PASADENA, Texas – Court documents indicate prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a man accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a 11-year-old girl in Pasadena in 2023.
Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez is charged with capital murder for the death of 11-year-old Maria Gonzalez.
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Garcia-Rodriguez next date in court will be for a status conference on December 9.
What happened
On Aug. 12, 2023, police were dispatched to an apartment in the 1000 block of Main in Pasadena.
Maria’s father had called police and said he found his daughter and she wasn’t breathing. Officers and paramedics arrived and tried to revive the child, but were unsuccessful and she was later pronounced dead.
Maria’s father told police they had been talking on the phone that day and the last message he received was when she told him someone was knocking at the front door.
The father said when he returned home from work, he found her dead body under her bed, according to investigators.
The medical examiner concluded that the cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation. Additional investigation determined that Maria had been sexually assaulted.
Investigators said as they were processing the crime scene, a single key was located inside the apartment and collected as evidence. The key was processed by crime scene investigators and was not found to open any doors at the victim’s residence.
Investigators learned the suspect, Garcia-Rodriguez, told his roommate he was leaving for a job out of town. His roommate said he made him a copy of the apartment key and asked Garcia to leave it since he was leaving. He said Garcia told him that he planned on coming back so he would hold on to the key.
Police said the key was the one left inside Gonzalez’ apartment and was found after her murder. Detectives didn’t have to go far to learn the key matched the lock to Garcia’s apartment, right next door. Authorities also found a DNA sample from Garcia-Rodriguez.
Garcia-Rodriguez was later located and arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana. Officers also found more “corroborating information and evidence” that led to the man being charged.