• Teen shot dead after sneaking into wrong home following party

    View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

    Dozens gathered Thursday night to remember Caleb Gordley, a Virginia teen who was shot by a homeowner after he mistakenly snuck into a neighbor's home early Sunday.

    "Caleb had a lot of friends, a lot of people who loved him, even more than I ever knew," Caleb's father, Shawn Gordley, told News4's Shomari Stone.

    Gordley, of Loudoun County, was shot after he snuck into the home through a window, setting off the home's alarm.

    Earlier Thursday, authorities had said the homeowner had called 911, warned Gordley verbally and fired a warning shot before firing the shots that struck and killed the teen.

    Authorities have said they believe Gordley had mistaken the house for his own and was trying to sneak back in after a night of partying. He died at the scene.

    The teen - who was a three-sport athlete at Park View High School, Sterling, Virginia, and aspired to be a rapper - was remembered as a good friend and son.

    "He was very respectful," Shawn Gordley said. "He respected life, respected everybody he ever met."

    The sheriff's office said Thursday that Gordley - who lived two houses away - had been drinking and entered the his neighbor's house about 2:30 a.m. through a rear, unlocked window. The sheriff's office said Gordley did not enter the home with any criminal intent.

    The sheriff's department said the gun that the homeowner used, a .40-caliber pistol, appears to be legally owned.

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    According to the sheriff's department, the homeowner had come to investigate the alarm when he encountered someone on the stairs leading to the second floor.

    The homeowner "gave verbal warnings and discharged the firearm as a warning," according to a statement issued by the sheriff's department Thursday afternoon.

    But the teen continued up the stairwell and into a hallway. The homeowner shot at the teen, and struck him once in the left shoulder as he passed the homeowner in the hallway and walked toward an upstairs bedroom that was occupied by other residents of the home. They will not close their investigation until the final medical examiner's report is complete.

    The sheriff's office say they are conducting a separate investigation on how Gordley obtained alcohol.

    Gordley's parents have said they do not blame the homeowner.

    "I want you to know, sir, I forgive you," said Jennea Gordley, Caleb's mother, on Tuesday. "I understand this was an accident. I truly believe everything happens for a reason. My son, he's an angel.”

    NBCWashington.com

  • Teen running from cops picks wrong house for hiding

    View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com.

    By Gilma Avalos, NBCMiami.com

    After hopping one too many fences, a teen running from police in Florida met a neighbor willing to help him hide out. At least that's what he thought.

    On Monday just before noon, an off-duty officer standing in front of his home in Opa Locka, near Miami, noticed a teen running around his block.

    "He stopped, put his hands on his legs, trying to catch his breath. He says, 'I'm running from the police. Can you help me?'" the officer told NBC 6. The homeowner is a Miami-Dade Schools' detective, who did not want to be identified.

    "Sure I can help you." he answered.

    The teen hopped the fence and walked right into the friendly man's home. He jumped right onto the leather couch but failed to notice his surroundings. There are several pictures of the homeowner in uniform, and a police radio on the table. None the wiser, the teen started spilling the beans, telling the officer he had pushed his foster mother.

    "But he didn't push her, he beat her and then he ran," said the officer.

    In fact, according to an Opa Locka police report, his victim was 61 years old. She was found covered in blood. Her left eye was swollen shut.

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    Once inside the officer's home, the teenager got even more comfortable. He took off his shirt and wiped the sweat off his face. He was so relaxed, he didn't pick up on the fact that the officer had been on the phone with one of his colleagues who works for the Miami-Dade Police Department.

    The homeowner spoke in police jargon to get authorities to the house.

    When the teen saw patrol cars in the front yard he asked the homeowner, "What are we going to do?"

    "I don't know what we're going to do, but you're going to jail," the officer told him.

    Calmly, police cuffed and escorted the teen into an Opa Locka patrol car.

    The teen's identity was not being revealed by police because he is a minor. He was charged with aggravated battery and was being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice. The Department of Children and Families was also investigating.

  • Pregnant Texas teen files suit against parents in abortion feud

    A lawsuit filed by a 16-year-old girl against her parents alleges she is being coerced to have an abortion against her will. KPRC's Courtney Zavala reports.

    By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A pregnant Texas 16-year-old has gone to court to avoid having an abortion against her will, according to court documents.


    Lawyers with the Texas Center for Defense of Life, a pro-life advocacy group, filed a petition on behalf of the teen plaintiff identified only by her initials in Harris County, Texas district court on Feb. 10. A judge granted a temporary restraining order in the case, according to local NBC affiliate Click2Houston.com.

    "We were asking the judge to stop them physically forcing her to have an abortion," the plaintiff’s attorney Stephen Casey told Click2Houston.com. “They cannot drag her to get an abortion, force an abortion on our client.”

    Read more, watch video on Click2Houston.com

    The eight-page petition alleges that the plaintiff’s parents, identified as Jeffrey Koen and Denise Watts Koen, attempted to force their daughter to act against her will "by coercing her to have an abortion with both verbal and physical threats and harassment."

    The pregnant young woman has lived with her grandparents for the past seven months, the court document states, and is nine weeks pregnant.

    After the plaintiff informed her parents that she was pregnant, her mother pushed for the termination of the pregnancy, according to the petition. The plaintiff’s father said that the plaintiff’s "only option was for her to have an abortion," the document states.

    The plaintiff’s mother "invited the paternal grandparents to a bar for further discussion, where she suggested that she might slip R.E.K. an abortion pill through deception," according to the petition.

    Lawyers argue that the teen has the right to choose to keep her baby under Roe v. Wade, the Supreme court case that legalized abortion.

  • Florida man pleads not guilty to shooting teen to death over loud music

    The mother of teenager shot during argument over loud music called the deadly outburst "unconscionable." WTLV's Heather Crawford reports.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A Florida gun collector has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge alleging that he opened fire on a car full of unarmed teenagers, killing one, in an altercation that police say stemmed from loud music.

    Michael David Dunn, 45, acted "as any responsible firearms owner would have," his lawyer said of the Friday evening incident at a gas station outside a convenience store in Jacksonville, Fla.

    Dunn and his girlfriend were in Jacksonville for his son's wedding when they pulled up in their car next to the teens. Police allege that while the girlfriend was in the store, Dunn told Jordan Russell Davis, 17, and his three friends to turn down their music.

    "It was loud," Jacksonville homicide Lt. Rob Schoonover said of the teens' music. "They admitted that. That's not a reason for someone to open fire."

    After an exchange of words, Dunn began shooting with a handgun, Schoonover said.

    "Nobody else in that vehicle was struck; it was just our victim [Davis], which was lucky because the vehicle was shot eight or nine times," Schoonover said.

    Davis was in the back seat and was struck twice, reported The Orlando Sentinel.

    Dunn and his girlfriend drove off and spent the night at their hotel, according to Schoonover, but witnesses took down his license plate number. Police arrested him Saturday morning at his home in Satellite Beach, Fla., on one charge of murder and three charges of attempted murder.

    "His side of the story is he felt threatened and that is the reason he took action," Schoonover said.

    On Monday, Dunn — a gun collector who shot at local gun ranges, according to authorities — pleaded not guilty in Brevard County court, with his attorney describing his actions as self-defense.

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    "Once all the facts come out, that what really happened is known, it will be very clear that Mr. Dunn acted responsibly and as any responsible firearms owner would have acted under these same circumstances," said his attorney, Robin Lemonidis, reported FirstCoastNews.com, the website for NBC station WTLV in Jacksonville. 

    Dunn's 20-year-old daughter, Rebecca, told FirstCoastNews.com, "he just reacted," adding that his family was rallying behind him. 

    Jacksonville Sheriff's Office

    Michael Dunn is accused of the shooting death of Jordan Davis.

    "Everyone in his life loves him and everyone who met him, all of my friends are praying for him," she said.

    Dunn, who had been in Brevard County Jail after his arrest, was transferred back to Duval County, where the shooting happened, on Tuesday. His girlfriend won't face any charges.

    "When she came out [of the convenience store], she asked him, 'What's going on?'" Schoonover said. "Supposedly his statement was, 'I just fired at these kids.' I don't know if he knew that he struck anyone in the vehicle. The next morning, I guess when they woke up in the hotel and saw on the news that someone was killed, that's when they got in their car and fled."

    Davis, the victim, lived with his father in Florida, but was to be buried in Georgia — where he was born — on Saturday, reported jacksonville.com.

    Davis' mother, Lucia McBath, who lives outside of Atlanta, asked that her son's death not be thought of as a hate crime.

    Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com

    "We don't know where he was or what kind of dark place he was in at that moment, but something snapped in that man. Something snapped in him, so we are not looking at it as the hate crime because that's not going to honor Jordan," McBath told FirstCoastNews.com.

    She said the fact that Dunn drove off after shooting Davis was "unconscionable."


    Davis, a high school junior, had just gotten a job at McDonald's, picking up some extra cash after work, his mom said. At Thanksgiving the day before his death, he said he was thankful to God for his family, his mom told FirstCoastNews.com.

    "He was just so excited and happy" for everything in his life, she said. 

    She said the family is starting a foundation in his memory to help at-risk children.

    "It didn't matter to Jordan if you needed the help, you needed the support — he was going to give it to you no matter what side of the tracks you came from. So we feel it's really important to honor that in him," she said.

    Ron Davis, the victim's father, added: "I was looking forward to as a parent to being there when he got married, being there when he found love. All the things that I'm not going to be able to do is what pains me."

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  • Parade turns to vigil for Kansas teen who dies hours before homecoming

    By NBC News staff

    Heersche family

    Undated photo of Taylor Heersche

    What was supposed to be a welcome-home parade instead turned into a somber candlelight vigil for a terminally ill 15-year-old Kansas girl who died hours before she was to return home.

    Residents of the town of Mulvane had decorated Main Street with ribbons and signs in orange — the color of leukemia awareness — to welcome Taylor Heersche home Tuesday evening, The Wichita Eagle reported.


    Taylor had been terminally ill with cancer and had told her family she wanted to be at home to die. Doctors at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City told the family she had only a few more days to live, so the plan was to release her to be with her family and friends.

    But Taylor passed away Tuesday morning at the hospital, with her parents, DeAnne and Dan Heersche, at her side.

    Instead of the parade, Mulvane residents gathered for a candlelight vigil late Tuesday to honor the Mulvane High School sophomore, the Eagle reported.

    “I’ll bet every parent says that their kid was special. But she was a real people person. There were no strangers,” DeAnne Heersche said of her daughter, according to the Eagle.

    “That kind of kid leaves a huge hole not only in our family, but in the community. We’re all going to miss her horribly.”

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    "It's still a homecoming in our eyes, it's just a different home that she's going to, a better home that she's going to, so it's more of a celebration than the grief,"  Maggie Keys, one of Taylor's classmates, was quoted as saying by KWCH-TV.

    Taylor, a sophomore at Mulvane High School, was diagnosed with the leukemia in May 2008 when she was 10.

    Taylor's leukemia had been in remission for several years following chemotherapy. But last winter the cancer returned aggressively.

    Services are Sunday at Central Community Church in Wichita, with a private burial Monday.

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  • Teenage drunk driver kills two homeless people as they sleep on sidewalk, police say

    By Sharon Bernstein, NBCLosAngeles.com
    A teenager ran over and killed two people sleeping on a downtown Los Angeles sidewalk early Sunday, police said. 
    Police allege that Carmen Elena Chavez of Los Angeles was drunk when her 1989 Mercedes-Benz careened onto the sidewalk where the two were sleeping.

    Chavez had been speeding and attempted to navigate a turn when the vehicle spun out of control, Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Cleon Joseph said.

    The two people, a man and woman, died at the scene, Joseph said. They have not yet been identified.

    Chavez was booked into the Los Angeles County Jail on vehicular manslaughter charges, police said.

  • Woman loses second grandchild in 6 months to Chicago gun violence

    By NBC News staff

    Two Chicago teens were shot dead Saturday night - one of them the second grandchild of a south side woman to die in just six months, NBCChicago reported.

    Richard Modell, 17, and his cousin Miles Turner, 18, were on their way to meet a friend at the time. Modell may have been targeted due to a fight between rival gangs, authorities believe.

    Read the full story at NBCChicago.com

    Turner, a high school football player, was shot in the legs multiple times and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, according to The Sun Times.  Police don't believe he had any gang ties. 

    “Miles [is] really a very well-liked guy… He is the kind of kid who went out of his way to be friendly and polite. He even went out of his way to say hello to the ladies in the office,” Dan McGrath, the president of Turner’s high school, told the newspaper.

    The teens were among the youngest shot over the weekend. Since Friday, five people have been killed and at least 25 wounded in separate shootings across the city. Some are gang related, but many just innocent people caught in the cross fire.

    Modell is the second grandchild of Florine Monroe to be shot and killed within just six months. The other grandchild was not identified by NBCChicago.com.

    After a deadly holiday weekend in Chicago, the city's mayor says young people need an alternative to gangs and violence. NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

    "They've got to get these guns out of young people's hands," she said. 

    NBCChicago.com contributed to this report.

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  • Teen calls 911 to report mother, sister dead: 'I hate the feeling of killing someone'

    View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

    By Frank Heinz, NBCDFW.com

    A Parker County, Texas, teen has been arrested on suspicion of double murder after he called 911 and said he shot and killed his mother and sister.


    According to police, 17-year-old Jake Evans called 911 at about 12:30 a.m. Thursday and said he'd used a .22 revolver to shoot and kill both his 48-year-old mother, Jamie Evans, and his 15-year-old sister, Mallory.

    "It just kind of happened," Evans told the 911 operator in an eerily calm voice. "I've been kind of, uh, planning on killing for a while now."

    When asked if he meant the two of them or just anybody, Evans responded: "Pretty much anybody."

    Also at NBCDFW.com: Dallas man indicted, linked to Anonymous hackers

    A short time later, Parker County sheriff's deputies arrived at the Evans' family home in Annetta, a town of about 1,700 west of Fort Worth, and took him into custody without incident.

    "I guess this is really selfish to say but, to me, I felt like they were just suffocating me in a way. I don't know," Evans said during the 911 call.

    Parker County Sheriff's Office

    Jake Evans

    "Obviously, I am pretty, I guess, evil," he said.

    Evans is charged with capital murder. A judge denied him bond.

    "Just to let you know, I hate the feeling of killing someone, you know," Evans said in the 911 call. "I'm going to be messed up."

    The teen's father was out of town on business when the killings took place, police said. NBC 5 has been told that the father raced home from Washington, D.C.

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    Leslie Richardson, a family friend, described Evans as quiet and gentle.

    "Everybody knew him as just being the quiet kid ... but he was really sweet and gentle," she said.

    NBC 5 has learned that Evans' mother was a teacher and assistant principal in the Aledo Independent School District for 15 years before leaving in 2004.

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    "I mean, she was kind of like a second mom," Richardson said. "They were just a really good family and, I mean, my whole family was close to them, so I wish I could just say that I love them."

    Friends described Mallory Evans as pretty and sweet.

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    She and her brother previously had been students in the Aledo ISD but were home-schooled.

    The family has two other daughters who were not home at the time of the killings. One of the daughters was scheduled to come home from college this weekend for a visit.

    Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said authorities believe Evans acted alone and that there is no evidence implicating any additional suspects.

    The double homicide is being investigated by the Texas Rangers and Parker County Sheriff's Criminal Investigation Division.

    Aledo ISD released this statement Thursday afternoon:

     

    Aledo ISD is deeply saddened to learn of the death of a former employee and a former student.

    Jami Evans was a dedicated elementary teacher and assistant principal who worked in Aledo ISD for 15 years serving students at both Coder and Stuard Elementary from 1989 through 2004. Her dedication to her students and her love of learning was an inspiration to all who knew her.

    We also mourn the death of Mallory Evans, a former elementary and intermediate school student. Mallory attended Stuard Elementary and McAnally Intermediate School. She was a sweet child that will be missed by her friends and school family.

    The suspect in the shootings, Jacob Evans, is a former Aledo High School student who withdrew from school in January 2012 to be homeschooled. He attended Aledo schools from elementary school until his withdrawal in January. He played football in middle school and played on the golf team in high school.

    Our thoughts and prayers are with the Evans family in this difficult time.

    NBC 5's Ray Villeda and Ellen Goldberg contributed to this report.

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  • Runaway New Jersey teen who caused Twitter stir found safe, police say

    nbcnewyork.com

    A person believed to be Kara Alongi is seen with a suitcase at a transit station in Rahway, N.J.

    By Brian Thompson, NBCNewYork.com

    The runaway 16-year-old New Jersey girl who set off a Twitter firestorm after she falsely indicated an intruder was in her home and then disappeared has been found safe, police say.


    Kara Alongi was located walking along the side of the New Jersey Turnpike about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

    "Kara Alongi was found safe and unharmed,” said Alan Scherb, spokesman for the Clark Police Department, in a statement. “She was discovered by troopers with the New Jersey State Police walking along the side of the Turnpike near Exit 1.”

    View NBCNewYork.com's complete coverage of Twitter hoax teen

    Alongi was transferred to a north Jersey hospital for evaluation and was released a short time later and returned home.

    Alongi gained thousands of followers after asking people on Twitter to call 911 Sunday because an intruder was in her home and then vanishing. People re-tweeted her message and #helpfindkara trended on the social network.

    Investigators later said it appeared Alongi had voluntarily called a taxi company and gotten a ride to the Rahway train station, which police say was confirmed by a surveillance photo captured of her at the depot.

    Police: No foul play in missing NJ teen Kara Alongi case

    Alongi's case continued to polarize the Twittersphere Tuesday, as some insisted she had met foul play and prayed for her safe return. 

    Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

    Others were skeptical from the get-go, pointing out a Tweet that allegedly popped up on Alongi's account shortly after her initial call for help that said: "Why is everyone saying I'm missing? I was jkin haha" and was deleted a short time later.      

    When NBC 4 New York called the missing girl's home, someone quickly answered "no comment" and hung up. No one answered the door at the Alongi's residence.

    NBC News' Sevil Omer contributed to this report.

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  • Texas lesbian teen who survived shooting: 'Life is so fragile'

    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.

    By Miranda Leitsinger, Staff Writer, NBC News

    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.

    Teen lesbian couple found shot in Texas park
    Father of slain teen: 'Justice will be served'
    Brother of teen shot in head: She's 'fighting'
    New sketch released of suspect in couple's shooting 

    "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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  • NJ teen on party bus killed after hitting head on overpass, cops say

    By NBC News staff and wire reports
    FORT LEE, N.J. --  A 16-year-old New Jersey boy was killed after sticking his head out of a party bus and hitting an overpass just after crossing the George Washington Bridge Friday, authorities said.

    The boy, from Sayreville, New Jersey, was on a double-decker bus with about 65 other teenagers headed to New Jersey for a sweet sixteen party, according to Port Authority spokesman Al Della Fave. 


    They boarded the bus in Queens and crossed over the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey shortly after 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday.

    As the bus exited the upper level to head toward Interstate 95, the boy opened the top hatch of the bus and stuck his head out, Della Fave said. His head struck the underside of the Fletcher Avenue overpass, causing extreme trauma.

    Read the story on NBCNewYork.com

    The boy was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

    No other physical injuries were reported, but the other teens on board the bus appeared to suffer severe emotional trauma. They were taken to a bridge administration building on a lower lot, where their parents picked them up, NBC New York reported.

    Della Fave said two adults on were on board the bus at the time: the driver and an assistant. The assistant's role was not immediately clear.

    Designer Transportation, which operates the bus, expressed its "deepest heartfelt sympathy" for the boy's family.

    Police are continuing to investigate.

    The accident caused long delays Friday night as the express lanes of the I-95 southbound from the bridge were shut down while emergency responders rushed to the scene and police investigated.

    NBC New York and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Father of slain lesbian teen in Texas: Shooter is 'monster'

    The father of a slain 19-year-old Texas woman speaks after authorities released a new composite of the suspect. KRIS-TV reports.

    By Miranda Leitsinger, NBC News

    The father of a teenager who died after being shot in the head along with her girlfriend in a Texas park called their attacker a “monster” after seeing the most recent sketch of the suspect released over the weekend, local media reported.

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

    When asked what came to his mind when he saw the sketch, Olgin’s father, Mario, told local NBC News affiliate kristv.com: "I think monster, you know. That guy took my daughter away from us."

    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, previously 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.

    NBC Latino reported Monday that Chapa had left the hospital and entered neurological rehabilitation as well as physical and mental therapy.

    Her brother, Hilario Chapa, said they have now informed her of Olgin’s death.

    “She didn’t know about Mollie for the longest time, but we finally decided to tell her,” he told NBC Latino, noting that the Olgin family and authorities were present to help break the news. “With that support group we passed the info to my little sister. She was brokenhearted, very upset.”


    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. On Monday, he said no motive had yet been established.

    "The new sketch has generated new calls from around the country. We are continuing to interview potential witnesses and processing evidence for forensic examination," he told msnbc.com in an email, adding that he had no new developments to report.

    Teen lesbian couple found shot in Texas park
    Friends reel from shooting of teen lesbian couple in Texas
    Father of slain lesbian teen: 'Justice will be served'
    Brother of lesbian teen shot in head: She's 'fighting'

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

    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.

    "When I think about her last 15, 20, 30 minutes on Earth," Olgin told kristv.com, "how scared both girls had to be whenever they were approached by this monster."

    He urged anyone with information to come forward.

    "It's been over three weeks now and the longer it carries on, the harder it's gonna be," he said.

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