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Rafael Govea Romero, the suspect in Texas 16-year-old Lizbeth Medina’s December 2023 homicide, is ready to be arraigned Thursday in Jackson County.
Romero, a 24-year-old unlawful immigrant from Mexico, is accused of stalking the highschool cheerleader and aspiring nurse earlier than allegedly hanging her over the pinnacle and stabbing her within the Edna residence that she shared together with her mom.
A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) informed Fox Information Digital that ICE Enforcement and Elimination Operations (ERO) Houston “lodged an immigration detainer with the Jackson County (Texas) Sheriff’s Workplace on Rafael Govea-Romero, 24, Mexico, following his arrest for capital homicide.”
ICE ERO lodges immigration detainers towards noncitizens who’ve been arrested for prison exercise and brought into custody as a part of the company’s mission to establish and arrest detachable unlawful immigrants, in line with ICE.
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The Edna (Texas) Police Division introduced the arrest of Rafael Govea Romero, an “undocumented male” who officers imagine is “the particular person accountable for the dying of Lizbeth Medina” in Schulenburg. (Edna Police Division)
Romero had a prison background in Texas and was on probation on the time of his arrest in connection to Lizbeth’s homicide, Edna Police Chief Rick Boone informed Fox Information Digital.
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Edna police mentioned the investigation into Lizbeth’s homicide is ongoing and authorities are taking specific care in releasing data to the media “to guard due course of, observe moral guidelines and keep away from trial by press convention.” (Jackson County Sheriff’s Workplace)
The homicide suspect was reportedly on probation for a housebreaking in Schulenburg, Texas, about 60 miles from Edna, in 2022, because the Fayette County File first reported. Edna police imagine Romero may be tied to a housebreaking that occurred at Lizbeth’s residence a couple of month earlier than her killing.
A Jackson County grand jury in February indicted Romero on a capital homicide cost in reference to Lizbeth’s homicide.
Jacqueline Medina got here residence to search out her daughter, Lizbeth “Liz” Medina, useless within the bathtub of their residence after she had not seen or heard from the 16-year-old that afternoon. (Instagram)
Edna police initially arrested Romero in Schulenburg, 5 days after Lizbeth was discovered useless within the bathtub of her residence with “smeared blood on the perimeters of her and what gave the impression to be a stab wound to the higher abdomen space,” in line with a police affidavit beforehand obtained by Fox Information Digital. Police have been capable of find the suspect because of cellphone information and different proof tying him to the crime scene.
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The sufferer’s mom, Jacqueline Medina, had left their residence early on Dec. 5 for work. Her daughter sometimes left for college afterward, however that day she neither made it to highschool nor the Christmas parade that her cheer group was imagined to be working towards for.
A Jackson County grand jury indicted Rafael Romero on a capital homicide cost in connection to Lizbeth Medina’s Dec. 5, 2023, stabbing dying. (FOX 26)
Jacqueline went to the parade, anticipating to see her daughter, however when she could not discover Lizbeth anyplace, she started reaching out to family and friends for assist monitoring down the 16-year-old. Later that night, Jacqueline discovered her daughter useless of their bathtub.
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The grieving mom, who lived in Nebraska earlier than shifting to Texas for work, mentioned neither she nor her daughter knew Romero however famous that their home had been burglarized on Nov. 13, a couple of month earlier than {the teenager}’s homicide. Edna law enforcement officials imagine Romero could have been concerned within the housebreaking and will have stalked Lizbeth earlier than allegedly attacking and killing her.
Jacqueline Medina discovered her daughter, Lizbeth “Liz” Medina, useless within the bathtub of their residence on the Cottonwood Flats after she hadn’t seen or heard from the 16-year-old that afternoon. (Fb)
“I imagine the housebreaking from 11/13/2023 might have a reference to the homicide suspect,” an Edna officer wrote within the affidavit. “I believed the suspect of this homicide was at giant and a gift hazard to the neighborhood. I used to be particularly involved that the particular person believed to be the homicide suspect was texting different highschool college students, main me to imagine the suspect was concentrating on college students.”
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“Moreover, I imagine the general public was at risk because of the stalking-like conduct displayed by the suspect through the potential connection of the 11/13/2023 housebreaking and driving by means of the residence complicated on 12/4/2023.”
Romero’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday. Fox Information Digital reached out to his protection lawyer for remark.
