Audrii Cunningham, a sweet-natured 11 year old girl from the small town of Livingston in Texas, lived with her father, Joshua Cunningham, her grandparents and other family members.
She was a friendly child who loved to sing and dance, had a soft spot for animals, particularly cats and dogs, and enjoyed reading and painting.
On February 15, 2024, Audrii left for her school bus stop around 7am as usual. It was just 10 days after her birthday.
When she failed to board her bus and didn’t show up at school, the school alerted her father. This was unusual behaviour for her.
The police issued an Amber Alert for Audrii, a notification sent to mobile phones informing the public that a child has gone missing, in the hope that more eyes on the lookout would lead to her being found. Audrii was described as 4ft 1in tall, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and dressed in black trousers, a black hoodie with white lettering, and black trainers.
A large local search began, attracting significant media attention. A $10,000 reward was offered, and Audrii’s family pleaded for her safe return, reports the Mirror.
Her picture was widely circulated. When Audrii’s Hello Kitty backpack was discovered near Lake Livingston Dam, fears escalated that she might have been kidnapped, and the race against time to find her intensified.
Everyone pitched in, including a family friend who resided on the property owned by Audrii’s family. Down on his luck.
Don Steven McDougal, a family acquaintance, had been living in a trailer at the rear of the family’s property. He had become friends with Audrii’s father and would often walk Audrii to the bus stop or give her a lift to school if she missed the bus.
McDougal had revealed to Audrii’s family that he had fallen on hard times and needed a place to stay, mentioning his past convictions for theft and possession of drugs from 2003, but stating he was keen to turn his life around. After verifying the convictions, the family consented to let him reside in their backyard, agreeing he needed a second chance.
When Audrii went missing, McDougal played a role in the search efforts by talking to the neighbours and asking for information about her whereabouts, portraying himself as a concerned friend of the family. McDougal claimed that on the day of Audrii’s disappearance, he was supposed to take her to the bus stop, but he strongly denied any involvement.
“I have done everything I can to help find her. I have done nothing wrong,” he said in a social media post. On the following day after Audrii’s vanishing, McDougal was apprehended in connection with an unrelated assault case.
Police identified him as a person of interest and started gathering further evidence to investigate the case. What Audrii’s family were unaware of was that they had a sexual predator residing in their back garden.
McDougal did have a criminal record in Texas, which matched what they’d been informed, but they were oblivious to the fact that he had also been accused of attempting to molest a child in 2007. He managed to avoid being added to the sex offenders register by striking a plea deal.
He admitted guilt to a lesser charge of enticing a child, which doesn’t necessitate registration under Texas law. The revelation that a legal loophole had prevented them from discovering the truth about McDougal left Audrii’s family horrified.
Had he harmed Audrii on her way to the bus stop?
The search for Audrii persisted, with the police utilising McDougal’s mobile phone to concentrate on areas where he’d recently been. On 20 February, five days after Audrii disappeared, search teams descended on Trinity River, 10 miles from Audrii’s home, which has a highway running above it.
The water management authorities reduced the flow from the nearby reservoir to allow the river level to drop to aid divers. Audrii’s body was discovered tied to a rock with rope, in a failed attempt to weigh her body down.
An autopsy revealed she had died from blunt force trauma. The rope used was consistent with rope found in McDougal’s vehicle.
McDougal was charged with murder. She would never return.
The local community has been left devastated following the tragic news that young Audrii was not found alive. In her memory, a candlelit vigil was held where mourners released purple balloons into the sky, honouring her favourite colour.
Her mother, Cassie Matthews, amidst tears, described her daughter as “perfection”.
In the wake of the tragedy, Audrii’s father and grandparents have faced harsh criticism online for allowing a child molester to reside on their property. Defending themselves, they stated their belief in acting with faith and claimed they had been “failed” by the system, asserting they had conducted proper checks into McDougal’s past convictions.
“Had we been aware of what we know now, this man would never have set foot on our property, much less been a part of our little girl’s life,” they said in a statement.
Last month, 43 year old McDougal, identifiable by a swastika tattoo on his left shoulder, accepted a plea deal after initially claiming innocence. He admitted to the kidnapping and murder of Audrii, which led to him receiving a life sentence without the possibility of parole or appeal.
Due to assessments revealing developmental and intellectual disabilities, the death penalty was not an option for McDougal.
During the court proceedings, Audrii’s family delivered heart-wrenching statements. Her father conveyed the profound loss felt by the family, saying, “She gave my family purpose and you stole that from me,” Philip Munsch, Audrii’s grandfather, labelled McDougal a “monster” and expressed his shock and betrayal at how someone they welcomed into their home could commit such an atrocious act.
Her grandmother, Tabitha Munsch, expressed her fury, stating: “You took away the life of our little angel. Your punishment in this life will never fit the crime,” and continued with, “Nothing will ever bring her back and that’s your fault. May you rot in hell.”
The call for justice has led to the proposal of Audrii’s Law which seeks to amend a loophole in Texas legislation by mandating that individuals convicted of luring a child be listed on the sex offenders register. The family believes that if they had been aware of McDougal’s history, Audrii might have been saved.
A portrait of Audrii and her final art project, adorned with her signature in purple and a heart, remain displayed in her school hallway as poignant reminders of her legacy.