Audrii Cunningham's killer takes plea deal putting him in prison for life

Friday, January 17, 2025 5:34PM

Grand jury indicts suspect in Audrii Cunningham's death

Audrii Cunningham's alleged killer's case has entered its next phase, as a grand jury has formally charged him with capital murder in her death.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The man responsible for killing an 11-year-old girl last year will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Don McDougal took a plea deal for the kidnapping and murder of Audrii Cunningham, the Polk County District Attorney's Office announced Friday. He accepted a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of appeal or parole.

Audrii was reported missing after not boarding her neighborhood school bus in Livingston in February 2024, sparking an intense search.

Her body was found in the Trinity River about a week after she was reported missing. The medical examiner's office said Audrii died from homicidal violence, including blunt head trauma, but officials did not provide further information.

Authorities said McDougal was a friend of Audrii's father and allowed to live in a trailer behind their home in Livingston. By the time he was named as a suspect, McDougal was already in custody on an unrelated aggravated assault with a deadly weapon change.

McDougal was charged and indicted with capital murder, and while that charge can carry the death penalty, in this case authorities say he was not eligible for a death penalty sentence under the existing law. The DA's office stated that Texas law limits the ability of a prosecutor to seek the death penalty under circumstances where a defendant has significant documented intellectual and developmental disabilities.