New mugshot shows 18-year-old accused of strangling 11-year-old neighbor to death in Pasadena
By Web staff
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PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) — A new mugshot shows an 18-year-old charged with the murder of an 11-year-old girl whose body was found by her father, under a bed at a Pasadena apartment complex.
The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana shared the photo of Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez with ABC13 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, loved ones will say a final farewell at a public viewing for 11-year-old Maria Gonzalez from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Mundo Pentecostal Church on Wednesday. Her body will be sent to Guatemala, where she has family.
On Saturday, Aug. 12, Maria was found sexually assaulted and strangled in her family’s apartment at 1004 Main St. Her father, Carmelo Gonzalez, found her body wrapped in a trash bag, inside a clothes hamper underneath her bed, according to Pasadena police.
Carmelo told investigators he left for work around 9:45 a.m. At about 10 a.m., he received a text from Maria that someone was knocking on their door. Police now believe that man was her neighbor, Garcia-Rodriguez.
One week later, Pasadena police confirmed that Garcia-Rodriguez was arrested in Louisiana by Shreveport police after sources say he made a full confession. Records show he was booked into the Caddo Parish Jail on Saturday, Aug. 19.
Garcia-Rodriguez is awaiting extradition back to Texas, where he is expected to face a judge.
His roommate told ABC13 that Garcia-Rodriguez had lived with him for less than a month when he allegedly killed Maria.
On the morning of her death, when Maria stopped responding to her father, Carmelo sent his brother, who lives a few doors down, to check in.
Garcia-Rodriguez’s roommate said he was acting normally that Saturday. The roommate did not realize anything was wrong until Maria’s uncle knocked on his door, searching for her.
“He checked in the restroom, the closet, looking for her,” he explained.
Two days later, Garcia-Rodriguez told his roommate he was leaving town for a job. When he was asked for his key, he said he was going to hold onto it.
Pasadena police believe Garcia-Rodriguez left his key at the scene of the murder. However, Pasadena Police Chief Jeff Bruegger said investigators didn’t realize that key opened the door to his apartment until after he left town Monday.
In January, Garcia-Rodriguez, a Guatemalan national, self-surrendered to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in El Paso. He was released to his immigration sponsors in Louisiana. Bruegger said they live in the Baton Rouge area. At a Friday press conference, he told reporters the department’s attempts to contact them had been unsuccessful.
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