She is charged with tampering with evidence in connection with the 2012 attack on Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa. Police said Hlavka had been sexually assaulted and strangled with the electric cord from her clock radio.[1]. Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Houston facing severe thunderstorms, possible tornadoes Thursday, Oops! The Layton man's home had been burglarized that year by David Strickland, a former friend. We need time to let it sink and just process the news we've waited on for 2 years. The investigators worked the case, eventually arresting the culprit, David Strickland. Ultimately, David Malcolm Strickland was arrested and later found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. 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. 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. A crime scene investigator photographs evidence at the end of a sidewalk, June 23, 2012 at Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas, where Mollie Olgin, 19, and Mary Kristene Chapa, 18, were killed. A search of his belongings also revealed a letter similar to the one received by the Chapa family. This is still an active investigation. The front door was open, according to the official version of events in the KIII report. Police Chief Randy Wright says there's no evidence that the attack was motivated by their relationship. They believed that the couple was attacked somewhere around midnight, and the assailant bound and blindfolded the women. Olgin died from her wounds, but Chapa is currently recovering in a local hospital. On Jan. 31, police announced that Jerry Walter McFadden of Texas had killed Anna Marie Hlavka in Portland on Jan. 24, 1979. David Malcolm Strickland, 27, is facing charges of capital murder, aggravated assault with a weapon and aggravated sexual assault in the June 23, 2012, attack. "(Strickland) cannot take the gun, computer or ID evidence away. 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. 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. While Mollie Olgin died, her girlfriend, Mary Kristene Chapa, miraculously survived. William Davis, who worked at Christus Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, Texas, was convicted of capital murder on Oct. 19. Additionally, a firearms expert at the Texas Department of Public Safety testified that the bullet casing at the scene likely matched Strickland's handgun. On Jan. 31, police announced that Jerry Walter McFadden of Texas had killed Anna Marie Hlavka in Portland on Jan. 24, 1979. In the beginning, the authorities used Kristenes help to create a composite sketch of the attacker. Both women were stripped of their clothes and left for dead after being shot execution-style. 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. KRIS 6 News obtained the almost 20 second audio clip of the police call to Portland PD, but some of it was inaudible. The suspected shooter allegedly forced the girls down a steep incline in the quiet bayside park, bound them and shot them in the head. PORTLAND, Texas Portland police confirm a double-homicide suicide took place early Saturday morning. He called 911 on Saturday at about 1:30 a.m., but he did not reveal much, cops said, according to KIII-TV. Strickland's lawyers said his DNA was found on several items at the park, including cigarette butts and an energy drink can. Gerald Walter McFadden was born on March 21, 1948, in Haskell County Texas. I have panic attacks," Chapa said. He was also seen talking to people at the crime scene, telling them that his partner, Laura, knew one of the victims. William Davis, who worked at Christus Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, Texas, was convicted of capital murder on Oct. 19. Wright said that police were operating on the assumption that the two girls were dating based on of information from family and friends. "I felt powerful, like I took my power back to be able to stand up against him," Chapa said. Crimes scene investigators take evidence back to their vans Saturday, June 23, 2012 at Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas. 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. Portland PD says the investigation is ongoing. WebAMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Police say a Texas mother has been charged with murder in the death of her 2-month-old baby, KFDA reports. David M. Strickland, 27, and his wife, Laura K. Strickland, 23, were arrested June 20 at their home in Helotes in the San Antonio area. 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. Olgin, 19, and her girlfriend Chapa, 18, were found shot in the head Saturday in a Portland, Tx park. The Portland Police Department released this sketch July 13, 2012, in the attack on Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa. [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. 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. Strickland was expected to be transferred to a jail in Sinton, outside of Portland, on Saturday, Giles said. The case garnered national attention and sparked outrage amongst the public, as homophobia initially was suspected to be a motivating factor in the crime. Mollie 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. I stared at him, right, whenever I was testifying, and not one look. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Olgin died at the scene and Chapa is in stable condition in the hospital. 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. And it wont bring Mollie back, she said. Chapa attributed a large part of her recovery to her family, especially her mother Grace Chapa, who stayed with her in a physical rehabilitation center for three-and-a-half months. 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. Olgin's girlfriend, Kristene Chapa, then 18, survived. Marshals and Texas Rangers in the San Antonio suburb of Helotes, local media reported. On Jan. 31, police announced that Jerry Walter McFadden of Texas had killed Anna Marie Hlavka in Portland on Jan. 24, 1979. 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. Mollie, 19, suffered a gunshot wound to the neck and was pronounced dead on the scene. At the time, Strickland denied shooting and raping the girls. Olgin, 19, and her girlfriend Chapa, 18, were found shot in the head Saturday in a Portland, Tx park. Three days later, the bodies of Boone and Turner were discovered, with gunshot wounds being the cause of death. The teenagers were shot execution-style and left for dead in a park in Portland, Texas. A poster depicting Kristene Chapa and her girlfriend Mollie Judith Olgin, at the Chapa residence on June 11, 2013 in Corpus Christi, TX. Rachel Timson and Sarah Dime embrace during a vigil. Sister Peggy Ritual and Jason Haas share a moment of silence at a vigil. In September 2016, David stood trial for the shooting. It was higher than in 44.6% U.S. cities. A vigil will also be held in San Fransisco, a city well known for its support of gay rights. Strickland's appealis still making it's way through the legal system. 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. "He couldn't even look at me, which was disappointing, because I wanted him to see what he had done.". The chief described the fathers preliminary actions in general terms. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. I want to have my independence back.". 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. Ammunition found in his possession was identified as the same ammunition used in the killings of Boone and Turner. [6], In 2018, advances in testing technology allowed for DNA identification of a hair found on Chapa's body. He was arrested on 6 May, after a police report from a couple he had attacked by the lake on the day of the murder. But he could smile at my family and taunt them," she continued. "My family was there with me, and then my mom she was a big part of it," Kristene Chapa said. Portland Police Chief Randy Wright confirmed the identities of the two girls to local NBC affiliates and to MSNBC. In 2019, one of Strickland's attorneys said a man from Nevada, whose DNA was found at the scene, was actually responsible for the crime. Kristene Chapa, left, accompanied by her mother Grace Chapa, opened up about a 2012 attack in Texas that killed her girlfriend on "The View," Oct. 29, 2019. Strickland was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but the new Dateline episode suggests new DNA evidence could prove someone else was to blame. [17] The complaints against Strickland's father and Taft Pharmacy were later dropped from the lawsuit. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. But after a police press conference on Saturday announcing the arrest, she told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that though she felt safer: It will never take back the pain and hurt he did to our families. The Portland, Texas couple was found shot in the head on Saturday, June 23. McFadden was executed in Texas in October 1999 for the murders of three other women. (PHOTOS: Teens in America: Class Pictures). 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. Gerald "Jerry" Walter McFadden (March 21, 1948 October 14, 1999), known as The Animal, was an American serial killer and sex offender who was executed in 1999.[6]. 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The Portland Police Department released this sketch July 4, 2012, in the attack on Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa. 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. U.S. December 17, 2021 In June 2012, a young teenage couple was found shot in a park in Portland, Texas. Portland, Oregons, homicide rate soared a staggering 1,900% in 2021, with 20 killings, compared with one during the first three months of 2020. About 50 people attended a candle light vigil held for Mollie Judith Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa Friday June 29, 2012 at Woodlawn Lake. 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. In the last 5 years Portland has seen increasing violent crime and decreasing property crime. Roel Garza, 52, allegedly shot and killed wife Jennifer Phillips, 36, and their son Eli Garza, 5. He is now appealing the conviction based on new DNA evidence that his attorneys claim prove he was wrongly convicted. The investigation is ongoing. The document also requestedthe results of DNA testing conducted ona pubic hair that was found onChapa's body. He is charged with capital murder, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated assault. So, lets find out what happened to David then, shall we? Olgin, 19, died at the scene. Received a 911 call from a distraught male who was advising that he needed law enforcement assistance, Portland Police Chief Mark Cory told reporters. She believed the testing could help exonerate Strickland. 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. Chapa was also sexually assaulted. Convicted in 1979 of aggravated sexual assault for kidnapping and raping an 18-year-old woman at knifepoint. 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. About 50 people attended the event. (AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Michael Zamora). 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. 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. The almost 20 second audio clip of the page across from the article title of Portland, Tx.... On this Wikipedia the language links are at the scene and Chapa is in stable condition in head. 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