Texas high school cheerleader Lizbeth Medina was stabbed to death and left in her bathtub by an undocumented immigrant living in the United States on an expired visa, police said.
Rafael Govea Romero, 23, was arrested Saturday on charges of capital murder in the killing of a 16-year-old Edna High School student last week.
Romero’s bail has been set by a magistrate at $2 million.
Police and Texas Rangers, acting on a tip, went to Romero’s family home in the small town of Schulenburg, about 95 miles west of Houston, and detained him.
Detectives also seized evidence from Romero’s silver Ford Taurus that they said linked him to Medina’s murder, but they did not say what it was, station KTRK reported.
The motive for the deadly stabbing has not been revealed and police have not said whether Romero and Medina knew each other.
Lizbeth Medina was found stabbed to death by her mother in her bathtub. ABC 13
Edna Police Chief Rick Boone said Romero has been in the United States illegally after overstaying his visa. His family has reportedly lived in Schulenburg for about five years.
Romero has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to his undocumented status, according to Edna police.
The Post contacted ICE for comment on Monday and was still waiting for a response as of press time.
Rafael Medina, 23, was arrested Saturday on charges of capital murder in Schulenburg, Texas.
Medina was found dead in her bathtub on December 5 by her mother, Jacqueline Medina, who became alarmed when her daughter failed to show up to Edna’s annual Christmas parade, where she was supposed to march with her cheerleading team.
“My daughter was found in a way that no mother should find her daughter,” Medina previously told station KAVU. “Someone hurt my son, someone took him from me.”
The grieving mother said that a few weeks earlier, someone had broken into her home at Cottonwood Apartments and she wondered if the same intruder may have tried to pull off another robbery but was caught in the act by Lizbeth.
Security images released by police show a young man who resembles the suspect, Rafael Govea Romero. Edna Texas Police Department/Facebook
Police released surveillance video of the suspect, who was wearing a black Volcom sweatshirt and had a distinctive tattoo behind his right ear.
Lizbeth was honored before her school’s football game Thursday night, where her fellow cheerleaders and family members wore purple, the teen’s favorite color.
“My head is spinning everywhere and I just want answers, I want justice,” his distraught mother told KTRK.
Jacqueline Medina (left) said she became worried about her daughter Lizbeth (right) after she didn’t show up to a Christmas parade. ABC 13
Medina described her daughter as “young” and “happy.”
“We grew up together. I had her when I was only 16,” Medina told the station. “It was just me and her against the world, and they took her away from me.”
Edna is about 100 miles southwest of Houston.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn