Tragic Update: 3 TX Girls Thought Drowned Were Likely Strangled First

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UPDATE: Last year we reported on the drowning death of three sisters in Cass County Texas, 9-year-old Zi’ariel Oliver, 8-year-old Amiyah Hughes, and 5-year-old Temari Oliver who were sadly discovered in a neighboring pond after a relative reported them missing.

The latest autopsy points to the murder of all three little girls.

New reports from organizations like KXAN offer that the Texas Rangers have intervened in the ongoing investigations as the latest autopsy reports indicate all three little girls were strangled and had lacerations on their faces.

We will continue to keep you updated.

For three Texas families, the end of summer has ended tragically after discovering their three daughters ages 5, 8, and 9 years old had drowned under mysterious circumstances in a neighboring pond.

Officials say 9-year-old Zi’ariel Oliver, 8-year-old Amiyah Hughes, and 5-year-old Temari Oliver were reported missing in Cass County at around 10 p.m. Friday night.

By 2 am last Saturday morning, their bodies had been recovered after articles of clothing such as shoes were found at the bank of their neighbor's small pond. A relative identified the shoes and a dive team was called out. The small private pond is adjacent to the home of the three girls.

ABC13 reported, “We located items of clothing around a pond and in a pond. So, we centered the search around that small body of water, and with the use of divers, we were able to recover three victims at approximately 2 a.m. this morning,” Texas Game Warden Shawn Hervey said.

Questions remain, such as how often the little girls swam in the neighboring pond or if they were strong swimmers. Were they murdered or was this just a tragic drowning accident?

What we do know is that this is a tragic situation and authorities are continuing to investigate the mysterious circumstances. Authorities are waiting for the official autopsy and we will continue to keep you updated as the story unfolds.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, 50 children had been reported and drowned in Texas waters so far in 2022, with most drowning deaths of these children reported in Harris County. The drowning deaths of these three young girls from Cass County will now bring the total to 53.

Here is a Youtube video provided by KTAL News.