LEAGUE CITY, TX – Growing suspicion surfaces in the death case of a Texas mother. League City police believe foul play was involved in the passing of Giselle Salazar-Tapia, a mother of four, whose body was found hanged at the Wharf Marina on May 31.
Residents found Salazar-Tapia’s body hanging from a dock. She was partly submerged in the area’s waters. From March, the 30-year-old had been residing on her boyfriend James Hart’s boat, which was docked at the marina.
Det. Lt. Eric Cox from the League City Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division expressed his doubts about Salazar-Tapia’s death by hanging being a case of suicide. Investigators are of the opinion that her body was deliberately arranged to mimic suicide after being killed elsewhere.
Cox cited the fact that Salazar-Tapia’s arm was found suspended in the air as one of the suspicious elements. The Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the exact cause of the woman’s death will be determined only once the toxicology results are in, a process that could take a few weeks.
Salazar-Tapia’s sister, Esperanza Alegria, firmly believes her sibling did not take her own life and hopes for her death to be justified.
The police have identified two potential persons of interest, among them Salazar-Tapia’s boyfriend, who told reporters that he feels criminalized, insisting that he would never harm Giselle. Hart mentioned the sudden failure and disappearance of his boat’s surveillance cameras just prior to Salazar-Tapia’s demise, which prevents him from reviewing the course of events.
Police had been alerted on several occasions to disputes involving Salazar-Tapia onboard Hart’s boat. The authorities are now hoping that by highlighting their suspicions regarding Salazar-Tapia’s death, anyone with additional information will come forward. The department is currently examining nearly 2,000 surveillance videos linked to the case.