Man arrested after 16-year-old Texas cheerleader found dead in bathtub

globalnews.ca:

A suspect accused of murdering a 16-year-old cheerleader whose body was found days earlier in her bathtub has been arrested.

Police in Edna, Texas, say they found Lizabeth Medina dead last week on Dec. 5 after being called to an apartment building in reference to an “unresponsive juvenile.” In a news release, police confirmed they were looking into Medina’s death as capital murder, a category of murder in which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty.

(Details about Medina’s specific cause of death were not released.)

The Edna Police Department then released photos of a suspect in Medina’s murder investigation. Authorities wrote that they were looking for a man seen wearing a black “Volcom” hoodie driving a silver Ford Taurus.

A US$5,000 reward was offered for information leading to the suspect’s arrest.

While the suspect remained at large, local police partnered with Texas Rangers and other outside agencies to provide extra patrols in the small city of Edna, which is home to about 6,000 residents.

A day after photos of the suspect were released, police apprehended him.

Rafael Govea Romero, an “undocumented male,” according to Edna police, was arrested on Saturday for capital murder. He was transported to Jackson County Jail.

“Although Romero is apprehended, we recognized Lizabeth’s family and friends are grieving and will still need support from the community,” Edna police wrote in a news release.

“The citizens of Edna can now sleep in peace!”

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Medina’s mother Jacqueline revealed that she was the one who found her daughter dead in the bathtub of their apartment.

Jacqueline woke up her daughter that day at 6 a.m. to get her ready for cheer practice. The single mom then went