PASADENA, Texas — A man accused in the death of an 11-year-old Pasadena girl will remain behind bars for now after he was denied bond Thursday morning.
Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez, 18, is charged with capital murder in the death of Maria Gonzalez. He was arrested in Louisiana after being charged in connection with her death. He was initially named a person of interest.
Garcia-Rodriguez’s attorney said he hasn’t had much time to speak with his client but aims to provide the “best defense possible.”
Prosecutors said Garcia-Rodriguez went to police in Louisiana voluntarily and initially denied involvement. Then he changed his story to say he was involved. He admitted it was his key that was found in the Gonzalez’s apartment but that he was forced to sexually assault the 11-year-old girl because he claimed two Black men held him at gunpoint and made him do it.
Prosecutors said they believe no one else was involved.
“We’re going to get right to work,” prosecutors said following the hearing, as they begin the process to collect records, including from Garcia-Rodriguez’s home country of Guatemala which they say could take months.
His next court date is Oct. 30.
What happened to Maria Gonzalez?
Maria was sexually assaulted and strangled at her home on August 12 while her dad was at work, police said.
Police said they were called to an apartment complex on Main Street near Harris Avenue at about 3 p.m. when Maria's father, Carmelo Gonzalez, called 911. He came home from work and found his daughter's body wrapped in a trash bag and stuffed in a laundry basket that was put beneath her bed.
Carmelo Gonzalez told police he had left for work at about 9:45 a.m., leaving his daughter home alone. A little later, he got a message from his daughter saying there was someone knocking at the front door.
Carmelo Gonzalez said he sent her a message back, telling her not to open the door. She said she wouldn't and that she would stay in her bed. After that, Carmelo Gonzalez never heard from Maria again, said Pasadena Police Chief Josh Brugger.
"I called and called and called," Carmelo Gonzalez said.
Brugger said that at about 1 p.m., Carmelo Gonzalez contacted family members who stayed in the same apartment complex and asked them to check on Maria. Maria's aunt and uncle both went to look for her but said they couldn't find her inside the apartment.
Police said Carmelo Gonzalez got off work and made it home shortly after 3 p.m. That's when he found his daughter's body. He called 911 and when paramedics arrived on the scene, they provided medical aid to Maria before pronouncing her dead.
A medical examiner confirmed that Maria's cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation. It was also determined that Maria was sexually assaulted.
What led police to Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez?
According to court records, a single key led investigators to Garcia-Rodriguez.
When Carmelo Gonzalez came home and found his daughter dead, he also found a key that didn't belong to his apartment. Investigators later determined that the key belonged to a neighboring apartment unit.
Three people lived in that unit, including Garcia-Rodriguez.
Police spoke to Garcia-Rodriguez's two roommates and they told them he moved out just days after Maria was killed and when they asked for his key to the apartment, he refused to give it back, telling them that he was going to hold on to it.
The two roommates grew nervous, so they had the locks changed.
Detectives later determined that the key found in Maria's home matched the old locks.
The roommates told police they didn't really know Garcia-Rodriguez and he had only lived with them for less than a month.