The cause of death of Audrii Cunningham has been revealed after the body was found in a lake tied to a rock with a rope that matched the one found in the car of a family friend accused of murder.
She appeared to have died from blunt force trauma. After an autopsy, the death was ruled a homicide.
Don Steven McDougal, a Nazi-tattooed family friend who authorities say was supposed to take Audrii to the school bus stop the day she disappeared, has been charged with the 11-year-old’s murder.
He was already in police custody in connection with an unrelated attack in Livingston, Texas.
An Amber Alert was issued for the girl after she failed to board the school bus on February 15 and was absent from school. She was last seen around 7 a.m. near her home in Livingston.
Her body was discovered Tuesday in a river with a “large rock” tied to her body after police used cellphone data, video analysis and information from McDougal.
“The rope used was consistent with the rope observed in McDougal’s vehicle during a traffic stop two days earlier,” the complaint against McDougal said, as reported by CNN.
Audrii Cunningham’s body was found in a lake tied to a rock with a rope that matched the one found in the car of a family friend accused of murder. Audrii appeared to have died from blunt force trauma. After an autopsy, the death was ruled a homicide
Don Steven McDougal, a Nazi-tattooed career criminal who lives in a trailer on her father’s property, has been charged with the 11-year-old’s murder
Cunningham’s father, Joshua, pictured with the man accused of killing his daughter, Don Steven McDougal. The suspect’s swastika and SS tattoos are clearly visible on his left arm
Police say the girl’s body was recovered Tuesday in Trinity River after using cellphone records, video analysis and information from McDougal.
The alleged killer had taken the girl to the bus stop in the past or would take her to school if she missed the bus, officials said.
After she was reported missing, investigators discovered that she had not boarded the bus to go to school the morning she disappeared.
A Hello Kitty backpack that authorities believe belonged to the child was found Friday near the dam of Lake Livingston, one of the state’s largest lakes.
McDougal, who has a criminal record dating back to the early 2000s, had joined the searches and was seen knocking on a neighbor’s door asking if anyone had seen Audrii.
He claimed on social media that he had “done nothing wrong,” as reported by CNN.
‘I did everything I could to help find her. I did nothing wrong,” he wrote in a comment on a Facebook page.
Audrii’s family reported her missing Thursday after she did not return to her Livingston home after school
Pictured: a mugshot of McDougal, who police say was the last person to see the youth alive
Audrii Cunningham’s body was found Tuesday in the Trinity River near US-59, Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons announced. “My heart aches at this news and I extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to all who knew, cared for and loved Audrii,” Lyons said.
The sheriff also said the Trinity River Authority lowered the water level on the river, leading to the discovery of her body
McDougal allegedly took Audrii to school the morning she disappeared
When authorities investigated Audrii’s disappearance last week, they had named McDougal as a person of interest and he was arrested Friday on an unrelated assault charge.
Prosecutors have said there is “substantial evidence” in the case, and that cell phone data and videos have helped identify places to search. Officials added that the Trinity River Authority lowered the water level on the river, leading to the discovery of her body.
Court records from Brazoria County, south of Houston, show that McDougal pleaded no contest to two felony counts of enticing a child stemming from a 2007 incident and was sentenced to two years in prison.
The sheriff said the girl’s body was taken to the Harris County Medical Examiner’s office in Houston to determine the cause of death.
Audrii lived with her father, grandparents and other relatives, authorities said.
McDougal has a criminal history dating back to 2001, including convictions on two counts of enticement of a child
Audrii sparked a statewide search after she disappeared early Thursday morning in Livington, about an hour north of Houston, when she didn’t show up for school.
When authorities investigated Audrii’s disappearance last week, they named McDougal as a person of interest and he was arrested Friday on an unrelated assault charge.
While the search was still ongoing, the girl’s mother pleaded for the public’s help, saying it was not like her daughter to just run away or disappear.
“We don’t have any clues, so we’re reaching for any string, any sign, anything,” she said KPRC at the time.
“There’s not one feeling you feel,” she explained.
“You’re broken, you’re angry, you’re empty and right now I’m empty.
“I will not be the same unless my baby is returned to me, and that includes her family, all of us, her friends and the people she is connected to in the community.”