LEAGUE CITY, Texas (KTRK) — A second woman has been found dead at the same League City marina where a mother of four was found hanged from a dock three weeks ago.
The League City Police Department said investigators have not ruled out a possible connection.
“I’m sorry to say this, but it’s probably going to continue. I honestly don’t think this is a coincidence,” Esparanza Alegria said.
On May 31, Alegria’s sister, 30-year-old Giselle Salazar-Tapia, was found hanged from a dock at the Wharf Marina.
Salazar-Tapia lived on a boat docked at the marina with her boyfriend, James Hart.
“I loved Giselle with all my life,” Hart told ABC13.
Lt. Eric Cox told ABC13 the department suspects foul play in her death.
When Salazar-Tapia was found suspended from the dock, one of her arms was unusually extended above her head.
Cox said this led police to believe she died elsewhere and that she was in another position when rigor mortis set in. He said they believe her body was then staged to make it appear as though she committed suicide by hanging herself.
SEE ALSO: Police suspect foul play after mom of 4 found hanged off League City dock
Cox said the department has identified two persons of interest in the case.
“They’re people that we know she probably had the closest interaction with while she was living with,” Cox explained.
Hart told ABC13 he feels he has been criminalized after Salazar-Tapia’s death.
“I would never hurt Giselle,” he said.
League City PD confirmed officers have been called to the marina several times before Salazar-Tapia’s death for domestic disturbances she was involved in.
“We always had to remind her that the people that she called friends or the people that she talked to, that those were not her friends. They did not care for her,” Alegria said.
Police have not released the identity of the second woman found dead on a boat docked at the marina on July 19. They are waiting on autopsy results but preliminarily believe her death may have been an overdose.
The Medical Examiner’s Office is also awaiting toxicology results in Salazar-Tapia’s death.
Alegria told ABC13 she fears her sister’s good nature and addictions may have been exploited.
“They saw how she was, they saw that she was a kind person, they saw that she cared so much for everyone, and they took advantage of that,” she said. “She wanted to come back to us and be healthy and sober and happy, and she didn’t get a chance to do any of that.”
She said her family wants the people responsible for her sister’s death in jail.
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