Murder of Mollie Olgin

Mollie Olgin, 19, was murdered on June 22, 2012 in Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas. It is believed that David Malcolm Strickland, 25, sexually assaulted her and her girlfriend Mary Kristene "Kris" Chapa, 18, before shooting them both execution-style.[1] Olgin was pronounced dead at the scene and Chapa was taken to hospital in critical condition due to a bullet wound in her head.[2] Following intensive care and concerns that the bullet may have left her completely paralyzed,[3] Chapa regained mobility in the left side of her body.[4] The attack sparked outrage within the LGBT community, with many arguing that it was a hate crime, although this has not been proven.

Police were led to David Strickland after Chapa's father received an anonymous letter in 2014 written from the perspective of a hit man that contained information not released to the public.[5] David and Laura Strickland were arrested on Friday, June 20, 2014. The couple was held at San Patricio County jail. David Strickland was charged with capital murder, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated assault. Laura Strickland was charged with tampering with evidence for delivering the anonymous letter.[6] Laura Strickland's charge was later dismissed.[5]

On September 28, 2016 a jury found David Strickland guilty of capital murder and aggravated sexual assault. Since the prosecution did not seek the death penalty for Strickland, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.[4]

In 2018, advances in testing technology allowed for DNA identification of a hair found on Olgin's body, which was matched to the original suspect, Dylan Wade Spellman. Prior to Strickland's trial, DNA found on a cigarette butt and energy drink can at the scene both matched to Spellman. On the basis of this, attorneys for Strickland filed a motion for his conviction to be overturned, arguing that the evidence presented was "insufficient to sustain the conviction". The appeal is still "making it's [sic] way through the legal system".[7]

References
  1. Newcomb, Alyssa (July 2, 2012). "Texas Lesbian Couple: Survivor Remembers Night of Shooting". ABC News. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  2. Dahl, Julia (June 28, 2012). "Same-Sex Teen Couple Shot: Texas Rangers investigating shooting of Mollie Olgin and Mary Chapa". CBS News. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  3. Leitsinger, Miranda (June 18, 2012). "Brother of lesbian teen shot in head: She's 'fighting'". MSNBC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  4. Bolles, Alexandra (September 28, 2016). "Verdict reached 4 years after deadly attack on TX lesbian teen couple". GLAAD. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  5. Sabawi, Fares (September 19, 2014). "Couple who found victims at Portland park testify". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  6. Murphy, Doyle (June 22, 2014). "'Stone cold killer' David Strickland busted in fatal shooting of Texas lesbians". NY Daily News. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  7. Dearman, Eleanor (January 31, 2019). "Defense: New DNA results exonerate man convicted in 2012 double shooting in Portland". Corpus Christi Caller. Retrieved September 26, 2019.


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