The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the killing of Mollie Judith Olgin and the attempted homicide of her partner Mary Christine Chapa, 19 years old and 18 years old in Texas.
On June 22, 2012 close to midnight both of them were shot in the head in a park in Portland, Texas. They lay in knee-deep grass for nine hours before being discovered by visitors to the park. Mollie Judith Olgin died and Mary Christine Chapa was hospitalized and following surgery she is in serious but stable condition.
The authorities have reportedly stated that they do not believe this was a random attack, and have indicated that this crime has some of the earmarks of a targeted attack.
The Inter-American Commission urges the State to conduct an investigation that takes into account whether this murder was committed because of the gender expression, gender identity or sexual orientation of the victim.
The Commission notes that problems exist in the investigation of those crimes, which involve, in part, failures to open lines of investigation into whether the crime was committed by reason of the victim’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
