East Texas DA Announces Capital Murder Charges: Body of Missing 11-Year-Old Girl Found in River

LIVINGSTON, Texas — Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons confirmed that law enforcement authorities have located the body of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham in the Trinity River under the Trinity River bridge along U.S. Highway 59. Audrii Cunningham disappeared before school on Thursday, February 15.

In a Tuesday afternoon press conference attended by Polk County District Attorney Shelley Sitton and other local officials, Sheriff Lyons said, “I sadly announce that the body of Audrii Cunningham was found.”

District Attorney Sitton said that appropriate arrest warrants for Don Steven McDougal were being prepared for the offense of capital murder. When asked whether her office would be seeking the death penalty, she confirmed they would decide after further consultation with law enforcement.

The sheriff announced that based on the investigations of Polk County, San Jacinto County, the Trinity River Authority, and others, they have collected “substantial evidence.” He thanked the Trinity River Authority for slowing the river’s flow to help facilitate the search for the little girl.

When asked by Breitbart Texas whether the girl’s body had been weighed down, the Sheriff said he was declining to release that kind of information at this time.

Lyons emphasized they gathered enough evidence through the use of technology and tips from the public to find Audrii’s body without the statements McDougal provided. McDougal took investigators on a tour over the weekend to places he traveled to on Thursday. One of those locations was the Trinity River Bridge.

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Polk County Sheriff Lyons told reporters they are convinced that Don Steven McDougal was the last person to see Audrii before she disappeared early Thursday morning. McDougal has always been the “main person of interest.”

On Monday, Breitbart Texas asked Sheriff Lyons if McDougal admitted to leaving the house with Audrii on the morning of February 15. The sheriff responded, “Yes.” He also said that McDougal had not said that he had dropped Audrii off at the school bus stop.

Earlier in the briefing, Lyons said, “We do feel, at this point, that he was the last person to see Audrii.” He added, “There’s been information found that there are occasions that he did take her to the bus stop or even take her to school.”

Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She is a trial lawyer who practices criminal defense and family law in East Texas. She was a Texas prosecutor and family court associate judge in Harris County, Texas.

Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.

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