An 11-year-old Texas girl found dead on Saturday was wrapped in a trash bag and stuffed into a laundry basket shoved beneath her bed.
Maria Gonzalez stayed home Saturday morning when her father, Carmelo Gonzalez, went to work shortly before 10 a.m., as CrimeOnline reported. The father said he got a message from Maria not long after he’d arrived at work saying someone was knocking at the door.
Gonzalez said that he replied, telling her not to answer the door, and she said she wouldn’t. He didn’t hear from her again.
“I called and called and called,” he said, KHOU reported.
At about 1 p.m., he contacted Maria’s aunt and uncle, who lived in the same apartment complex, and asked them to check on her. They went to the apartment but couldn’t find the girl.
Pasadena Police said Carmelo Gonzalez got off work and arrived back at the apartment at about 3 p.m., finding his daughter in the laundry basket underneath her bed. He called 911, and police and paramedics arrived. Maria was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police said there was no forced entry into the apartment and nothing was stolen.
“At this point, the father’s alibi checks out, so he is, at this point, not considered a suspect in this investigation,” said Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger said. He said the father and daughter, from Guatemala, had come to Texas about four years ago and had been living at the apartment for three months. Maria’s mother is still living in Guatemala, KTRK said.
Read Related Also: The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 4, 2023
The medical examiner said that Maria died from asphyxiation from strangulation and that she had been sexually assaulted.
“Somebody had to have seen something and that’s what we’re asking for,” said Bruegger, according to KHOU. “Whoever saw something around 10 a.m. at that apartment, we’re asking them to come forward with any information they might have.”
Carmelo Gonzalez described his daughter as a quiet, good girl who’d just celebrated her 11th birthday a few weeks ago.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective M. Quintanilla at 713-475-7803 or Detective S. Mata at 713-475-7878.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Maria Gonzalez/handout]
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, ‘249856382045099’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);
