The prime suspect in the murder of an 11-year-old girl found strangled under her bed in Texas is a Guatemalan immigrant who entered the US in January.
Maria Gonzalez was found by her father on Saturday, August 12, at their home in Pasadena, Texas. She had also been sexually assaulted, police said.
Pasadena police on Friday named 18-year-old Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez as an “interested party” and the prime suspect in the case.
He “lived in the same apartment complex where the victim was found, but has since left,” police said. Garcia-Rodriguez is now being hunted by the police.
Garcia-Rodriguez allegedly entered the US in January. He crossed the border into El Paso, Texas. After ‘surrendering’, the teenager, who was 17 when he crossed over, was believed to be released.
Maria Gonzalez was found by her father on Saturday, August 12, at their home in Pasadena, Texas. The 11-year-old was found strangled under her bed.
Detectives released a photo of Garcia-Rodriguez with their call and also offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest or indictment.
Sources at the Department of Homeland Security report this NewsNation Police believe he fled to Mexico.
Garcia-Rodriguez was released because he had a sponsor in Louisiana. A sponsor typically agrees to provide housing or financial support for a migrant while they are processed and their status is determined.
Maria’s father called the police around 3 p.m. on Saturday and said he had found his daughter’s lifeless body under her bed.
Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Police say the girl’s father, Carmelo Gonzalez, 32, found her when she came home from work. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered.
Detectives initially said they had no suspects in the case and urged anyone with information that could apprehend Maria’s killer to come forward.
In a press conference on Friday — six days after the discovery — they named Garcia-Rodriguez as a “person of interest.”
Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger said detectives at the crime scene found a key that did not match the locks on the property. They found that it was indeed linked to another address in the apartment complex.
Carmelo Gonzalez said he left for work around 10 a.m. on Saturday and communicated with his daughter by phone a little later. Then she told him that a stranger was knocking at the door
“We have turned over quite a bit of evidence to the Institute of Forensic Science,” he said, adding that DNA evidence would be processed. Police have a DNA sample for Garcia-Rodriguez, he said.
Carmelo had left for work at about 10 a.m. and had been communicating with his daughter over the phone.
Shortly after leaving, Carmelo said he received a message from Maria that someone had knocked on the front door.
On Tuesday, Bruegger had revealed that Carmelo then called relatives living in the same apartment complex to check on his daughter.
Relatives could not find her, according to authorities. That was until her father came home and found her body.
Her official cause of death was ruled as asphyxiation due to strangulation and blunt force head and neck trauma.
Further investigation revealed that she had also been sexually assaulted.
Law enforcement officials said there was no forcible entry to the home and they currently have no suspects.
“At this point, the father’s alibi is correct, so he is not considered a suspect in this investigation at this time,” Bruegger said.
Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger said the department has no suspect yet
Maria and her father had been living in the relatively quiet apartment complex for about three months when the murder took place
He found that the father and daughter lived in the apartment complex for about three months. The girl’s mother lives in Guatemala.
“Those who saw anything in that particular apartment a little after 10 a.m. on Saturday, we’re asking them to come forward with whatever information they may have,” Bruegger said.
“We are doing our best to get out and solve this crime,” Brugger told reporters. “As a parent of an almost 10-year-old myself, it’s certainly a cause for concern.”
Police have taken DNA samples from some people living in the complex, but they say it has been challenging to get cooperation.
Tens of thousands of migrants have entered the US through El Paso this year. The crisis has been going on for several years but peaked around December 2022 as the government prepared to end the title 42 covid era rules that made it more difficult to enter the country come.
Many present themselves to authorities and are processed before being released. Most are expected to appear in court at a later date for a trial to determine their status.