QBits, New sketch released of suspect in shooting of lesbian teen couple

New sketch released of suspect in shooting of lesbian teen couple

Portland (Texas) Police

Texas Rangers released a refined artist sketch of the suspect in the shooting of Mollie Judith Olgin on June 22 in a park in Portland, Texas.

By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com

The lone survivor of a shooting that left her girlfriend dead has made “exceptional progress” in her recovery and worked with the Texas Rangers to refine a sketch of the suspect, police said Saturday.

Mary Kristene Chapa worked with a forensic artist from the Rangers on Friday to update the drawing of the man who attacked her and Mollie Judith Olgin on June 22 in Portland, Texas. The initial sketch she made with an artist was released July 4.

Chapa, recovering from a gunshot wound to the head and having to use sign language and writing to communicate, asked to revisit the sketch, Portland police said in a statement.

“It is unusual to go back and refine a suspect drawing,” said Chief Randy Wright. “But in this case, our eyewitness sustained a brain injury that initially affected her ability to communicate effectively. The good news is she has made exceptional progress. Her sight and speech have improved and she can now interact with the artist much better.”

The night they were shot, Chapa, 18, and Olgin, 19, had planned to spend some time in the park before seeing a movie, Olgin’s father, Mario, told local television station kiiitv.com.

They were found by a couple the next day in a grassy area of the park with gunshot wounds to the head. Olgin, a first-year university student living in Corpus Christi, died; Chapa, of Sinton, was alive and rushed to an area hospital.

Police recovered a bullet casing from a large-caliber gun at the scene, leading investigators to believe the shootings occurred where the pair was found. Two witnesses said they heard what could have been gunshots or firecrackers just before midnight on June 22 but did not report it at the time.

Wright has previously said that there was no evidence to indicate the attacks were motivated by the couple’s relationship. He did not immediately respond to an email on Saturday asking if police had established a motive, which they earlier said they had not.

The FBI was also helping to investigate, and Chapa was working with authorities to reconstruct the crime scene, Wright said.

“She wants very badly to help us identify Mollie’s murderer,” he said.

The description of the suspect has not changed, Wright said. He is described as a thin white man with a scruffy beard, in his 20s, weighing 140 pounds and standing 5-feet-8-inches tall.