POLK COUNTY, Texas — The man who killed an 11-year-old girl in the Houston area last year has been sentenced to life in prison.
Don Steven McDougal agreed to a plea agreement to avoid the death penalty for killing Audrii Cunningham in February 2024.
As part of the agreement, McDougal won’t be able to appeal or seek parole.
According to the Polk County District Attorney’s Office, McDougal wouldn’t have been eligible for the death penalty due to documented intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Audrii was a 5th grade Livingston ISD student. An autopsy showed the 11-year-old girl died from “homicidal violence including blunt head trauma,” according to the Harris County medical examiner’s office.
Audrii’s death
After an extensive search, Audrii’s body was found on Tuesday, Feb. 20 in the Trinity River near US-59.
Audrii’s family reported her missing nearly a week earlier when she didn’t return from school. Investigators learned she never even got on the bus that Thursday morning and didn’t attend school that day. Her disappearance prompted a statewide AMBER Alert.
RELATED: Audrii Cunningham timeline: Desperate search for missing 11-year-old comes to heartbreaking end
McDougal was identified as the main person of interest in her disappearance after he was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail late Friday night on unrelated aggravated assault charges. McDougal, who was a friend of Audrii’s family, lived in a camper behind the home where Audrii lived with her father and other family members. Authorities said he would occasionally take Audrii to the bus stop or even drive her to school if she missed the bus.
Audrii’s mom, Casey Matthews, said she immediately knew something was wrong because it wasn’t like her daughter to run away.
Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said that McDougal admitted to leaving the house Thursday morning with Audrii but wouldn’t say if she had made it to the bus stop. The sheriff said McDougal took them to certain locations during the search for Audrii, but he didn’t confess to anything.
Matthews said police began the search for Audrii at the woodline behind her dad’s house because it leads to the state park, where Audrii liked to explore the woods. She said the search then expanded to a nearby dam because McDougal, who was supposed to drop her off at her bus stop, said he went there afterward. Investigators said they found a backpack that appeared to belong to a child at the Lake Livingston Dam.
After days of searching, Audrii’s body was found in the Trinity River. The Trinity River Authority lowered water levels to help with the search. Lyons said when they found her in the river, her body was not visible to the naked eye.
Lyons said phone records, surveillance video of McDougal’s SUV and statements by McDougal himself led them to the area where they found Audrii.
KHOU 11 coverage on the case
KHOU 11 News followed this story closely. Click on the links below to see how it unfolded.
- RELATED: Person of interest identified in search for missing 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, $7K reward offered in case
- RELATED: ‘Hurting the family’ | Audrii Cunningham’s family asks for social media speculation to stop after holding vigil for missing girl
- RELATED: Person of interest lives in camper behind missing Audrii Cunningham family’s home, investigators say
- RELATED: Area of US-59 and Trinity River Bridge deemed a crime scene Tuesday in search of Audrii Cunningham
- RELATED: Here’s what we know about person of interest Don Steven McDougal in missing Audrii Cunningham case
- RELATED: Court documents reveal disturbing new evidence in death of Audrii Cunningham
- RELATED: Audrii Cunningham’s body found in Trinity River near US-59, sheriff says
- RELATED: Family friend charged with capital murder in death of missing Livingston girl Audrii Cunningham
- RELATED: ‘Had a lot of life left in her’ | Audrii Cunningham remembered at memorial in Livingston
- RELATED: Autopsy confirms how Audrii Cunningham died before she was dumped into the Trinity River
- RELATED: Polk County Sheriff’s Office explains why man accused of killing Audrii Cunningham wasn’t arrested for previous stabbing
- RELATED: ‘We are being attacked’ | Audrii Cunningham’s father’s family releases statement with hopes criticism will stop
- RELATED: Grand jury indicts ex-con on capital murder charge in kidnapping, killing of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham