Person of interest sought after mom finds teenage daughter dead in their apartment
Police said they are searching for a person and vehicle of interest after a teenager was found dead by her mother at their Texas home.
Lizbeth Medina, 16, was supposed to perform with her cheerleading squad at a Christmas parade in Edna on Tuesday, her mother, Jacqueline Medina, told ABC Houston station KTRK.
But when the teen never showed up, her mother said she went searching for her and ultimately found her unresponsive at their apartment.
"Nobody ever wants to see their child in the bathtub the way I found her," Jacqueline Medina told KTRK in tears. "Nobody."
Officers responded to the apartment complex Tuesday evening and EMTs attempted to provide medical service but the teen was dead, the Edna Police Department said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is assisting Edna police "in what investigators believe to be a capital murder," the department said this week.
Edna police released photos of a person and vehicle of interest in connection with the case early Saturday.
The male person of interest was described by police as possibly having a tattoo behind his right ear and was seen in the images wearing a black Volcom hooded sweatshirt. He was also seen driving a silver Ford Taurus, model year ranging from 2010 to 2018, police said.
Few details have been released by police on the circumstances of the death. An autopsy report has yet to be released.
Edna Chief of Police Rick Boone said authorities are "working diligently to locate and bring to justice the individual responsible for the death of Lizbeth."
"We understand the community wants information in regards to the case, however we have to keep the integrity of the investigation our number one priority," Boone said in a statement on Thursday.
Jacqueline Medina said they moved to the small Texas city of Edna, located about 25 miles northeast of Victoria in southeast Texas, last year.
The teen was honored before her school's football game Thursday night, where the distraught cheerleading squad and her family wore purple -- the teen's favorite color.
"My head is just spinning everywhere, and I just want answers, I want justice," Jacqueline Medina told KTRK prior to the game.
She had a "kind heart" and would give someone the shirt off her back, her mother said.
"You took an angel from me, and not only from me, from a lot of people who loved her," Jacqueline Medina said.
A candlelight vigil is scheduled to be held at the Jackson County Courthouse Saturday evening in honor of the teen.
The vigil was relocated from Edna High School "out of an abundance of caution for all students' safety" due to the ongoing investigation, the Edna school district said.
