Houston police are asking for the public’s help in the investigation of two men found shot in Buffalo Bayou miles apart but whose deaths they say could be connected.
On Sept. 29, a passerby alerted police to the body of 20-year-old Carlos Tzep Ajpop in the bayou near the southern boundary of Memorial Park, police said in a statement Friday. Three days later, the body of 20-year-old Oliver Ortiz was pulled from the bayou in the Magnolia Park neighborhood.
When police announced on Sept. 30 the discovery of Ajpop’s body, they said it had “no obvious signs of trauma.” An autopsy later determined that Tzep Ajpop had been shot, police said.
Ortiz’s body was seen floating in Buffalo Body and was recovered by the Houston Fire Department, officials said.
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Science on Friday listed the official cause of death for Tzep Ajpop as “pending.” The institute’s website didn’t have information about Ortiz’s death, but police said Ortiz also had a gunshot wound when his body was recovered.
Investigators said they believe the two men were killed at the same time and place. They were last seen together Sept. 27 leaving an apartment complex at 8701 Town Park, police said. They were traveling in separate cars and may have been participating in local car meet-ups.
Both men’s vehicles were found near Keegan Road in the Alief neighborhood, police said.
Houston police ask that anyone with information call investigators at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.