An illegal immigrant suspect in the brutal stabbing of a 16-year-old cheerleader has been indicted on capital murder charges by a grand jury.
Rafael Govea Romero, 23, faces execution after he was accused of ‘intentionally’ killing Lizbeth Iniguez Medina in her mother’s apartment in Edna, southern Texas on December 5, 2023.
Romero butchered the teenager by striking her head on the ground or with a hard object, while repeatedly stabbing her, according to the indictment.
The attack came as he attempted to commit ‘burglary, robbery, or aggravated sexual assault’ the document says.
An investigation into whether Lizbeth was sexually assaulted is ongoing.
Jacqueline Medina, Lizbeth’s mother, found her daughter dead in her bathtub. ‘I want him to pay for what he did to my daughter,’ she told the Victoria Advocate on Wednesday.
Rafael Govea Romero (pictured), 23, the illegal immigrant suspect in the brutal stabbing of a 16-year-old cheerleader has been indicted on capital murder charges by a grand jury
Romero is accused of ‘intentionally’ killing Lizbeth Iniguez Medina (pictured) in her mother’s apartment in Edna, southern Texas on December 5, 2023
‘It was the most horrible way a mother could find her child. She was murdered in cold blood,’ Lizbeth’s mother Jacquelin said
‘I know (prosecutors) are working diligently so he gets what he deserves.’
On top of grieving her daughter’s horrific death, Medina has also faced accusations that she was responsible from people in her local community, according to the newspaper.
She said this week’s findings by the Jackson County grand jury felt like an ‘I told you so moment’.
‘I hope people can actually finally just stop with their chaos,’ she told the newspaper. ‘I know that I’ll never get any apologies from them.’
‘There’s still a lot of things that people want to know but I’m in the same boat,’ she added.
‘I don’t know a lot either. But if I did know, I wouldn’t put them out there for people because I want this case to be strong for my daughter and to be tried the right way.’
Romero was initially arrested in Schulenberg southern Texas on December 9 on a murder charge, which has since been upgraded to capital murder.
Edna Police Department said they are still awaiting autopsy results which would determine whether a sexual assault occurred.
Cops tracked Romero down after tracing Lizbeth’s phone to his home in Schulenburg, 50 miles north of her home at the Cottonwood Apartments in Edna.
Jacqueline Medina (pictured), Lizbeth’s mother, found her daughter dead in her bathtub. ‘I want him to pay for what he did to my daughter,’ she said
Lizbeth had been getting ready to walk in a local Christmas parade with her cheerleading team from Edna High School on the day of her death
Romero (pictured) butchered the teenager by striking her head on the ground or with a hard object, while repeatedly stabbing her, according to the indictment
Police initially released security footage of the man they were looking for wearing a black ‘Volcom’ sweatshirt
He ran towards a silver Ford Taurus he was thought to have driven off in
Investigators also found surveillance footage of Romero visiting the complex on several more occasions.
Edna Police Department Det. Stacy Cavazos said Romero exhibited ‘stalking-like’ behavior in an affidavit for his arrest.
She added that police believe he also broke in and burgled the Medina home weeks before the murder, on November 13.
Lizbeth had been getting ready to walk in a local Christmas parade with her cheerleading team from Edna High School on the day of her death.
Her mother arrived at the parade and could not find her daughter – she returned home to find her dead in the bathtub.
Edna Police Chief Rick Boone said he was happy with the grand jury’s findings and said it spoke to the ‘countless hours’ police had put into the investigation.
Boone previously said the department was ‘100% confident’ that Romero had committed the crime. ‘He confessed to the crime,’ he said.
