A man with a swastika tattoo who was a trusted family friend has pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, whose body was discovered in a river a week after she went missing.
Don Steven McDougal, 42, accepted a plea deal for life imprisonment without the possibility of appeal or parole, the Polk County District Attorney’s Office announced on Friday. McDougal was tasked with escorting Audrii to her school bus stop on the day of her disappearance.
Instead, he murdered the young girl and tied a large rock to her body before discarding it in the Trinity River, about 10 miles from her Livingston, Texas, home. Audrii was reported missing on February 15, 2024, when she failed to return home from school. Authorities later confirmed she never boarded her bus that morning. After an extensive search, her body was found in a rural section of the Trinity River, told Law&Crime Network.
According to the medical examiner’s report, Audrii died from homicidal violence, including blunt head trauma. McDougal, who lived in a camper on the family’s property and had previously assisted with taking Audrii to school or the bus stop, was described as a friend of her father. The family, unaware of his past, allowed him into their lives.
Court records revealed that McDougal pleaded no contest in 2008 to two felony counts of enticing a child, resulting in a two-year prison sentence. However, due to a legal loophole, he was not required to register as a sex offender.
Photos of McDougal show prominent tattoos, including a swastika on his shoulder. While the charges against him could have warranted the death penalty, the District Attorney’s office stated that McDougal’s documented intellectual and developmental disabilities rendered him ineligible for such a sentence.
Authorities discovered additional evidence, including a backpack believed to belong to Audrii, near the Lake Livingston dam, a reservoir created along the Trinity River. Sheriff Byron Lyons stated that cellphone data was instrumental in identifying search locations. The local river authority also reduced the reservoir’s outflow to aid search efforts.
“My heart aches with this news,” Lyons said after Audrii’s body was recovered. Audrii lived with her father, grandparents, and other family members. The family reportedly checked the sex offender registry before trusting McDougal, unaware of his prior convictions.
The case has left the community in mourning and raised concerns about safeguards for children and potential legal reforms to close gaps in the sex offender registry system.