With the appearance of new evidence, the case of David Strickland’s killer has been called into question.
In 2017, Strickland, a resident of Portland, Texas, was thought to have committed a murder that warranted the death penalty.
Following his conviction, he was given a life sentence with no prospect of release.
On the other hand, the most recent Dateline segment presented new DNA evidence that casts doubt on his guilt.
Strickland, a Portland, Texas, resident, was convicted of capital murder in 2017 and given a life sentence without the possibility of release.
However, fresh DNA evidence shown in the most current Dateline broadcast suggests that another person may have been involved in the crime, raising doubts about Strickland’s culpability.
Before bird watchers discovered their remains in June 2012, Mollie Olgin and Mary Kristene Chapa were sexually raped and shot in the head in Portland’s Violet Andrews Park.
Chapa lived, but she had tunnel vision and some movement issues.
After the murder was unsolved for approximately two years, Strickland was named as a suspect in 2014 after police received a letter that was allegedly written by a hitman and contained information that hadn’t been made public.
Olgin and Chapa were allegedly nasty to Strickland’s wife, a waiter at Chilies, so he shot them in retaliation, according to Strickland, who first confessed to the crime.
He claimed to have accompanied them to the park where the event took place.
On the other hand, the prosecution provided proof that the victims did not visit the restaurant on the relevant night.
Additionally, a testimony from a firearms expert indicated that Strickland’s handgun was likely the source of the projectile packaging discovered at the crime scene. He was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of release in 2016.
The defence attorneys for Strickland, Cynthia Orr and Michael Logan Ware, are hopeful that advancements in DNA testing technology will establish their client’s innocence.
They claim that during Strickland’s preliminary, DNA testing of the kind that may be conducted now on a pubic hair found on Chapa was not possible.
Additionally, they promise that DNA evidence from a Nevada guy whose DNA was discovered at the location supports his involvement in the offence.
However, San Patricio Region investigators disregarded this claim, claiming that regardless of whether the hair belonged to another guy, it wouldn’t absolve Strickland of responsibility.
The wheels of equity can turn slow, but James Strickland’s legal strategy is not completely predetermined, and he can pursue any avenue to mount a successful defence.
In May, Strickland’s legal team submitted a thorough document outlining access to a wide range of actual records and evidence that they believe will help them to excuse their client.
Nothing has been off the table, including jail phone conversations, DNA testing, hair, and trace evidence, as well as taped interviews.
The discovery of pubic hair on victim Denise Chapa’s body is of particular note; according to Strickland’s solicitors, this hair is a significant piece of evidence that implicates another man in the sad murder of the woman.