Same-Sex Teen Couple Shot: Police say no evidence that "bias" was the motive
(CBS) PORTLAND, Texas - The police investigating the shooting of a same-sex couple in a Texas park over the weekend announced Tuesday that they do not believe the teenage girls were targeted because of their relationship.
Pictures: Same-sex teen couple shot in South Texas park
"A motive in this case has not been established," said Portland Police Chief Randy Wright in a statement released Tuesday.
Mollie Judith Olgin, 19, and Mary Kristene Chapa, 18, were found lying
in a grassy area of a Portland park around 9 a.m. Saturday morning. Both
had been shot and Olgin was pronounced dead at the scene, but Chapa,
who was shot in the head, was still alive. She was transferred to the
hospital and is now in stable condition, according to the statement.
"Information from family and friends indicates that Mollie and Mary were engaged in a same-sex relationship," Wright said in the statement.
However, Wright told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that there is "no evidence to suggest that this crime was committed as a bias against the girls or their lifestyle."
Chapa has not yet been formally interviewed about the crime because of her condition, the statement said.
The statement also revealed that a large caliber shell casing was found near where the young women were discovered, and that two witnesses reported hearing what they thought were either gunshots or firecrackers just before midnight on Friday, June 22.
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June 25, 2012: Teen female couple shot in South Texas park, one dead, police say
