Texas teen found stabbed in bathtub likely stalked by illegal immigrant suspect who texted her friends: police

 "More than anything, I want something good to come out of this tragedy. I want to find a way that we can make better laws because, as you know, this person should not have been here, " Lizbeth's mother, Jacqueline Medina, told Fox News Digital. "If protocols had been followed, perhaps she shouldn't have been in the country. So, I definitely want something good to happen in my daughter's name. No matter how long it takes."

Lizbeth was Jacqueline's only daughter and her only "mission in life". Now, she says, her mission is to "get justice."

"I want to prevent this from happening to any other child. Our children need to be safe in our communities," she said. "There should be no reason why children should be afraid of people coming around — strangers, that is — and following them."

Rafael Govea Romero, 23, has been charged with murder and is being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after Medina, a cheerleader at Edna High School, was found in a bathtub "with blood all over the sides of it and what was visible." He suffered a stab wound to the upper abdomen, according to a police affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.

Edna police wrote, "While processing the scene, it was discovered that Lizbeth had multiple stab wounds, and that her clothes were wet, leading us to believe that Lizbeth's murder was a felony murder (murder) and murder. After his body was washed." In the affidavit.

Police also determined that Lizabeth's apartment had been burglarized on November 13, approximately a month before the teen's murder.

Jacqueline said that they had not had a relationship before. She and Lizbeth had noticed small things going missing from their apartment for some time. On November 13, he reported missing luggage to the police as some larger items had gone missing.

Jacqueline said, "When this person was caught and [police] found specific things that were missing, that's when I knew it was connected."

Authorities also indicated a connection between the theft and the murder in the affidavit.

"I believe the theft on 11/13/2023 may be connected to a murder suspect," an Edna officer wrote. "I believe the suspect in this murder was at large and a present danger to the community. I was particularly concerned that the individual being considered a murder suspect was sending messages to other high school students Which led me to believe the suspect was targeting students.

“Further, I believe the public was in danger due to the stalking-like behavior displayed by the suspect through a possible connection to the theft on 11/13/2023 and driving through the apartment complex on 12/4/2023 "

Jacqueline said the stalking behavior is "the scariest part" of the tragedy that has changed her life forever since December 5.

"I can't even imagine how someone is capable of doing such things," she said. "I didn't understand how a stranger could stalk someone. You know what I mean? I didn't think it was real. I've seen it in movies, but I never thought it was real. , and it's scary for me. I have panic attacks."

Edna officials hinted that Romero may have stolen Lizbeth's phone after the murder. Lizbeth's boyfriend used his smartphone on the day of her murder to track the 16-year-old girl's location to an area about half a mile from her apartment. The next day, Lizbeth's cousin noticed that her Snapchat sent to the victim had been opened, indicating that someone had been using her phone after her death.

Additionally, Lizbeth's boyfriend and friend received text replies from her number on December 9, which was the day of Lizbeth's monitoring.

“So people understand how sick this man is, Saturday, the day of my daughter's vigil — which, for me, was magical because I know she was there and everyone there felt her — a few minutes of vigil. Later, a friend of hers messaged Jacqueline, saying, "My daughter's calling and I wanted to say something beautiful to her. And this person responded."

The friend told Lizbeth's boyfriend, who then messaged Lizbeth's phone himself and got a reply.

"At that time, he called me and said, 'Jackie, someone is answering Elizabeth's phone.' My heart sank. I said, 'It's him. It must be him.'"

Within an hour of reporting suspicious phone activity to Edna police, officers were able to track the geolocation of the suspect's phone to Lizbeth's in Schulenburg, Texas, about an hour's drive from Edna, where they arrested Romero. .

Jacqueline said, "I'm very grateful to the police department. There were a lot of people involved and I'm also grateful to the community who helped. But it was the quick action of the police department." "They got an emergency disclosure of the geolocation of that phone and were able to track this person down."

The suspect's bail was set at $2 million following his arrest.

Jacqueline said that she wants to keep her daughter's memories alive and put an end to rumors about herself and her daughter.

“A lot of lies are being spread in the media,” the grieving mother said. "And I don't care at this point if they talk about me. I just want to keep my daughter's memory alive. ... She's not here to defend herself. She's not here to say , 'I didn't know this person. This person was a stranger.' And for these people to be heartless and speaking in my daughter's name, it's disgusting."

He previously described his daughter as "a wonderful, good girl". She was "very mature" and cared deeply for her friends and family.

"I just want everyone to know what an amazing kid he was," Jacqueline said. "She was not a normal teenager who was getting into trouble by doing crazy things. She was very mature for her age. She was a caring and loving person, as far as I know and from the messages I received "She's changed a lot of people's lives. I just want everyone to remember her that way, not the way she was taken away from me."

The Medina family has created a GoFundMe in their efforts to find Liz's suspected killer, titled "Justice for Lizbeth Medina."