Dad finds 11-year-old daughter dead under bed after returning from work, Texas cops say

An 11-year-old girl found dead under her bed had been strangled and sexually assaulted, Texas authorities said.

The girl, identified in media reports as Maria Gonzalez, was discovered by her father when he came home from work at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 12, Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger said Tuesday.

The father is not considered a suspect in the girl’s death.

Bruegger said during a news briefing streamed by KHOU that Maria’s father left for work at 9:45 a.m. Saturday. Soon after he left, he received a text from his daughter saying an unknown person was at their front door, the police chief said.

“I told her don’t open the door because I am arriving at work, and she responded I am in my bed,” the father, Carmelo Gonzalez, told KRIV.

The girl’s aunt and uncle went to the apartment to check on Maria, but were unable to find her, according to Bruegger.

Her father found her not breathing under her bed when he got home at 3 p.m., police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Unfortunately, they left her under the bed in a plastic bag. They left my poor daughter,” Gonzalez told KRIV.

In addition to Maria being strangled and sexually assaulted, the medical examiner ruled she suffered blunt force trauma to her head and neck, KTRK reported.

Bruegger called the death a “violent, violent crime,” and said officers did not have a suspect as of Tuesday.

Gonzalez said his daughter was a “good, quiet girl,” KHOU reported. She had recently celebrated her 11th birthday.

This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 5:47 AM with the headline "Dad finds 11-year-old daughter dead under bed after returning from work, Texas cops say."