence, jail phone calls andrecorded interviews of the other man. On Jan. 31, police announced that Jerry Walter McFadden of Texas had killed Anna Marie Hlavka in Portland on Jan. 24, 1979. Olgin's girlfriend, Kristene Chapa, then 18, survived. [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. The Portland, Texas couple was found shot in the head on Saturday, June 23. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. In September 2016, David stood trial for the shooting. However, at that point, the authorities had another suspect, Dylan Spellman, who was linked to the crime scene through DNA evidence. 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. A search of his belongings also revealed a letter similar to the one received by the Chapa family. "He's behind bars because of me, so he's watching this right now.". 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. 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. Messages left by NBC News seeking comment from Chapa and her family werent immediately returned. Since joining the Houston Chronicle staff in 1998, she has covered various beats, including criminal courts and transportation. Strickland was sentenced to life in prison without parole in September 2016. [17] The complaints against Strickland's father and Taft Pharmacy were later dropped from the lawsuit. Vigils were held across the county by the LGBT community, and some suspected the case could be a hate crime. Court document: David Strickland denied appeal in killing of Mollie Olgin in 2012, Defense: New DNA results exonerate man convicted in 2012 double shooting in Portland, 'Truth About Murder with Sunny Hostin' episode about 2012 Portland attack of teens to air, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious TV interview, Report: Houston ranked No. "It's difficult for the citizens of this community, it's difficult on the officers of this department, It's difficult with everybody that was involved at the scene," said Portland PD Cheif Mark Cory. The prosecution did not seek the death penalty and Strickland was sentenced to life imprisonment. Roel Garza, 52, allegedly shot and killed wife Jennifer Phillips, 36, and their sonEli Garza, 5. U.S. Once investigators issued arrest warrants for the Stricklands, they asked the U.S. Officers described finding a tragic, horrifying murder scene at the home in northeast Portland. During her recovery, Chapa worked with police to help identify her shooter. He called 911 on Saturday at about 1:30 a.m., but he did not reveal much, cops said, according to KIII-TV. About 50 people attended the event. It was higher than in 44.6% U.S. cities. "We don't want that person to have knowledge of the warrant and be tipped off.". At the time, David was accused of burglarizing his home, and the evidence collected was turned over to the Portland police. [7], In January 2019, McFadden was linked by DNA via GEDmatch to the July 24, 1979 murder of Anna Marie Hlavka; Anna was found dead by her sister inside her apartment. In the last 5 years Portland has seen increasing violent crime and decreasing property crime. Marshals and Texas Rangers in the San Antonio suburb of Helotes, local media reported. Later on, David even confessed to the crime, saying he attacked Mollie and Kristene because they were mean to his wife, who was a server at a restaurant. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sister Peggy Ritual and Jason Haas share a moment of silence at a vigil. 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. Crimes scene investigators take evidence back to their vans Saturday, June 23, 2012 at Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas. Portland police have not provided details about how Strickland was linked to the case. Portland, Oregons, homicide rate soared a staggering 1,900% in 2021, with 20 killings, compared with one during the first three months of 2020. Jason Haas and Veronika Fimbres embrace during a vigil. Elizabeth Valadez of Corpus Christi, Texas, writes a message on one of the posts Friday, June 29, 2012 as other friends and supporters write messages on a large sheet behind her during a vigil for teens Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa at Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas. 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