On Friday, Texas police identified a man as a person of interest in Saturday’s slaying of an 11-year-old girl who was found strangled and sexually assaulted under her bed.
Pasadena police Chief Josh Bruegger said that a key found near Maria Gonzalez’s body led them to Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez, 18, who is wanted for questioning. Garcia-Rodriguez lived at the same apartment complex as Gonzalez, but he has been missing since Monday, KHOU reported.
Bruegger said they interviewed Garcia-Rodriguez and took his DNA the same day Gonzalez’s father discovered her body. According to KHOU, it took investigators days to learn that the key found near Gonzalez’s body was not for her residence but worked at the apartment Garcia-Rodriguez was staying at.
Bruegger said Garcia-Rodriguez had been living at the apartment for three to four weeks before the girl’s murder. It is unclear whether Garcia-Rodriguez and the victim knew one another, but the police chief said they lived in close proximity.
Bruegger also revealed on Friday that Gonzalez was put in a trash bag that was stashed in a hamper, as CrimeOnline reported. That hamper was placed under her bed, where her father eventually found her.
Gonzalez was reportedly home alone as her father worked. Gonzalez’s father said his daughter texted him that someone was knocking on the door. The father asked family members to check on her because she stopped sending texts, but they claimed they could not find her. He eventually discovered his daughter’s body five hours after getting the initial text message.
No arrests have been made. Bruegger said an arrest warrant has not been issued for Garcia-Rodriguez, KTRK said.
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[Featured image: Maria Gonzalez/KTRK; Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez/Pasadena Police Department]
