A Texas career criminal arrested in connection with Audrey Cunningham’s disappearance has been charged with secret murder after the 11-year-old’s body was discovered Tuesday.
About a week after Audrey missed her school bus on Feb. 15, Don Stephen McDougal, 42, was charged with murdering a 10- to 15-year-old, according to Polk County Jail records. He was formally charged.
Authorities found the 11-year-old’s body in the Trinity River near the Route 59 bridge in Livingston, Polk County, Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons confirmed at a news conference Tuesday.
“We will continue to process the evidence we have collected to ensure there is justice for Audrey,” Lyons said.
Texas girl Audrey Cunningham found dead in river, authorities focus on capital murder suspect
Texas authorities have named Don Stephen McDougal a person of interest in connection with the February 15 disappearance of Audrey Cunningham. (Polk County Sheriff/Facebook)
McDougall, a family friend who lived in a trailer behind Audrey’s Livingston residence, was initially arrested on Feb. 16 on an unrelated aggravated assault charge.
Audrey Cunningham disappearance: Texas babysitter with criminal history named as person of interest
Don Stephen McDougall has a long criminal history dating back to the early 2000s. (Liberty County)
He has been accused of dozens of crimes dating back to the early 2000s, and was convicted of two counts of child enticement in 2008.
Law enforcement searching for man missing off Gulf of Mexico coast
Don Stephen McDougall was convicted of child enticement in 2008. (Facebook)
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“He probably took her…to the bus stop. We certainly feel that he was the last person to see Audrey,” Lyons said of McDougal at a press conference Monday, adding that McDougal He added that “there were times” he would take Audrey with him. To the bus stop, or to school if you miss the bus.
Audrey’s mother, Kathy Matthews, told FOX 26 Houston that she trusts McDougal to babysit the 11-year-old while she stays with her father.
