2 Women Were Found Dead Weeks Apart at Texas Marina, as Police Investigate
A second woman was found dead at the same marina where the half-submerged body of Giselle Salazar-Tapia, 30, was found hanging from a dock on May 31, say police
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Giselle Salazar-TapiaTwo women were found dead just weeks apart at a Texas marina and police are investigating the cases.
On Wednesday, June 17, a woman was found dead on a boat in a League City marina, close to where a mother of four was found hanging off of a dock in May, a spokesperson for League City confirmed to PEOPLE.
At 12:45 p.m., on June 17, police responded to a call about a woman who wasn’t breathing on a boat at the Wharf Marina at Clear Lake, about a half hour from Houston.
“There are currently no signs of foul play in this woman’s death,” Officer Jose Ortega, Public Information Officer for the League City Police Department told PEOPLE. “It appears, according to the reporting party, this death is possibly drug-related, but that will be confirmed after detectives receive the medical examiner’s report along with the toxicology report.”
Authorities say they do suspect foul play in the death of Giselle Salazar-Tapia, 30, of League City, who was found dead at the same marina on May 31.
At 1:48 p.m. that day, the League City Police Department received 911 calls about a woman hanging off a dock of a marina in the 700 block of Davis Rd., the LCPD said in a statement on May 31.
“Callers told LCPD the woman appeared to have been lifeless as she hung by a rope from the dock,” according to police.
Salazar-Tapia’s neighbor, Christian Allen, found her half-submerged in the water, KHOU reports.
"At first, I thought it was a mannequin and then we realized ... we recognized her," Allen said, KHOU reports.
Officers and League City Fire Department personnel quickly arrived on scene and confirmed the woman was deceased.
Initially, her death seemed like a suspected suicide.
Given that Allen said he found Salazar-Tapia with her arm was in a strange, twisted position, "I didn't buy the whole suicide thing," Allen told KHOU.
On June 12, given the attention surrounding the case, the LCPD provided an update on the case, saying, “detectives and officers work every death investigation as a homicide until it can be confirmed that it was not.
“In this particular case, investigators immediately were suspicious of the positioning of one of the victim’s arms being in an upright position with nothing holding it up,” police said.
Detectives believe the victim passed away in another location with her arm raised, police said in the statement.
“The arm then went into a state of rigor mortis, as it stiffened,” police said in the statement. “They believe the victim was then positioned in the hanging position off the dock.”
Detectives are still waiting for the Medical Examiner’s office for the cause of death. Detectives have two persons of interest in the incident, but no charges have been filed.
Detectives with the League City Police Department have been reviewing close to 2,000 security video clips ranging from a few seconds long to several minutes long, according to the statement.
“The Galveston County District Attorney’s Office wants to wait for her toxicology report before filing any charges,” Officer Ortega told PEOPLE.
Salazar-Tapia's brother, Nathan Paz has started a GoFundMe to help pay for her funeral expenses and to support her four children.
"Giselle was the most charismatic person you could ever meet, sharing a smile and making a friend of everyone she came across" Paz wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Giselle always looked for the best in people, even when they didn't deserve her kindness."
LCPD is asking the public if anyone has any information regarding this case to contact Detective Bell at 281-554-1904 or Galveston County Crime Stoppers at 409-763-8477 (TIPS) if they would like to remain anonymous.
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