Texas police arrest illegal immigrant in teen cheerleader's murder, mother 'praying for justice' for her slain child

An illegal immigrant was arrested on Saturday in connection with the murder of a teen cheerleader at Edna High School in Texas, according to police.

The Edna Police Department and the Texas Rangers arrested Rafael Govea Romero in Schulenburg, Texas. The Edna Police Department said in a statement that the arrest was done through the coordination of several agencies, including nearby police departments, Texas Rangers, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Romero was taken to the Jackson County Jail and charged with the capital murder of 16-year-old Lizbeth Medina.

The Edna Police Department noted that Romero is an "undocumented male."

"Although Romero is apprehended, we recognize Lizbeth's family and friends are grieving and will still need support from the community," Edna Police Chief Rick Boone stated.

Lizbeth Medina was found dead in her apartment on Dec. 5. Medina's dead body was discovered in a bathtub by her mother.

Jacqueline Medina, Lizbeth's mother, got worried after she hadn't heard from her for several hours.

"I decided to go look for her. And I kept calling her phone nonstop, and it would take me straight to voicemail… I called a bunch of people and nobody knew anything. It wasn't until I walked into the restroom that I was on the phone with my friend asking him to come help me look for her – is when I [saw] her foot, and it was in the bathtub. And so I opened the curtains. There she was," Medina told Fox News.

As Blaze News previously reported, "Medina says their apartment was broken into a few weeks prior to the death of her daughter, and she believes it might be related."

The distraught mother asked, “I don’t understand why. My God, why would they do this to her? She’s such a beautiful, smart, and amazing girl. There’s moments where I just can’t take it. And then there’s moments where I feel like I need to be strong for her.”

“I just want everybody to know that that was an amazing child,” Medina said. “She wasn’t a normal teenager getting in trouble for doing crazy stuff. She was very mature for her age. She was a caring and loving person who, as far as I know, and from the messages I received, she changed a lot of people’s lives. I just want everybody to remember her that way and not the way that she was taken from me.”

"I lost it. She was my world, my everything. ... Everything I do was for her," Medina said.

"It should have been a great day because she was involved in the Christmas parade. She was going to be with the cheer squad," Jacquelin noted.

Medina said her daughter was "murdered in cold blood."

She is "praying for justice" for her slain child.

"Someone dared to go in and just rip my daughter away from me, it just kills me," the grieving mother stated. "I just want answers to why they would do this to an amazing little girl who would never hurt anyone, wouldn't dare to hurt anyone."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

16-year-old Texas cheerleader found dead by mother; allegedly murdered after apartment break-inwww.youtube.com