The father of an 11-year-old Texas girl whose strangled and sexually assaulted body was found underneath her bed on Saturday said she sent him an alarming message moments before her death.
Maria Gonzalez was found dead on Saturday. Her father, Carmelo Gonzalez, called police to report he found her body underneath her bed, wrapped inside a garbage bag and stuffed in a laundry basket, Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Brueggar said Gonzalez had received a text from his daughter shortly after he left for work on Saturday morning, telling him a stranger was knocking at the front door.
The message was the last time Gonzalez heard from his daughter, according to the police chief.
Concerned, Gonzalez asked family members who lived in the same apartment building to check on his daughter. However, they were unable to find her.
Gonzalez returned from work at around 3 p.m. to find his daughter dead. There was no sign of forced entry, according to Brueggar.
Brueggar described the incident as “brutal,” adding that medical examiners concluded that the 11-year-old died from strangulation and was sexually assaulted prior to death.
Police have also confirmed the father’s alibi. They have yet to identify a potential suspect.
According to Brueggar, Gonzalez and his daughter were Guatemalan immigrants who moved across the U.S. before they settled in the Pasadena apartment three months ago, adding that the girl was not yet enrolled in the public school system.
In an interview with local news outlet KHOU, Gonzalez described his daughter as a quiet girl who celebrated her 11th birthday with neighbors only a few weeks before her death.
Brueggar described the apartment building as “quiet” with a close Guatemalan community.
“It’s just unfortunate that this happened, but I know somebody knows something,” neighbor Shannon Arteche told local news outlet KTRK.
Brueggar noted that some community members were afraid to cooperate with police due to their immigration status, creating a “challenge” for the investigation.
“I’m here to tell you right now, immigration status on the case is neither here nor there,” Brueggar said. “The important thing right now is solving this case and getting the community safe.”
Breuggar added that many neighbors have voluntarily offered their DNA samples and cooperation with officers to aid the investigation.