GALVESTON, Texas – A double murder investigation is underway on the Bolivar Peninsula. Detectives want to know who killed two women, then left their bodies next to a dumpster.
Investigators say just before 8 a.m. Friday, a beer vendor who was at the nearby Fisherman's Cove Food Mart in the 700 block of Highway 87 went to throw away some trash and spotted the bodies. Lt. Ron Hill of the Galveston County Sheriff's Office says the women were wearing clothes and had obvious signs of trauma.
"It freaked me out," says Brett Brannen.
Brannen is a beer distributor who was at the food mart throughout the morning. He says his co-worker is the beer vendor who spotted the victims.
Investigators say the women had each other's names tattooed on their bodies. While scouring the scene, they found an envelope with one of those names written on it.
Deputies have identified the two women as Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson, both of Houston. Investigators say both victims are 24 years old and from Houston, and they believe the women were dating.
Investigators also believe the victims were killed in different ways somewhere else, then dumped behind the food mart at around 11 p.m. Thursday.
"That's unbelievable in a town like this," resident Eric Richardson said. "I haven't heard about anything like that in years."
According to Lt. Hill, the last murder on the Bolivar Peninsula was in 2007.
"This is such a quiet town," Richardson said. "Everyone comes out here to have a good time and that's how it should be."
Galveston County Sheriff's Office investigators are talking to members of the victims' families. Autopsies are scheduled for Saturday.
One of the women recently purchased a car, which is now missing. Deputies need the public's help in locating that vehicle -- a 2006 silver Kia Sorento SUV with gray trim and paper tags.
At this time, investigators don't have any suspects. They're looking at surveillance video from the nearby convenience store and the ferry.
If you have any information, call Galveston County Crime Stoppers at 409-763-TIPS or the sheriff's office tip line at 866-248-8477.