18-Year-Old Arrested in Connection with Murder and Sexual Assault of Maria Gonzalez, 11

Carmelo Gonzalez holding a photo of his daughter, Maria.Photo:ABC13 Houston/YouTube

ABC13 Houston/YouTube

An 18-year-old man suspected ofsexually assaulting and killing an 11-year-oldgirl in Pasadena, Texas, was arrested in Louisiana on Saturday,police said. He is facing a capital murder charge upon extradition.

Carmelo left for work that morning and had been communicating with his daughter via text message, the Pasadena Police Department said. The last text he received from her was Maria telling her father that someone was knocking at the door.

After her body was found, a key that didn’t work on any of the doors was also found in the apartment, police said.

Maria Gonzalez.GoFundMe

GoFundMe

Pasadena police said in a release that the Medical Examiner determined that Maria had been strangled and sexually assaulted. Days later, in asubsequent release, police named Garcia-Rodriguez a person of interest, saying that he resided in the same apartment complex as Gonzalez but had since left the property.

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A warrant was later issued for Garcia-Rodriguez’s arrest, who was arrested in Shreveport, La. after the Harris County District Attorney’s Office filed a capital murder charge against him, police said.

Garcia-Rodriguez is still in custody in Louisiana, according to jail records, and is awaiting extradition back to Texas. It is not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney.

The Gonzalez family released a statement after authorities arrested Garcia-Rodriguez,the Associated Press reported.

“May he be burdened with the full weight of the law, for what he has done to my daughter,” the statement reads.

AGoFundMewas started to raise money for Carmelo Gonzalez, who, according to the fundraiser, is trying to bring Maria’s body back to Guatemala, where their family lives. So far the GoFundMe has raised more than $65,000.

“[Carmelo] is grieving and needing help with funeral expenses to return his daughter to Guatemala where her family is,” the fundraiser’s description reads. “Thousands of families come to the United States to fulfill the American dream, a dream that for Carmelo has turned into a nightmare.”

source: people.com