Victims: Mary Christine Chapa, left, and her girlfriend, nineteen-year-old Mollie Olgin
After two years of active investigation, Texas law enforcement officials are believed to have found the man responsible for the shooting of two young lesbian women, 18-year-old Mary Chapa and her girlfriend, 19-year-old Mollie Olgin, who were gunned down on June 22, 2012 in Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas.
Olgin was killed and Chapa was seriously injured by alleged murderer David Malcolm Strickland, age 27. Members of the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force worked closely with Texas Rangers to bring Strickland in. Throughout her recovery and healing process, Chapa worked closely with investigators to reconstruct the crime and bring her girlfriend’s murderer to justice. Strickland currently faces charges of capital murder, aggravated assault with a weapon and aggravated sexual assault in connection with the crime.
LGBT organizations are prompting local police to look into whether the murder was a hate crime.
Although there continues to be no evidence that the attack was motivated by the victims’ sexual orientation, this is not the first time a lesbian couple has been murdered or gunned down in Texas.
In March of this year, the bodies of young lesbian couple Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson, both 24, were discovered in Port Bolivar. Investigators say Cosby was beaten and Jackson, her girlfriend, was shot. James Larry Cosby, Cosby’s father, was later arrested in connection with the crime, and charged with evidence tampering. Although it was known that Cosby was allegedly “not happy” about his daughter’s relationship with Jackson, authorities have yet to identify a motive.
Though slow, justice is sure to be served to the families in both cases, as Texas officials continue to investigate and move to trial.
