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Courtesy of Jillian Manuel
A makeshift memorial was set up near the site where Mollie Judith Olgin, 19, and Kristene Chapa, 18, were shot in a nature reserve in Portland, Tex.
The lone survivor of a shooting that left her girlfriend dead in a South Texas park says she has learned that “life is so fragile” and she thanks those who are praying for her, noting it has sped up her recovery, in some of the first comments posted to her Facebook page since the attack three months ago.
Kristene Chapa, 18, was shot in the head along with her girlfriend, Mollie Judith Olgin, 19, on June 22 in Portland, Tex. The couple had been spending some time in a nature reserve near Corpus Christi before going to see a movie on the night they were attacked, Olgin’s father, Mario, told local television station kiiitv.com.
A couple found the pair the next day in the park. Olgin, a first-year university student living in Corpus Christi, died; Chapa, of Sinton, was alive and rushed to an area hospital.
"Today marks 3 months since my accident. I've learned life is so fragile and cherish the people you have in your life love them don't take things for granted and buy pepper spray! they deserve it!" Chapa penned Sunday in a Facebook post.
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"I love that people pray for me," she also noted. "I really think that's why I'm recovering so fast."
Police got 100 leads in the case after Chapa, who is recovering in a rehabilitation facility, helped them produce a sketch of the attacker, NBC local affiliate, kristv.com reported in mid-September. The suspect is described as a thin white man with a scruffy beard, in his 20s, weighing 140 pounds and standing 5-feet-8-inches tall.
On her Facebook page, Chapa complained about the food at rehabilitation but also said of therapy: "one step at a time" and "always remember there is someone worse off."
The father of a 19-year-old Texas teenager killed in an attack on her and her girlfriend speaks after authorities released a new composite of the suspect. KRIS-TV reports.
A state forensics lab in Austin will compare DNA evidence collected from the crime scene with mouth swabs that police have taken from each person they’ve interviewed who doesn’t have an alibi, kristv.com reported.
But the lab is dealing with a lengthy caseload, and it’s not clear when police will have the results, according to the television station.
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.
On Sunday, Chapa posted the lyrics to a Kenny Chesney song on her Facebook page from "Who You'd Be Today," which is about a person who "died too young."
"I still need time but I am happy," she wrote. "I'm moving on."
That seemed to include a new girlfriend, with Chapa noting in early September that she was in a relationship with a new woman.
"I know people deal with things different and I'm not gonna sit in my room and cry over what happened," she wrote. "I was heartbroken but I'm not gonna be single for the rest of my life ... she's in my heart but I needed something else. I wanted a girl to be there for me and understand what I'm going through ..."
Portland Police Chief Randy Wright has previously said that there was no evidence to indicate the attacks were motivated by the couple’s relationship. Calls placed by NBC News early Monday seeking comment to Wright and Hilario Chapa, Kristene’s brother, were not immediately returned.
Courtesy of Hilario Chapa
Siblings Patricia Martinez, left, Hilario Chapa, and Mary Kristene Chapa on April 28, 2012. Kristene Chapa is recovering from being shot in the head on June 22 in a South Texas park. Her girlfriend, who was also shot in the head, died in the attack.
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