One week after an 11-year-old girl was found dead underneath her bed in Texas, an 18-year-old man suspected of killing and sexually assaulting her has been arrested, police said Saturday.
Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez will be charged with capital murder in the killing of Maria Gonzalez, whose body was found at an apartment in Pasadena, Texas, on Aug. 12, the Pasadena Police Department said in a news release.
Police named him as a person of interest Friday after obtaining additional evidence linking Garcia-Rodriguez to her death, police said Friday.
Police said he was living at the same apartment complex as Gonzalez but had since left. He was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he is awaiting extradition to Texas.
Maria texted her dad saying someone was knocking at the door
On Aug. 12, Maria’s father, Carmelo Gonzalez, called police saying his daughter wasn’t breathing, police said Tuesday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Maria was home alone after her dad left for work around 9:45 a.m. Police said the last message Carmelo received from his daughter was her saying someone was knocking at the door.
Carmelo told local station KHOU that he told his daughter not to open the door, and she said she wouldn’t. After that, he said he never heard from her again, the station reported.
Soon after, Carmelo asked his brother and sister-in-law, who also live in the apartment complex, to check on her, The Associated Press reported. They found the front door unlocked and things out of place, but they didn’t find Maria, AP reported.
Police said Carmelo came home from work and found his daughter’s body hidden underneath her bed in a plastic trash bag that was placed inside a laundry basket.
The medical examiner said Maria died as a result of asphyxia from being strangled. She was also sexually assaulted, the investigation found.
Gonzalez family releases statement after arrest
The Gonzalez family released a statement thanking police for arresting the suspect, AP reported.
“May he be burdened with the full weight of the law, for what he has done to my daughter,” the statement said.
Contributing: The Associated Press and Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY