Court records show that on Monday, a grand jury in Texas charged Don Steven McDougal with two counts of capital murder in the death of Audrii Cunningham, who was 11 years old.
McDougal, a family friend, was charged in Polk County with killing Audrii by hitting her in the head with something unknown and doing this while trying to take her.
On the morning of February 15, Audrii wasn’t seen getting on her neighborhood school bus, so her parents called the police. She was last seen close to her home in Livingston, Texas, which is about 75 miles northeast of Houston.
CBS Texas reported that McDougal was taken the next day on a separate charge of aggravated assault. After witnesses connected his dark blue Chevrolet Suburban to Audrii’s missing, he was named as a person of interest in the case.
On February 20, about 10 miles from her home, Audrii’s body was found in the Trinity River.
Autism’s mother, Cassie Matthews, spoke about her daughter at a vigil the day after her body was found. “She was perfection,” she said. People from the community came together to pray and wear purple. They also carried purple flowers.
