LIVINGSTON, Texas — A Polk County grand jury has indicted an ex-con for capital murder in the February kidnapping and killing of Audrii Cunningham.
Don Steven McDougal, 42, was a friend of the 11-year-old girl's father. McDougal lived in a camper behind the family's Livingston home.
Audrii's body was recovered from the Trinity River under US-59 on Feb. 20, following an exhaustive six-day search.
An autopsy showed the little girl died from "homicidal violence including blunt head trauma," according to the Harris County medical examiner’s office.
Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said McDougal was supposed to take Audrii to the bus stop on Thursday, Feb. 15, but she never arrived and she wasn't at school that day.
The search for Audrii Cunningham
Audrii's family reported her missing when she didn't come home from school. A statewide AMBER Alert was issued.
McDougal, who was jailed on an unrelated assault charge, was questioned multiple times about Audrii's disappearance.
Investigators used cellphone records, video surveillance of McDougal's vehicle, and statements from him to narrow their search areas to three points of interest, including where Audrii was eventually found. Her wet backpack was found near Lake Livingston after McDougal told them that's where he went after taking Audrii to the bus stop.
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Don Steven McDougal's criminal history
McDougal is an ex-con with a rap sheet that dates back to 2001. He's been arrested in Harris, Montgomery and Liberty counties numerous times over the last two decades.
- In 2001, he was convicted of possession of marijuana in Liberty County.
- In 2003, he was convicted of possession of marijuana in Harris County.
- In 2003, he was convicted of possession of a dangerous drug in Liberty County.
- In 2005, he was convicted in Baytown for evading arrest or detention.
- In 2006, he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and theft by the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
- In 2006, he was convicted of assault on a public servant.
- In 2008, he was convicted of enticing a child with intent out of Brazoria County.
- In 2009, he was convicted of unauthorized use of a vehicle in Harris County.
- In 2010, he was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
- In 2014, he was convicted of theft and reckless driving by HCSO.
- In 2019, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in Liberty County.
- In 2023, he was convicted of resisting arrest.
Records show that McDougal served time in jail on numerous convictions.
During the search for Audrii, McDougal was taken into custody on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. According to court documents, he stabbed a man in the back last August. McDougal and a woman the victim knew came to his home to ask for help and claimed his car battery was dead. The victim was jumping the car when McDougal stabbed him from behind, according to court records.
After Audrii went missing, the victim recognized McDougal as his alleged attacker and contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office. They charged McDougal and locked him in jail while the search for Audrii continued.
Lyons also confirmed that McDougal has ties to the Aryan Brotherhood.