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Texas Police Hunt for Teen's Killer After Mom Finds Daughter Dead in Apartment Bathtub in "The Most Horrible Way"
“Someone dared to go in and just rip my daughter away from me. It just kills me," Jaquelin Medina said after finding her daughter Lizbeth dead in their apartment.
Police in a small town in Texas are trying to find out who's responsible after a mother found her slain 16-year-old daughter in their apartment.
On Tuesday, at 6:57 p.m., officers from the Edna Police Department were dispatched to the Cottonwood Apartments after being alerted to an "unresponsive juvenile," the department said in a statement Tuesday. Emergency medical service workers tried to attempt aid, but investigators ultimately determined that the teen was dead and it was a capital murder case.
Family members speaking to local news outlets, including KHOU and the Victoria Advocate, identified the victim as 16-year-old high school cheerleader Lizbeth Medina.
What did Lizbeth Medina's mom, Jacquelin Medina, say about finding her daughter dead?
Jacquelin Medina, the teen’s mother, found her daughter in “the most horrible way a mother could find her child,” she told KHOU. “She was murdered in cold blood. It should have been a great day because she was involved in the Christmas parade. She was going to be with the cheer squad.”
But when Jacquelin didn’t see Lizbeth at the parade Tuesday evening, she went home to their apartment in Edna, a small town between Houston and Victoria, only to find her daughter dead.
The Texas Penal Code defines capital murder as a murder that is committed in the course of committing another serious crime, such as “kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or retaliation, or terroristic threat.”
“I lost it," Jacquelin added of discovering her daughter's body. "She was my world, my everything... everything I do was for her. Someone dared to go in and just rip my daughter away from me. It just kills me.”
Jacquelin also spoke with local NBC affiliate WOAI-TV about the moment she found her daughter.
"Nobody ever wants to see your child in the bathtub the way I found her," she said, describing the scene. "The curtains were closed so I didn't see her but when I opened those curtains... I just want justice for my baby."
When was Lizbeth Medina killed?
Ana Medina, the teen’s aunt, told the Victoria Advocate that her niece was found in her pajamas, leading the family to believe she was murdered Tuesday morning before school.
“She had just accomplished her goals of getting her first car to go to work and making the cheer team,” the aunt added. “She was a loving, beautiful, talented girl with many dreams.”
According to her aunt, Lizbeth was planning to go the University of Texas at Arlington to study nursing, after she graduated high school in 2025.
“I swear to you, my girl, that I won’t rest until I find who did this,” Ana saiod, according to the Advocate.
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Ana created a GoFundMe in order "to not only get justice for my sweet Lizbeth but for any support that you can offer to my family at this time."
“We would also like to thank everyone in the Edna community that has been supporting us in this difficult time,” the post stated.
Rick Boone, chief of police for the Edna Police Department, said in a statement shared to Facebook Friday that the department "wants to reach out to the citizens of Edna and Jackson county to assure you that Edna PD, in conjunction with the Texas Rangers, 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 added. "We also understand the community is concerned about the individual still being on the loose. Outside agencies are in the area and working with Edna Pd to provide extra patrol."
Authorities asked that locals remain vigilant and that anyone with information in the case contact the Edna Police Department at 361-782-6522 and/or Crime Stoppers at 361-552-CASH(2274).
