By Moses Leos III
A woman found dead in a June homicide on Sledge Street in Kyle died as a result of an incised wound and a gunshot wound.
That information was part of the completed autopsy on Tina Combs, which was received by Hays County Precinct No. 2 Justice of the Peace Beth Smith Tuesday. Details of the location of the incised or gunshot wounds on Combs’ body has not yet been released.
According to Smith, her office has not yet received an autopsy on James Wright, who was also found murdered in a home located along the 800 block of Sledge Street.
As Combs’ cause of death has now been released, the Kyle Police Department is continuing to ask for the public’s help in their ongoing investigation into the murders of Combs and Wright.
According to Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett, the department has not experienced an unsolved homicide such as this incident during his tenure, which dates back to May 2011.
“Other than this specific case, we do not have any unsolved 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 regard 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. He said the case remains a priority for the 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. Their deaths were ruled a homicide, with Hays County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Beth Smith ordering an autopsy.
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 autopsies from Central Texas Autopsy are taking approximately 12 weeks for completion, due to those circumstances.
Barnett said the department will use “every resource” to solve 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.”
