South Houston teen charged in Karen Perez's murder expected in court

SOUTH HOUSTON, TX (KTRK) -- A 15-year-old boy is expected in court, tomorrow, to face a murder charge, in the killing of a young girl.

Texas EquuSearch volunteers found the body of 15-year-old Karen Perez under a sink at an abandoned apartment on Monday night, three days after she went missing.

On Avenue N, across from South Houston High School, surveillance video shows Perez with two teenage boys at a taqueria before she went missing.

They stay about ten minutes. One of the boys is identified by Perez's mother as Karen's boyfriend. Six hours later one of the boys returns, his pants dirty and he seemed upset. He asks to borrow a phone saying there was an emergency.

Jesus Alejandro, a restaurant worker, said, "He wanted to use the phone to call his mom, but we are not sure who he called, but he said he wanted to call his mom."

But police haven't confirmed whether the boys are connected to her death. The only information investigators have given us is that they arrested a 15-year-old boy for the killing.

Alejandro said, "It really makes me sad, it makes me sad for the family, and for her, she is 15 years old, she's just starting out high school. It makes me sad that her life had to end this way."