Authorities on Sunday said they’ve caught the man suspected of murdering Texas high school cheerleader Lizbeth Medina, KTRK-TV reports.
Rafael Govea Romero was arrested Saturday in Schulenburg, Texas, just one day after police released images of a “person of interest” and vehicle that investigators believed were linked to the killing.
Schulenburg is about 75 miles north of Edna, Texas, where Medina’s mother found her unresponsive in a bathtub at the family’s home on Tuesday. The mother went looking for the 16-year-old teen after she missed a cheerleading performance in the community’s annual Christmas parade.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Medina was reportedly found in her pajamas, which indicated that she may have been killed in the morning. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
It was not clear Sunday what relationship, if any, Romero had with Medina. Authorities have not released his age. He was arrested for capital murder and brought to the Jackson County Jail.
“Although Romero is apprehended, we recognize Lizabeth’s family and friends are grieving and still need support from the community,” Edna Police Chief Rick Boone said in a statement. “The citizens of Edna can now sleep in peace.”
On Saturday, authorities had said they were searching for a male who appeared to have a tattoo behind his right ear and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. The vehicle identified in the images was a silver Ford Taurus.
Medina’s loved ones on Saturday came together for a candlelight vigil to remember and honor her at the Jackson County Courthouse, according to KTRK-TV. Her mother, Jacqueline Medina, said her only daughter was her life.
“I lost it. She was my world, my everything. . . . Everything I do was for her,” Jacqueline Medina told KHOU-TV. “Someone dared to go in and just rip my daughter away from me, it just kills me. I just want answers to why they would do this to an amazing little girl who would never hurt anyone, wouldn’t dare to hurt anyone.”
The family is raising money to help pay for memorial expenses.
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[Feature Photo: Lizbeth Medina/Facebook]
