(PatriotWise.com) — An 18-year-old Guatemalan was arrested in Louisiana last weekend in the death of an 11-year-old girl who was raped and strangled in Pasadena, Texas, on August 12, CBS News reported.
Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez was taken into custody in Shreveport, Louisiana, on August 19. According to Pasadena police, Garcia-Rodriguez lived in the same apartment complex as 11-year-old Maria Gonzalez.
He was interviewed by officers who collected his DNA the day after Gonzelez’s body was found. But according to Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger, Garcia-Rodriguez was not initially on their radar. He was later named a person of interest on August 18 and was found in Shreveport, where he was taken into custody and charged with capital murder.
KHOU reported that Maria Gonzanlez’s father left for work on August 12 and communicated with his daughter during the day via cell phone. When Gonzalez later texted her father to tell him someone was knocking on the door, he instructed her not to answer it. Gonzalez replied that she would not open the door and would stay in her bed. That was the last communication he had with his daughter.
When he returned home that afternoon, Gonzalez’s father found his daughter’s body inside a trash bag stuffed in a laundry basket and shoved under the bed. He called 911 to report that his daughter was not breathing.
Police found a key in the apartment, which they said opened the door to the apartment where Garcia-Rodriguez was living. While he lived in the apartment with others, when police interviewed his roommates, they were able to produce their copies of the apartment key.
In a statement following Garcia-Rodriguez’s arrest, the Gonzalez family thanked the police for apprehending him, saying that his arrest brought peace to the family and the community.
Garcia-Rodriguez was awaiting extradition to Texas.
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