LIVINGSTON, Texas (TCN) — A man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for kidnapping and killing an 11-year-old girl whose body was found in a river several days after she disappeared.
The Polk County District Attorney’s Office announced Jan. 17 that Don Steven McDougal entered a plea agreement in connection with the abduction and death of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham. He received a life sentence without the possibility of parole or appeal.
Prosecutors noted that Texas law limits their ability to seek the death penalty when the defendant “has significant documented intellectual and developmental disabilities.” Investigators reportedly reviewed the law and medical records and determined McDougal “was not eligible for a death penalty sentence under the existing law.”
According to an initial press release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Cunningham was last seen near her home on the morning of Feb. 15, 2024. She was supposed to catch the school bus, but she never made it on and failed to show up to school.
Two days after the young girl disappeared, the Texas Department of Public Safety said they identified McDougal as a person of interest in the case because they determined his vehicle was connected. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested McDougal on an unrelated charge of aggravated assault.
Authorities also announced that they found Cunningham’s backpack near the Lake Livingston Dam.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Craig Cummings, McDougal lived in a camper behind Cunningham’s residence, and her family had a relationship with the defendant. McDougal would reportedly drop the victim off at her bus stop or take her to school sometimes.
McDougal pleaded guilty in 2008 in Brazoria County for enticing a child, and he was sentenced to two years in prison with 527 days of time served. Cummings said McDougal was not required to register as a sex offender.
Investigators reportedly found Cunningham’s body in a river on Feb. 20, 2024, in the Trinity River. According to KRIV-TV, the Harris County medical examiner determined Cunningham died of blunt head trauma and ruled her death a homicide.
In a statement to KRIV, the victim’s grandfather, Philip Munsch, said, “Our granddaughter was the second victim of his because of a loophole in the law that allowed him not to register as a sex offender,” adding, “That was the only reason he was allowed to stay at our house. We were asked, and we agreed to help him, and we’ve suffered the consequences.”
Cunningham’s grandparents are reportedly trying to pass Audrii’s Law, which would require offenders to register as sex offenders.
