Two 20-year-old men who were last seen together near 8701 Town Park were found shot to death in separate Houston waterways, days apart, homicide detectives said.
Houston police are asking for help from the public as they piece together what happened to Carlos Tzep Ajpop and Oliver Ortiz. Investigators believe both men were killed at the same time.
The search turned fatal on Sept. 29 around 6 p.m. when patrol officers found Tzep Ajpop’s body in a body of water at 1001 West Loop South, near West Interstate Highway 610 South.
Houston Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. An autopsy by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences confirmed he died from a gunshot wound.
Three days later, on Friday, Oct. 2, police got another call around 9 a.m. reporting a body in the water near 7300 Clinton Drive. Officers recovered Ortiz’s body from the water and found he had also been shot.
Detectives J. Campbell and A. Dudley with the HPD Homicide Division said both men left the location driving their own cars but were traveling together before they were reported missing. Police noted the two may have participated in local car meet-ups that evening.
Investigators later found both of the men’s vehicles parked near the 10500 block of Keegan Road.
Because both victims had visible signs of trauma and gunshot wounds, detectives consider the two cases connected.
Anyone who saw anything suspicious near these locations or has information about the case is urged to call HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
