McFadden was executed in Texas in October 1999 for the murders of three other women. "He's behind bars because of me, so he's watching this right now.". The letter also included a picture of the accused man along with the words, I was told to deliver this or die. David Malcolm Strickland, 27, was arrested Friday by U.S. Carol Christian reports on breaking news for chron.com. Chapa, now 27, survived. 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. Man and wife jailed in 2-year-old attack on female couple near Corpus Christi, Portland police still seek leads in teen couple shooting. The incident was premeditated. Samantha Garrett, Olgins roommate, said that the couple had not received any threats or hateful remarks about their new relationship. The Portland Police Department released this sketch July 4, 2012, in the attack on Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa. The Portland, Texas couple was found shot in the head on Saturday, June 23. "All my supporters; they've been there. 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. Authorities said last year they didnt believe the attack was a hate crime, but they hadnt established a motive. The biological evidence then became a point of contention, seemingly highlighting his potential involvement in the crime. Marshals and Texas Rangers in the San Antonio suburb of Helotes, local media reported. Friends of the girls have said that Olgin and Chapa began dating five months ago. "(Strickland) cannot take the gun, computer or ID evidence away. Authorities didn't investigate the fatal attack as a hate crime even though the incident happened during Pride weekend. Photo: Portland Police Department, Laura Strickland, 23, was arrested June 20, 2014, in Helotes. A couple out bird watching the next morning found the girls Olgin had died but Chapa, who tried to claw her way out of the thorny brush, was alive. He called 911 on Saturday at about 1:30 a.m., but he did not reveal much, cops said, according to KIII-TV. 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. Neighbors described Jennifer Phillips as, in the words of KRIS-TV, the heart of the community, and Eli as a playful soul., [Screengrab of memorial for Jennifer Phillips and Eli Garza at their home via KIII], Have a tip we should know? Police have not identified any suspects or announced any arrests. 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. The motion also states the evidence presented at trial is "insufficient to sustain Strickland's conviction. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. WebPortland police solved a 40-year-old murder case by matching DNA found at the crime scene with data in a public genealogy site. The 2019 Portland crime rate fell by 29% compared to 2018. A memorial is seen at the corner of Market and Castro Streets during a vigil for Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa (pictured). Cops found three people dead inside the childs bedroom: Jennifer Phillips, Eli Garza and the perpetrator Roel Garza. Rachel Timson and Sarah Dime embrace during a vigil. "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. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. WebPortland police solved a 40-year-old murder case by matching DNA found at the crime scene with data in a public genealogy site. [8] In October 1999, he was executed in the Huntsville Unit by lethal injection. Two young women believed to be in a romantic relationship were apparently shot by a mysterious assailant in Portland, Texas Friday night. While David Strickland was eventually convicted of the murder, evidence at the crime scene initially implicated Dylan Spellman. [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. McFadden raped and strangled Harrison and dumped her body in a park about 25 miles (40km) from Lake Hawkins. 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. 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. The biological evidence then became a point of contention, seemingly highlighting his potential involvement in the crime. 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, June 22, 2012, that killed 19-year-old Mollie Olgin and wounded 18-year-old Mary Kristene Chapa in Violet Andrews Park. But she said that it wasn't just her physical state that needed time to recover. 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. Ashlee Burns covers trending and breaking news in South Texas. DNA testing was previously pending ona pubichair found on Chapa. Portland, OR 97006 (503) 906-1249; Gerald Walter McFadden was born on March 21, 1948, in Haskell County Texas. "Once we have a warrant, we start doing everything on our end to find the person as quickly as possible," Bozeman said. A poster depicting Kristene Chapa and her girlfriend Mollie Judith Olgin, at the Chapa residence on June 11, 2013 in Corpus Christi, TX. Chapa was also sexually assaulted. Olgin died from her wounds, but Chapa is currently recovering in a local hospital. Police were led to David Strickland in 2014 after Chapa's father received an anonymous letter containing information about the crime not released to the public. [15] The appeal was denied in January 2020. 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. 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. About 50 people attended the event. It was higher than in 44.6% U.S. cities. Strickland had also inserted himself in the original investigation, talking to investigators and being seen at the crime scene just days after the shooting. See our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe, After two hours of being interviewed by Portland police and Texas Rangers. He then sexually assaulted and shot them. "He couldn't even look at me, which was disappointing, because I wanted him to see what he had done.". Portland, Oregons, homicide rate soared a staggering 1,900% in 2021, with 20 killings, compared with one during the first three months of 2020. According to police, around 1:30 a.m., a man called 911 and told officers he was distraught and to go to Escondido St. Courtesy of Bexar County Sheriff's Office. Olgin's girlfriend, Kristene Chapa, then 18, survived. Police said Hlavka had been sexually assaulted and strangled with the electric cord from her clock radio.[1]. "While we know the community has many questions, this is still an active investigation and we would not want to do anything to jeopardize the case," Portland Police Chief Gary Giles said in a news release. The document also requestedthe results of DNA testing conducted ona pubic hair that was found onChapa's body. The teenagers were shot execution-style and left for dead in a park in Portland, Texas. Previously, DNA found on a cigarette butt and energy drink can at the scene both matched to Spellman. 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. More: David Strickland's attorney: Impending DNA testing will clear him of Portland Park murder, Sign up to have news emailed to you daily, David Strickland's attorney: Impending DNA testing will clear him of Portland Park murder, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Since joining the Houston Chronicle staff in 1998, she has covered various beats, including criminal courts and transportation. A friend said Chapa remembers the night of the shooting. I cant find her. In the last 5 years Portland has seen increasing violent crime and decreasing property crime. 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. As the investigation carried on, there was a break in the case in June 2014 when Kristenes father received an anonymous letter in the mail. Portland, a small town of 16,000 just north of Corpus Christi, is not known for crime and has not seen a homicide in two years. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. McFadden had been convicted of rape three times between 1972 and 1978, but never had to serve his full sentence. Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Houston facing severe thunderstorms, possible tornadoes Thursday, Oops! She is charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the 2012 attack on Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa. Thanks everyone for the texts, messages, and calls but my family and I are just kinda in shock and just shook up, Chapa wrote on Facebook after the arrest was made. And it wont bring Mollie back, she said. ', Garza replied 'just come 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 Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa, two lesbian teens who were shot on Friday near Corpus Christi, Texas. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force for help in finding and apprehending the couple. I hope that it gives them some closure knowing that this person is taken off the street, Portland Police Chief Gary Giles said of the victims families and the community. Marshal Christopher Bozeman, a spokesman for the Marshals Service in San Antonio, said it took the team a little over two hours to find the Stricklands in an apartment in the 12000 block of Bandera Road in Helotes, about 25 miles northwest of San Antonio. [10], Laura Strickland was charged with tampering with evidence. Convicted in 1979 of aggravated sexual assault for kidnapping and raping an 18-year-old woman at knifepoint. Olgin died and Chapa continues to recover after the two were shot June 23 at the park. However, at that point, the authorities had another suspect, Dylan Spellman, who was linked to the crime scene through DNA evidence. I stared at him, right, whenever I was testifying, and not one look. 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. 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