TX - Maria Gonzalez, 11, father found her dead underneath a bed in their apt, strangled, SA & beaten, Pasadena, 12 Aug 2023 *Arrest*

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Maria Gonzalez was found dead on Saturday. Her father, Carmelo Gonzalez, called police to report he found her body underneath her bed, wrapped inside a garbage bag and stuffed in a laundry basket, Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger said at a press conference on Tuesday.
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Most outlets, HuffPost etal, are reporting Maria was found under her bed. The NYPost reports it was her father's bed where she was hidden.

I don't think the father could have saved his daughter even if he left work straight away. He didn't know that text about hearing a knock on the door would be the last one he'd receive from his 11yo daughter.

The Unknown Sub entered without compromising the integrity of the door so maybe they pushed their way inside to get at Maria under a ruse or as s/one speculated there was a key available but police would likely know that much by now.

This perp took the opportunity on a weekend to rape and strangle Maria so either they did not have to work on SAT and had the day off from work and if staff or a student, well, school was closed. Maybe the rape and the strangulation coincided w/one another and happened simultaneously so she suffered as little as possible which is far too much, my goodness me, this precious child.

This killer must be located and held accountable.

JMO
 
borndem said:
Maybe the perpetrator hid her under the bed to give him a bit of a head start -- maybe it was done to make dad or family members think Maria was not at home. The perp couldn't have known about Maria's call to her dad, so the perpetrator might have hoped they would go outside looking for her.
Who knoze? Just a thought, but hiding her under the bed is odd, for sure.
Glad that there are a few relatives close by -- it usually helps in terrible times.
Hoping LE will get some good clues (DNA, let's hope; fingerprints; some neighbor seeing the person go or come from the apartment; possibly seeing a vehicle come & go.

Fly high, pretty girl.
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I think it is more evidence to suggest that someone had knowledge of the household's schedule. knew she was there alone and dad at work. maybe even knew there were family members elsewhere in the building who check in on her if and when needed. Dad called relative who also resides in building to go check on her. relative goes into the apartment but does not see here, reports to dad she doesn't appear to be there. The hiding of her body did indeed buy time for the perp if that was the thought process behind hiding her.
 
Maria's silence prompted her father to call his brother and sister-in-law, who also lived in the same apartment complex. Around 1 p.m. local time, police said Gonzalez asked them to go check on his daughter.

Maria’s aunt found the apartment door shut, but unlocked. When she entered, Chief Brugger told reporters she thought things were out of place and quickly backed out of the apartment, grabbing her husband to come check the unit with her.

Maria’s aunt and uncle could not find her as they searched the apartment, however, prompting Gonzalez to then rush home from work.

“He immediately went home,” the police chief said.
Texas Girl, 11, Was Strangled to Death While Dad Was at Work and Frantically Trying to Reach Her

He noted that the father and daughter had been living in the apartment complex for about three months. The girl's mother lives in Guatemala.
[snip]
'Whoever saw something just after 10 a.m. on Saturday at that particular apartment, we're asking them to come forward with the information they might have,' said Bruegger.
Texas dad finds 11-year-old daughter strangled to death underneath bed
 
Ssschu said:
This is so horrific! She must have been so terrified. I can't imagine what her dad is going through after finding her that way.

According to this article:

1. DNA evidence was collected and sent for testing but results could take awhile.

2. LE has cleared her dad as a suspect.

3. The surveillance cameras at the apartment complex were recently knocked out by a storm so they weren't working at the time.

www.thedailybeast.com

Texas Girl Sent Eerie Texts Before Dad Found Her Dead Under Her Bed

Cops are frantically hunting for the person who raped and killed Maria Gonzalez, 11, before stuffing her in a trash bag under her bed.
www.thedailybeast.com
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That’s just awful about the surveillance cameras. Did the perpetrator know this?
 
one thing that stands out is they've only lived there for three months. So that is not a lot of time for someone to spot Maria, get familiar with the rhythm of the household, plan for their moment and then seize it.

If it was someone known to the family it would have to be someone close, either in association with Maria and/or her dad, or geographically, near neighbor, maintenance worker, etc.

I assume dad locked the door when he left that morning. So either the perp had a key or somehow convinced Maria to unlock the door even though her father had just warned her not to.

ETA unless we are all way off and the perp's original purpose in entering the apartment wasn't murder and SA. I don't find that likely though.
 
My thoughts go to Maria’s father.

It might be someone that knew she was alone. Maybe someone who knew the cameras were down? A super for the complex, or maintenance worker or handyman who had a key to the complex? Just trying to think of ideas here.

I was that little girl home alone, and understand how scary it is when someone knocks on the door. I’m so sorry little one.

JMO
 
I’m wondering if she had made a friend, leading me to think it could be a family member of the friend. Can anyone refuse to give DNA? I guess there are many undocumented from Guatemala who are fearful for other reasons who have nothing to do with this poor little girl’s murder.
 
swanniee11 said:
www.cbs19.tv

Manhunt underway after Pasadena girl found dead inside her home, police say

There are no suspects in custody. Pasadena police are asking anyone with information on this case to give them a call.
www.cbs19.tv www.cbs19.tv
SNIPPED: She just celebrated her 11th birthday a few weeks ago. Neighbors threw her a party

Wondering who was at that party. UGH!
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This screams a close connected community. Possible neighbors knew she was left alone while Dad worked and his schedule so that they could watch out for her. But with that can come information falling into the wrong hands by mistake. I hope they catch this person. They do not deserve to be walking around living their life.
 
Some burning questions:
So she txt dad that a person is at the door.
What exact time was the 1st txt?
Did she describe the person? Maybe she only heard knocking.
Why did dad not send relatives immediately???
Questions about after 10am... but nobody shows up til 1pm? 3 hours of danger?
She would open the door after being told not to? Why... relative or new person just met?
Fake badge? Uniform?

Sure seems like perp knew cameras were out of order... had to.

my 1 and 1/2 cents anyway.
 
imstilla.grandma said:
According to Bruegger, they've taken DNA samples from some people in the complex, but getting cooperation has been a challenge.
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I wonder why LE zeroed in on some people in the apartment complex for DNA testing. Do they have tips about one or more individuals or descriptions from potential witnesses or CCTV? It is not uncommon for some immigrants to be afraid to cooperate with LE due to compromised status or general distrust of LE, usually stemming from LE tactics in their native lands, so that does not surprise me. However, I don’t believe that LE would do a blanket DNA swab of individuals who lived in the complex at this point in the investigation.
 
After looking up the apartments, if it was some random person who didn't know the area I would be shocked... there is cameras in so many places.

You can see them on google maps which seems to have been taken Jan 2023.

In the Video below you can see the cameras as well. Also in the video they mention her Mother & sister live back in Guatemala. They plan on returning her remains home to give her a proper burial.

www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com

www.khou.com

Manhunt underway after Pasadena girl found dead inside her home, police say

There are no suspects in custody. Pasadena police are asking anyone with information on this case to give them a call.
www.khou.com www.khou.com


I tried to find photos of inside the apartments, but I can't seem to find any. But they look like, they are two floors? Did she maybe peek down and recognize the person?
 
SpicyFruit said:
After looking up the apartments, if it was some random person who didn't know the area I would be shocked... there is cameras in so many places.

You can see them on google maps which seems to have been taken Jan 2023.

In the Video below you can see the cameras as well. Also in the video they mention her Mother & sister live back in Guatemala. They plan on returning her remains home to give her a proper burial.

www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com

www.khou.com

Manhunt underway after Pasadena girl found dead inside her home, police say

There are no suspects in custody. Pasadena police are asking anyone with information on this case to give them a call.
www.khou.com www.khou.com


I tried to find photos of inside the apartments, but I can't seem to find any. But they look like, they are two floors? Did she maybe peek down and recognize the person?
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Here’s a bit of info about the apartment complex.
and

There is also this complex right down the street that is closer to Harris Ave.
 
Last edited:
Investigators are combing through physical and digital evidence to find out who's responsible for Maria's death. Police said there was no forced entry into the home and nothing was stolen.

Anyone who knows anything about this case is urged to call Detective M. Quintanilla at 713-475-7803 or Detective S. Mata at 713-475-7878.
Manhunt underway after Pasadena girl found dead inside her home, police say
 
OldCop said:
I wonder why LE zeroed in on some people in the apartment complex for DNA testing. Do they have tips about one or more individuals or descriptions from potential witnesses or CCTV? It is not uncommon for some immigrants to be afraid to cooperate with LE due to compromised status or general distrust of LE, usually stemming from LE tactics in their native lands, so that does not surprise me. However, I don’t believe that LE would do a blanket DNA swab of individuals who lived in the complex at this point in the investigation.
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I believe they would, mostly to see who would cooperate and who would refuse, disappear from their apartment, or flee.
 
TenaciousTBacon said:
I believe they would, mostly to see who would cooperate and who would refuse, disappear from their apartment, or flee.
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They might, but that’s usually a little further on when they have not been able to develop a suspect. A blanket swab request in a complex of immigrants is going to cause a lot of people to scatter, most of whom have nothing to do with the homicide. This causes countless hours of wasted time tracking down these people.
Right now they are looking for anyone with unexplained cuts and scratches, who didn’t show up for work either that day or Monday, or anyone who is acting strange/different. Who disappeared with no explanation?
 
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