UPDATE
The final autopsy report into the death of Tina Combs has been completed, this according to Hays County Precinct No. 2 Justice of the Peace Beth Smith, who received the report at 2:31 this afternoon.
The cause of death is listed as an incised wound and gunshot wound. In addition, the report states it is a confirmed homicide. No other details are available at this time.
Smith said her office has not received the final autopsy report into the death of James Wright at this time.
Staff report
The Kyle Police Department is continuing to ask the public for any information regarding the ongoing investigation into the murders of Tina Combs and James Wright.
But according to a City of Kyle release, no cause of death has been released for either victim at this time.
According to Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett, the department has no other unsolved homicides where a suspect has been identified during his tenure, which dates back to May 2011.
“Other than this specific case, we do not have any unsolved (suspect identified) homicides during my tenure as Chief of Police,” Barnett said in a statement. “And we fully intend to solve this case as well.
Barnett said the city has “compiled copious amounts of information, conducted numerous interviews and collected a lot of evidence” in regards to the case. He said most of the evidence has been submitted to the Texas State forensic laboratory in Austin for analysis.
The release of certain evidence, however, has been withheld at this time. The rationale, according to Barnett, is to maintain the integrity of the case, where releasing information could jeopardize the case.
“Understand that we cannot share the specific details of the investigation with the public or family members. Doing so could jeopardize the investigation,” Barnett said. “Despite the fact that we cannot share the progress of the case, [or] information about the evidence and other relevant facts, this case is a priority for the Kyle Police Department.”
On June 25, the Kyle Police Department received a welfare call from an out-of-town resident. That resident told police they had not heard from the occupant of a home along the 800 block of Sledge Street for several days.
When officers arrived, they found the bodies of Wright and Combs. Wright was a Kyle resident while Combs was from Arlington.
Their deaths were ruled a homicide, with Hays County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Beth Smith ordering an autopsy.
Smith said autopsy results from Central Texas Autopsy in Lockhart have not yet been released to her office at this time.
She said autopsy results can take anywhere up to six weeks to come back. Mitigating circumstances, however, have caused a delay in the results from the Combs and Wright homicide.
One reason, she said, is the extensive testing that goes on with cases that are complicated in nature.
In addition, Smith said Central Texas Autopsy got delayed in its work after the Memorial Day flood. Central Texas Autopsy assisted agencies with conducting autopsies on flood victims.
Smith said autopies from Central Texas Autopsy are taking approximately 12 weeks for completion due to those circumstances.
Barnett said the department will use “every resource to allow for a successful prosecution of the offenders” in the case. He added that the department’s criminal investigators are assigned to the case and that they are “dedicated to a successful prosecution.”
The department is asking for anyone with information to contact law enforcement. Barnett said the Kyle Police Department would not forget the case.
“Sometimes friends, family, neighbors and co-workers think they don’t have useful, credible intelligence about a criminal case,” Barnett said. “But sometimes even a piece of information that seems innocuous can provide investigators with the break needed to solve a crime.”
Anyone with information about the deaths of James Wright and Tina Combs should contact the Kyle Police Department at 512-268-0859.
