He risks the death penalty.
A suspect was arrested and charged with aggravated murder this Wednesday, February 21 after police found the body of an 11-year-old girl, Audrii Cunningham, in a river in Texas (United States) on Tuesday, reports CNN.
The young girl disappeared on February 15 in the town of Livingston (120 km from Houston) while she was on her way to school.
Her body was found this Tuesday in the Trinity River, weighted down with a stone, not far from where her Hello Kitty schoolbag was found a few days earlier.
The suspect is a family friend
Don Steven McDougal, a 42-year-old man, was arrested by investigators because he was seen taking Audrii by car to drop her off at her bus stop on the day she disappeared.
He is a friend of the girl's family, so her parents weren't worried about her getting into his vehicle, they thought he was just going to drop her off at the end of the street at a stop.
But the little girl never arrived at school and the police noted numerous inconsistencies in the suspect's schedule during the day.
“CCTV footage and phone data locate McDougal in three locations in the area,” including along the Trinity River, where Audrii’s body was found Tuesday, according to the file and statements from the local sheriff.
The rope used to hang the stone from the victim's body matched the rope observed in Don McDougal's vehicle during a traffic stop two days earlier,” the investigation further details.
A long criminal record
The main suspect is very unfavorably known to the police.
His first conviction dates back to 2003 in the state of Texas according to his criminal record: he received 3 years in prison for assaulting a person holding public authority.
Then in 2006, he was successively sentenced to sentences of several weeks for theft and drug possession.
Acts of “misappropriation of a minor” also earned him two years in prison in 2007. However, his record does not allow us to know the exact nature of the facts, which can, according to American law, consist of “the intention to interfere with legal custody of a child under 18 years of age” by removing the authority of his parents.
He was finally sentenced to 4 years in prison in 2010 after attacking a work colleague with a knife, then to 2 years in 2020 for unauthorized use of a vehicle.
He was released in September 2022.