Southwest
Texas illegal immigrant indicted on capital murder charge in cheerleader's beating, stabbing death
A Texas grand jury has indicted the illegal immigrant suspect in a 16-year-old girl’s brutal killing on capital murder charges.
The indictment obtained by Fox News Digital says Rafael Govea Romero, 23, intentionally caused Lizbeth Medina’s death while in the course of attempting to commit a burglary, robbery or sexual assault.
The document also alleges Romero killed Medina by causing the teenager’s “head to strike a firm surface,” “striking” her head “with a hard object” and “repeatedly stabbing or cutting” her “with a sharp object or edged weapon.”
“It’s very disturbing to me,” Lizbeth’s mother, Jacqueline Medina, told Fox News Digital of the indictment, adding she thinks the grand jury handed down the capital murder charge because of “all the evidence and all the other details” in the case.
TEXAS TEEN FOUND STABBED IN BATHTUB LIKELY STALKED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT WHO TEXTED HER FRIENDS: POLICE
Jacqueline Medina came home Dec. 5 to find her daughter, Lizbeth “Liz” Medina, dead in the bathtub of their home after she had not seen or heard from the 16-year-old that afternoon. (Instagram)
Jacqueline also said she plans to be part of the justice process every step of the way.
“I don’t want to miss anything at all, not if I can help it, because my baby deserves justice, and I want to be part of it,” she said.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT IN TEXAS CHEERLEADER MURDER HELD ON ICE DETAINER
Lizbeth Media was staying home from school Dec. 5, but her friends and family did not notice anything out of the ordinary until she failed to show up at a Christmas parade that her cheerleading team was marching in that afternoon.
The Edna Police Department arrested Rafael Govea Romero, an “undocumented male” officials believe is “the person responsible for the death of Lizbeth Medina” in Schulenburg. (Edna Police Department)
Jacqueline, who attended the parade after work to support her daughter but never saw her there, immediately began reaching out to Lizbeth’s friends to find out where she was.
When she arrived home later that day, she found Lizbeth dead in the bathtub of their Edna apartment with her foot sticking out from behind a shower curtain.
TEXAS CHEERLEADER, 16, FOUND DEAD IN APARTMENT BATHTUB BELIEVED MURDERED: ‘I DON’T UNDERSTAND’
Days later, when the Edna Police Department named Romero as a suspect in her murder, Jacqueline told Fox News Digital that the man had no relation to her daughter or their family.
Jacqueline Medina came home to find her daughter, Lizbeth “Liz” Medina, dead in the bathtub of their home at the Cottonwood Apartments after she hadn’t seen or heard from the 16-year-old that afternoon. (Facebook)
Police determined their apartment had been burglarized Nov. 13, about a month before the teenager’s murder.
ILLEGAL MIGRANT FLIPS MIDDLE FINGERS AFTER BEING CHARGED WITH ATTACKING NYPD IN TIMES SQUARE
Jacqueline previously told Fox News Digital she didn’t make the connection at first. She and Lizbeth had noticed little things that were going missing from their apartment for some time. On Nov. 13, they reported the missing belongings to police because some larger items had disappeared.
“I believe the burglary from 11/13/2023 could have a connection with the murder suspect,” an Edna officer wrote in an affidavit at the time. “I believed the suspect of this murder was at large and a present danger to the community.”
Police determined Jacqueline and Lizbeth’s Edna apartment had been burglarized Nov. 13, about a month before the teenager’s murder. (Jacqueline Medina)
Edna authorities also indicated Romero may have stolen Lizbeth’s phone after the murder. Lizbeth’s boyfriend tracked the 16-year-old’s location to an area about a half mile away from her apartment using his smartphone the day of her murder.
CPB MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS ALREADY EXCEED 1 MILLION SINCE OCTOBER
The following day, Lizbeth’s cousin saw that her Snapchat sent to the victim had been opened, indicating that someone was using her phone after her death.
Within an hour of reporting the suspicious phone activity to Edna Police, authorities were able to track the geolocation of Lizbeth’s phone to the suspect in Schulenburg, Texas, about an hour’s drive from Edna, where they arrested Romero.
A Jackson County grand jury handed down the capital murder indictment this week. (Facebook)
The suspect’s bond was set at $2 million after his arrest.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Jacqueline said she still has many questions about what happened to her daughter and why the suspect allegedly targeted the 16-year-old, and she awaits answers as Romero’s case plays out in court.
“I kind of want to know, just to have closure,” she said.
Read the full article from Here
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
-
A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
-
California2 minutes agoGovernor’s Race: Katie Porter speaks 1-on-1 on strengths, criticisms and priorities for California
-
Colorado8 minutes agoKeeler: Colorado’s best prep distance runner? Niwot’s Addison Ritzenhein makes case with 4A record
-
Connecticut14 minutes agoPolice investigating fatal crash in New Haven
-
Delaware20 minutes agoDelaware man charged with 2 gas station armed robberies, escaping police chase
-
Florida26 minutes agoCountry star Morgan Wallen walks out with Florida legend Tim Tebow, refuses to Gator chomp
-
Georgia32 minutes ago
Tech Mercy-Rules No. 23 BC for 6th ACC Sweep
-
Hawaii38 minutes ago9 Best Small Towns To Retire In Hawaii
-
Idaho44 minutes ago2A STATE SOFTBALL: Loggers fall to Pilots, finish second in …
