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A Guatemalan immigrant who entered the United States in January accused of raping and murdering his 11-year-old neighbor has been taken into custody.
Maria Gonzalez’s body was found by her father at their Pasadena, Texas home on Saturday, August 12, as he returned home from work. She had also been sexually assaulted, police said.
The Pasadena Police Department has named 18-year-old Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez as a “person of interest” and prime suspect in the case – noting a key left in the little girl’s house as key evidence.
Authorities in Shreveport, Louisiana arrested Rodriguez on Saturday after Harris County, Texas officials charged him with capital murder in connection with the girl’s death.
Police say Garcia-Rodriguez “resided in the same apartment complex where the victim was found” before his death.
The body of Maria Gonzalez was found by her father at their home in Pasadena, Texas on Saturday August 12. The 11-year-old girl was found strangled under her bed.
He stayed there for several weeks and was last seen at the compound two days after the brutal murder.
Garcia-Rodriguez reportedly entered the United States in January. He crossed the border at El Paso, Texas. After ‘surrendering’ it is believed the teenager, who was 17 when he crossed, was later released.
Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez, 18, is the prime suspect in the case. He was taken into custody on August 19 – a week after the murder
Detectives released a photo of Garcia-Rodriguez with their appeal and also offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest or charges.
Department of Homeland Security sources said NewsNation that it is believed that he may have fled to Mexico, before the police came for him on Saturday.
Garcia-Rodriguez had been released after entering the United States because he had a sponsor in Louisiana. A sponsor usually agrees to provide housing or financial support to a migrant while they are processed and their status is determined.
Maria’s father had called the police around 3pm on August 12 after finding his daughter’s lifeless body under a bed.
Her body was sealed in a plastic bag which was placed in a laundry basket, which was then hidden under the bed. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Police said the girl’s father, Carmelo Gonzalez, 32, found her after she returned from work. She had been sexually assaulted and killed.
At a press conference – six days after the murder – Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger named Garcia-Rodriguez as a “person of interest”.
Detectives initially said they had no suspects in the case and urged anyone with information who could catch Maria’s killer to come forward.
At a press conference – six days after the discovery – they named Garcia-Rodriguez as a “person of interest”.
Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger said detectives found a key at the crime scene that didn’t match any locks on the property.
They discovered it was actually linked to another address in the apartment complex where Garcia-Rodriguez had been staying.
“We turned over quite a bit of evidence to the Institute of Forensic Sciences,” he said, adding that DNA evidence would be processed. Police have a DNA sample for Garcia-Rodriguez, he said.
“He was last seen in the apartment complex at 4 p.m. Monday (August 14),” the chief said. “We don’t know where he is.”
Chief Bruegger said detectives spoke to Garcia-Rodriguez at the apartment complex before he was a suspect. The photo released by officers on Friday was a still image from a body camera of the interaction.
He was staying on a property with two other people also from Guatemala.
On the day Maria was discovered, her father had left their apartment to go to work around 10 a.m. and had been in communication with his daughter by telephone.
Carmelo Gonzalez said he left for work around 10 a.m. on August 12 and contacted his daughter by phone a little later. That’s when she told him a stranger was knocking on the door
Maria and her father Carmelo had been living in the apartment complex for about three months, after stints in Florida and Austin, Texas. The girl’s mother lives in Guatemala
Talk to FoxNewsCarmelo said the last thing he heard from her was that she was “in bed.”
Shortly after leaving, Carmelo said he received a message from Maria telling him that someone had knocked on the front door.
“I said to her, ‘Don’t open the door, because I’m coming to work,’ and she replied, ‘I’m in my bed,’” Gonzalez told the outlet.
On Tuesday, Bruegger revealed that Carmelo then called family members who resided in the same apartment complex to check on his daughter.
Her family members have not been able to find her, authorities said. That was until her father came home and found her body.
His official cause of death was ruled as asphyxia due to strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head and neck.
Further investigation determined that she had also been sexually assaulted.
Law enforcement officials said there was no forced entry into the house.
The father and daughter had been living in the apartment complex for about three months. The girl’s mother lives in Guatemala.
Maria and her father lived in Austin, Texas and Florida before Pasadena. Maria was not registered with Pasadena ISD, police said.
“We are doing our best to come out and solve this crime,” officials said at the time.
Chief Bruegger said detectives spoke to Garcia-Rodriguez at the apartment complex before he was a suspect
Maria and her father had been living in the relatively quiet apartment complex for about three months when the murder happened
“As the parent of an almost 10-year-old myself, that’s certainly cause for concern.”
Police have also taken DNA samples from other people living in the complex, but say it has been difficult to get cooperation.
Tens of thousands of migrants entered the United States 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 COVID-era Title 42 rules that made it more difficult to enter the country.
Many report to authorities and are processed before being released.
Most are expected to appear in court at a later date for a process to determine their status.