An illegal alien accused of murdering 16-year-old high school cheerleader Lizbeth Medina in Edna, Texas, overstayed his visa and was never deported, according to Police Chief Rick Boone.
On December 5, Lizbeth was supposed to perform in a local Christmas parade with her cheer squad at Edna High School when her mother, Jacqueline Medina, found that she had not shown up. That was when Jacqueline went looking for her daughter.
Ultimately, Jacqueline found Lizbeth dead in the bathtub of their apartment.
“I don’t understand why. My God, why would they do this to her?” the Angel Mom told Fox News Digital. “She’s such a beautiful, smart, and amazing girl. There’s moments where I just can’t take it, and then there’s moments where I feel like I need to be strong for her.”
Photo of Lizbeth Medina from her mother’s Facebook.
On Saturday, Edna Police Chief Rick Boone announced that 23-year-old illegal alien Rafael Govea Romero had been arrested and charged with murdering Lizbeth. Boone told local media that Romero overstayed his visa but was never deported.
The Victoria Advocate reported:
On Saturday night, Edna police arrested Rafael Govea Romero, 23, and charged him with murder in Lizbeth’s case. Originally, police described Romero an “undocumented male.”
Edna police have since clarified, saying Romero, who is from Mexico but has been in the U.S. since 2018, resided in the country with a visa that has since expired.
In 2022, nearly 854,000 foreign nationals had overstayed their visas — a record.
Romero remains in Jackson County Jail on a $2 million bail, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has placed a detainer on him. The detainer requests that if Romero is released from jail at any time, he will be turned over to ICE agents for deportation.
In a statement, an ICE official told Breitbart News:
On Dec. 10, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston lodged an immigration detainer with the Jackson County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office on Rafael Govea-Romero, 23, Mexico, following his arrest for capital murder. No additional details can be released at this time.
“I’m just praying for justice,” Jacqueline told Fox News Digital. “I want whoever did this … to be put behind bars because my daughter didn’t deserve any of this. She was an amazing, good girl.”
A GoFundMe has been created by Lizbeth’s aunt, Ana Medina, to help the family.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a statement from ICE officials and to attribute claims regarding Romero’s immigration history to Police Chief Rick Boone.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.