TX - Lizbeth Medina, 16, high school cheerleader, found dead in bedroom, murder suspect arrested - Edna, 5 Dec 2023

[Cryptic]

Burglar and murderer are 2 completely different types.
I rarely heard of burglars turned murderers.

I think you are right in the broad statistical sense. But... I think there is a third groups of criminals that can "cruise" between criminal activities:

- Primarily out to burglarize. But is also inherently aggressive against women and known to make impulsive decisions about alot of things. This includes impulsive murders.

House is empty? Then, he is a burglar. House is occupied by a male? Makes a quick "risk reward" analysis. He is willing to risk confrontations with, and willing to kill males- but.... a large reward needs to be obvious. If not, he retreats.

But.... if the house is occupied by a lone female, he does not retreat. Rather, lone females in vulnerable positions awaken his never truly dormant aggression. Little to no risk / reward analysis is needed. He does not retreat.

 

[iamshadow21]

I think you are right in the broad statistical sense. But... I think there is a third groups of criminals that can "cruise" between criminal activities:

- Primarily out to burglarize. But is also inherently aggressive against women and known to make impulsive decisions about alot of things. This includes impulsive murders.

House is empty? Then, he is a burglar. House is occupied by a male? Makes a quick "risk reward" analysis. He is willing to risk confrontations with, and willing to kill males- but.... a large reward needs to be obvious. If not, he retreats.

But.... if the house is occupied by a lone female, he does not retreat. Rather, lone females in vulnerable positions awaken his never truly dormant aggression. Little to no risk / reward analysis is needed. He does not retreat.

Richard Ramirez did both. He also abducted and sexually assaulted children and released them without killing them, despite his incredibly violent murders. Criminals, like all of us, can contain multitudes. It's so tempting to categorise and put an offender in a box, but humanity defies rigid categorisation.

MOO

 

[Trino]

Questions:
Did the killer break in, or did she open the door, not thinking?
Was she just in the bathroom, or was she raped?
Did the killer take anything?
How did he locate this particular unit?
Did he watch the mother leave, thinking she was the only occupant?
He was found 70 miles away. What was he doing in Edna, TX?

 

[Dhighsmith]

There’s a case in Georgia, Brianna Long who was shot and killed, GBI released images but suspects yet to be identified. I’m relieved this person was identified quickly.

 

[otto]

Man arrested, charged with murder, in connection with Lizbeth Medina's death

The Edna Police Department, in conjunction with the Texas Rangers, apprehended 23-year-old Rafael Govea Romero Saturday, said Edna Police Chief Rick Boone in a news release Sunday morning.

www.victoriaadvocate.com

"As of Sunday afternoon, investigators have no reason to believe Romero had a connection to Lizbeth or her family and the crime was an "isolated incident," the chief said."

Molly Tibbetts' murderer was also an undocumented alien. He also immediately confessed, then changed his story. I understand that several South American countries have a reduced sentence in exchange for a quick confession. Some undocumented aliens confess based on a faulty understanding of the Judicial correction system in the USA. Then they concoct a story to avoid conviction.

This man might have been looking to steal electronics, but he should have known that breakfast time is not the right time to expect everyone to be away. If she was found in the bathtub, or the bathroom, my impression is that she hid in the bathroom and he found her - so he wasn't just looking for electronics.

 

[otto]

At 0:40 of the video, "[Romero] was arrested last year on a burglary charge by the Schulenberg Police. In that case, Romero pled 'No Contest'."

Is it true that he is an illegal alien? If he was arrested and tried for burglary last year, why was he still in the USA? Did he sneak into the country twice, was he not expelled after the first conviction, or is he not an illegal alien?

 

[otto]

What horrible coincidence if the murderer was not the one doing the break in a few weeks ago. The same house being hit twice so close together by different people would be really bad luck. I also wonder if the first crime committed by person A and they told the murderer about whatever it was they stole and/or about who lives there and then person B (murderer) decided to hit the same house thinking it was an easy target. Still doesn't explain going from stealing items to murdering a girl.

I'm curious whether one of the doors, like the patio door, was jimmied during the first break-in.

 

[Dotta]

And I'm curious if there were other burglaries in that particular housing estate during this time.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

He's not a sophisticated criminal. But that doesn't necessarily mean he hasn't done something similar before and just wasn't caught on camera. This was a brazen murder, risking being heard and seen by neighbors. He thought he'd get away with it.

LE said they tracked him using items stolen during the first break-in. So maybe he did come back looking for the replacement items.

It's also definitely possible that he saw a photo of Lizbeth the first time and was stalking them that morning. He must have some sort of tie to that area/ neighborhood, IMO.

 

[Dotta]

LE said they tracked him using items stolen during the first break-in. So maybe he did come back looking for the replacement items.

It's also definitely possible that he saw a photo of Lizbeth the first time and was stalking them that morning. He must have some sort of tie to that area/ neighborhood, IMO.

I think he was traced using an item (girl's phone??) from the SECOND break-in turned murder.

JMO

 

[SouthAussie]

Is it true that he is an illegal alien? If he was arrested and tried for burglary last year, why was he still in the USA? Did he sneak into the country twice, was he not expelled after the first conviction, or is he not an illegal alien?

I don't think we know if he was responsible for the first break in? Lizbeth's mum thinks it is related, but it may not be. It may be that their apartment is an easy mark, depending on the position of the apartment at the complex. Which is an unknown to me.

I had a google-walk around the outside of the complex. On one lower corner apartment window I saw a sticker that could have been a security warning sticker. That apartment looked like an easy mark (to me).
I was actually looking for security cameras, then I noticed what I thought could be a security warning sticker on a window.

 

[TDoc72]

It's also definitely possible that he saw a photo of Lizbeth the first time and was stalking them that morning. He must have some sort of tie to that area/ neighborhood, IMO.

I wondered about this too—the photo thing.
~~~
I guess we’ll find out more if/when the charging docs are released.

 

[otto]

I don't think we know if he was responsible for the first break in? Lizbeth's mum thinks it is related, but it may not be. It may be that their apartment is an easy mark, depending on the position of the apartment at the complex. Which is an unknown to me.

I had a google-walk around the outside of the complex. On one lower corner apartment window I saw a sticker that could have been a security warning sticker. That apartment looked like an easy mark (to me).
I was actually looking for security cameras, then I noticed what I thought could be a security warning sticker on a window.

From photos in early videos, it looks like a ground floor apartment. We don't know whether it was the apartment with the open or closed patio door.

If one of the doors was jimmied during the first break-in, and not yet repaired, she would think that they are related. People who plan criminal activities sometimes tamper with locks and check the layout ahead of time.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I think he was traced using an item (girl's phone??) from the SECOND break-in turned murder.

JMO

I stand corrected. It does seem you are right; he was traced using an item from the 2nd break-in. (In this article her mother said only small items were taken during the first break-in.)

$2M bond for capital murder suspect accused of killing Edna cheerleader

A man was arrested and charged with the capital murder of an Edna, Texas teenage cheerleader, the Edna Police Department announced on Sunday.

www.click2houston.com

 

[Trino]

This is hard for me to believe in this case. I don't think this was 100% random as in he just decided to do this that day. He had to have seen her prior to the day he did this unless she was outside in her PJs before school and he happened to be in the area and saw her?? How would this man know a young girl was in that apartment if he didn't see her prior to this day at some point? Even if it was just him stalking her or seeing her somewhere, I think it's almost has to be that he knew of her before that day since it was so early in the morning. He didn't follow her home from school or happen to see her if it was that early right?

Unless he had zero idea she was even in the apartment at all and he was breaking in to rob them and then murdered a 16 year old on a whim in the process of robbing the house? I guess that is possible, but what threat does a young girl pose to him at that point? Just run out of the house and leave vs murdering a child.

Then I think of how far his house is from this house and wonder why in the world would he be this far away from home robbing houses at 6-7am??

I feel like he had to have known of her, this house, something before just showing up that early to rob or kill. Maybe they have no relationship connection.. no social media connections, no work, school, etc.. but I do think he saw her before or saw the mom. If he randomly chose that house to rob and just so happen to run into a teenager getting ready for school and decided to kill her I will be really surprised.

She may have done something so innocent as to give him a smile someplace, encouraging his stalking. I just think he somehow knew she was home, and she was his focus. We don't know the exact cause of death yet, but why kill if only a few things were taken?

 

[iamshadow21]

She may have done something so innocent as to give him a smile someplace, encouraging his stalking. I just think he somehow knew she was home, and she was his focus. We don't know the exact cause of death yet, but why kill if only a few things were taken?

The things taken may have been trophies, or a 'bonus' perk of the attack. There's a long storied history of offenders stealing things from a rape and/or murder to sell, pawn, or gift to their wives or girlfriends. Both Joseph DeAngelo and Richard Ramirez did it.

MOO

 

[Peppery]

I wonder just how recently Lizbeth and her mom moved into that apartment. Maybe the intended victim was a previous occupant?

 

[Rosiebones]

Texas LOVES football, perhaps he has worked in Edna, has friends/relatives in Edna and therefore has attended football games in Edna. He could easily have seen her on multiple occasions and even followed her home.

 

[vls12345]

This article says the mom doesn't think the previous burglary was connected. (This is after he was arrested.) Earlier reports said she thought it might be connected. I wonder if the articles have been correct and, if so, what changed her mind? Imo.

"Medina’s mother said their home was broken into a couple weeks ago, but she did not believe it was connected to her daughter’s death.

“They had taken just small things, things that I would call petty stuff because it wasn’t even worth anything,” said Jacqueline Medina."

$2M bond for capital murder suspect accused of killing Edna cheerleader

A man was arrested and charged with the capital murder of an Edna, Texas teenage cheerleader, the Edna Police Department announced on Sunday.

www.click2houston.com

 

[tlcya]

Person charged in Lizbeth's murder. <modsnip>

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I imagine LE is checking ring and business video in areas that Lizbeth frequented in the months leading up to the killing to see if that red pickup truck featured as his FB cover appears. Might show if she was being stalked by him prior to the murder.