Texas Cheerleader Found Murdered In Her Own Bathroom

Sheriff's office. Location and emergency. Please come to my house. What's your address? Okay, what's going on? My daughter's dead. My daughter's dead. Okay, ma'am. How old is your daughter? She's 15. She's 16. Please help. Hank joined BJ's Wholesale Club the day he became a father of 30. I coach football. Now, Coach Hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices. 30 pounds of pasta, 3 cases of protein bars, 75 sports drinks. And that's just pregame. He knows teamwork, and BJ's knows savings. This is your home, Coach. Home of the Save. Join for just $20 at BJ's.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for 6 months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJ's. Home of the Save. Okay. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God, no! No! Chaos and heartbreak in the city of Edna, Texas. December 5th, 2023 started out as a wholesome night as the town gathered for their annual Christmas parade. Around 5:22 p.m., Jaclyn Medina rushes home from work to quickly change her shoes before heading back out to catch her 16-year-old daughter, Lizbeth Medina, an Edna High School junior varsity cheerleader, in the parade. Jaclyn Medina excitedly waits on the perimeter of the parade route to catch a glimpse of her beautiful daughter. But as the cheerleaders walk by, Lizbeth is not with them. Medina waits until the last float goes by, but Lizbeth never shows. Around 6.47 p.m., Edna police are called to the apartment Lizbeth shares with her mother. Where's she at? Where's she at? Where's she at? Where's she at? Where's she at? Move, move, move, move, move, move, move, move, move. Where's she at? Back here? Move, move, move. Move, move. Okay. We need you to come out here with us. I can't. I can't. That's my baby. I understand. I understand. That's my baby. We need to talk to you and find out what was going on. Medina has found her daughter in the bathtub wearing the shorts and T-shirt she usually sleeps in. She sees a small stab wound on Lizbeth's stomach. And she is stiff to the touch. Do you see that wound on her stomach? It's a stab wound. Yeah. You see any knives or anything in there? No, it's a homicide. Yeah. Detain everybody outside. Okay. It's a homicide. In handcuffs. It's okay. It's a homicide. Yeah, it's a stab wound. All right. All right. 16-year-old female, approximate stab wounds to the chest. It's a homicide at this point. When you got here, nobody was here? Nobody was here. Nobody at all? No. I walked in and I looked in her room and I was yelling her name like, Liz, where are you? And then I went in my room and I was sitting on the bed just calling their friends and calling people. And nobody could tell me. I called the coach and she said she hasn't seen her all day. And I was like, okay, well, that doesn't seem like that's her. She would have called me if she was feeling sick. She would have texted me. She hasn't called. She hasn't called or texted me all day. Her phone kept going to voicemail. And then I went into the restroom and I found her. Outside are Lizbeth's two best friends and her boyfriend, who had followed Medina home from the parade to help her look for Lizbeth. It's okay. Do you know who notified her boyfriend that something happened? He's outside, right? Yeah, the kids were out here. That's the. They're already there? Yeah, because I called them. I was like, I need to go find Liz because I can't find her. And they know where she's at at all times. They have a 360 app. So I was like, we need to go find her. And they showed up. See if he can get the boy because we don't know where the phone's at, but we can at least get a last location of the phone on that 360. Okay. An officer finds Lizbeth's boyfriend and learns he had been worried when Lizbeth didn't show up to school that day and wasn't answering his texts. He checked their shared Life360 app to track her location, but it didn't indicate that she was at home. All right. Her location's on there, too. How do you see her location? 10-17 today. It's County Road 406. Hold on. Let me talk to you. At 10-17 a.m., it shows her location on County Road 406, and it's not here. Okay. And, hey. That was at 10-17 a.m. today. He messaged her at 7-something in the morning to no response, and then he messaged her at 11-13 with no response. Okay? So she's been here for a while. So that 10-17 mark on that 360 app, we need to go try to find it. Yeah, I agree. Hoping the last location of Lizbeth's phone may lead them to her killer, officers rushed. There, a house about half a mile away. Ready? Okay. 211 SO, myself and 201 are going to be making an entry. Secure the channel. Hold all traffic. Hold all traffic until advised. Police! Police! I'm going in here. Watch. Ready? Go. Police! Police! Hold the hallway. Open the door. Police! Hey come in here come in here look at what's in the closet Okay, when you find out if that's his or what Moving out we're gonna go across straight across Watch behind you box behind that door behind you watch this watch your sticks watch your sticks clearing clearing clearing clearing clearing clearing clearing clearing clearing one more The house is for sale and empty Finding a doctor is hard enough finding the right doctor even harder Someone who takes your insurance has an available appointment when you need one and feels like someone you can actually open up to That's where ZocDoc comes in download the ZocDoc app to search and compare doctors by specialty insurance and availability Read real patient reviews find the right fit for you and book instantly because getting seen by the right doctor Matters ZocDoc ready to be seen download the ZocDoc app today This episode is brought to you by Palmolive family time isn't just the big moments It's weeknight dinners sitting around the table everyone talking all at once So when the plates are empty and the sink is full use Palmolive ultra Palmolive's most powerful formula removes up to 99.9% of grease leaving your dishes sparkling clean and the new convenient pump makes cleaning even easier so you can Spend less time tackling dishes and more time together shop now at palmolive.com There is no sign of Lizbeth's phone The Texas Rangers join the investigation working together with Edna police and the Fayette County Sheriff's Office Back at the apartment when investigators inspect Lizbeth's body They see that Lizbeth has been stabbed multiple times yet. There is little blood throughout the rest of the apartment Oh, hold on We gotta take more pictures. I got more stuff Lizbeth has a lot of stab wounds on her shirt. Her shirt's torn the hell up A lot of stab wounds And her shirt's completely torn up with stab wounds and she's wet. She's soaking wet In her left hand we also found that religious bracelet Has some sort of Catholic saint on it. The whole area in the lower bottom part of the shower curtain is covered in blood too Is she on the shower curtain? She was not on the shower curtain. The shower curtain was hanging out. It's like she got rolled into the tub There's constant smears from the top crease all the way down to where she lays To investigators it looks like the killer placed Lizbeth into the tub then turned on the shower in a possible attempt to hide evidence Hoping a neighbor heard or saw something Officers begin checking with other units in the complex and they're in luck when they head to the apartment upstairs The noise that I heard downstairs had to occur between 10:00 in the morning and noon and I want to say it was closer to 10:00 and 11:00 because I Heard in this area a very loud crash almost like I don't know if something was falling or what what the sound actually was But I assumed my very active child had knocked something over in the house. So I jumped up out of the bed Were you able to? I think so. I was able I jumped up out of the bed I ran through my house to see nothing had been disturbed in my house or my Bedroom I heard another crash in this same area when I got back into my bedroom I heard the shower in the master bedroom. I did not hear any screaming my dog as you see. He's super alert He didn't do any random barking like he hears the slightest dogs walking through he normally goes off How long would you say the shower was on maybe about? 15 no more than 20 minutes because I I then got up and showered myself before I left. And before I left to walk the dog. Tell me about your cameras. Okay, so I have a camera on my balcony facing my car. The little blue Fiat out there is my car. So it faces that way. It shows people walking by. It shows vehicles going by. Before we came? It's the entire day. I have an SD card in the camera. And you guys are welcome to it. Or I can send whatever. Could we go ahead and get that? Absolutely. And we can copy whatever and just give it back. Based on the neighbor's statement, investigators begin to form the theory that Lizbeth was killed around 10 in the morning. The time her neighbor heard loud crashes and the shower running. And by her cell phone's last known location, registered at 10.17 a.m. A follow-up conversation with Lizbeth's mother, Jacqueline. Medina gives officers their first potential suspect. When you got here, was the door locked? No, it wasn't locked. It wasn't locked because I just walked right in. Is that uncommon for it to be unlocked or do you always have it locked? I always have it locked since they robbed us. How long ago did you go? A couple weeks ago. They robbed us. They took my watch. They took it. They took my watch and stuff. I don't know. Maybe that's what they were trying to do when they came in or I don't know. I don't know if there's anything missing. I just, I was worried sick because her friends were here. Nobody has seen her. Nobody has talked to her. So that worried me because they're her best friends. When you were robbed, did you report it? Okay. How long ago was that? A couple weeks ago. Okay. Maybe three weeks ago. Do you know the people who were involved? Can you identify them? No, I don't know anybody because we weren't here. Oh, okay, okay, okay. Okay, gotcha. Yeah, we weren't here. But there was just petty s*** taken. They didn't take the TV. They took her projector. They took my watch. They took just petty s***. Okay. Could the burglars have returned for another round happening upon Elizabeth homesick from school? Two days later, on December 7th, detectives get a look at the neighbor's surveillance camera. At 10.16 a.m., the morning of Lizbeth's murder, just after Medina's upstairs neighbor remembers hearing loud crashes followed by the shower turning on, a man is seen running from the building and getting into a Ford Taurus. Investigators show the man's image to Medina, but she doesn't recognize him. They take screenshots and put them out to the media. For four days, investigators speak with Lizbeth's friends and family to figure out who might have wanted to harm Lizbeth. Leads come into Crimestoppers, but nothing pans out. On December 9th, Texas Ranger Brant Johnston attends a vigil held for Lizbeth. While there, he overhears something very interesting that stops him in his tracks. Both a friend of Lizbeth's and Lizbeth's boyfriend have just received answers to text they sent to Lizbeth's phone. Four days after she was killed, he asks both of them to come back to the station. Well, you said a couple days ago you had called her? I called her, uh, was it Tuesday night? After everything had happened? And it went straight to a voicemail. Okay. And then, uh, you haven't called her since? No, I haven't called her since. But until today, until I texted her and they said okay, and then I called her and it ran out. What time did you text? Today? Today? Um, I texted her at 6-16. And they responded back at 6-17 with okay. And what did you text her? I had said I hugged your mom today. I hugged your mom today. And would you be willing to text right now? Yeah. Um, can you say like, yeah, what's up, what are you doing? How are you doing? It'll be like, wait, you want to go to the gym? Yeah, because you're the only gym partner. It says delivered. At ZocDoc, we know you care about your health. You wouldn't do that early morning cardio if you didn't. So the fact that your annual physical is overdue just shows how hard it can be to get seen by a doctor. Sorry, that doctor's not in network. Press 1 for more options. You've reached us outside normal business hours. The next availability is in three months. But ZocDoc makes finding the right doctor easy. Download the app and search by special doctor.com. Safety, insurance, and availability. Read real patient reviews, then book instantly. ZocDoc, ready to be seen. Football is back, and PrizePix is bringing out their best offer yet. On PrizePix, you can make all the picks you want, all in the same app. And now, PrizePix is available nationwide. Lock in for kickoff, because everyone and everything is on PrizePix. What you want? Download the PrizePix app today and use code SPOTIFY to get $150 instantly in lineups. If you win your first prize, you get $150 in lineups. and search his room for that object. Yes, we would. Okay. Do you have a cell phone? No, I don't have one. Okay. Order one in one. You have that one? Yeah. Okay. It's this one? Okay, so he has this one and he has an older one that he had for a long time. Is it okay if they go in there and look for that other phone? Yes, it's okay? Okay, thank you. As one officer begins searching Romero's room, another calls Lisbeth's phone number. They hear a ring coming from Romero's brother's room. Which one is it? This one right here. Where did this phone come from? No, that's my old phone. That's your phone? Yeah, that's my old phone. How long have you had it? Almost like two years. Two years? Does it work? Yeah. So is that the phone you use, you call people with? Okay. That's just for games. That one's just for games? Yeah. Okay. Can you open it up for me? Yes. Show me it. Does it unlock? Yeah. I just found it. You just found it? Tammy regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college. That's why she shops at BJ's Wholesale Club, saving up to 25% off grocery store prices. Beef jerky, microwave meals, laundry pods, even they can't screw up. Have you met my kids? And with BJ's gas, she gets there for less. They call me the road warrior. This is your home, road warrior mom. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at BJs.com/Mosquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer, new members only. BJ's, home of the save. Download the app and search by specialty, insurance, and availability. Read real patient reviews. Then book instantly. Yeah. Where'd you find it at? My brother gave it to me. Okay. It was like one summer. What was your name? Leo. Leo? Okay, when did your brother give you that phone? Today. Today? Yeah. Okay. And so, have you been using it today? Yeah. Like, when did he give it to you today? Tonight? Early this morning? Like, maybe four. Four o'clock? Yeah. Okay. And you turned it on and started using it? Yeah. Have you been texting people? No. No? You sure? Yeah. There's a lot of texts. See? Are those people you talk to? No. No? Can I see it? Yeah. Go ahead. Okay. Just got done with the gym. All right. I miss you. Good morning. Did you send that? Okay. Yeah. Okay. Okay. See you later. Bye. Okay. Want to go to the gym? Okay. And what time did you get that phone? He said four. Okay. Yeah. Four? And your brother gave it to you? Yeah. Which brother? What? Oh, him? Yeah. He indicates Raphael in the next room. And it's not my phone number. It's not your phone number? Yeah. Okay. So, you just got this phone. It hadn't been your phone for a long time. Yeah. Right? You just got it today at four o'clock? Yeah. Okay. And you got it from your brother? Yeah. Okay. I was just making sure. Then, they ask Romero about the phone and get a different answer. Hey, Brian. Bring him back here with his sister, will you, please? Okay. Thank you. This thing? Mm-hmm. It's my brother's. Okay. It's your brother's? Yeah. You sure about that? What? Are you sure about that? It's his brother's. They're doing well? They're doing well. Okay. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Okay. That's the old phone. That's what? Like my older brother's. It's your older brother's phone? No, not his. Oh, okay. Well, he said he got it from you. And you said you got it from the other brother. So, who's lying here? Just tell me the truth. Where the phone came from? He came from the phone. Oh. Oh. He said he got it from you. Oh. Oh. Okay. So, you're saying when he cleaned up the house, he said that he found it and he gave it to me. Oh, okay. All right. So, when you were cleaning up the house, you found it? Yeah. Okay. That sounds good. All right, man. Well, we're going to give you a ride. You said you're still going down and talk to us at the police department. Okay. And maybe you can help us out with some questions we got for you. And we'll have somebody there that can speak Spanish. Sound good? The phone is not Lisbeth's, so the detectives suspect Romero took the SIM card out of her phone and put it in the phone he gave his brother. Texas Ranger Brant Johnston drives Romero back to the police station while other officers continue to search his room. The evidence begins to pile up. Detectives find dozens of pairs of women's underwear under a pillow in Romero's room and hidden in his closet. They find two journals, as well as the same sweatshirt the suspect was seen wearing. The jacket. There it is. We got the shoes, we got the sweater, maybe the pants. Let's see if that phone's anywhere here. Do you think they took out the SIM card and put it in a different phone? Yeah, I bet they did. Then they make the biggest find of all. Lisbeth's phone. That's it? That one? Yeah, I have a picture of her. Yeah, right here. At the station, Ranger Brant Johnston gets word of the discovery as he's interviewing Rafael Romero. Hey, Rafael, did something happen this week that you need to tell us about? I don't know. I don't know if I saw this this morning. I didn't see this. You sure? Nothing happened that you feel like you need to tell us about it? I'm sure there's nothing that happened. No. No? You sure? Sure. I'm going to ask you one time. Sure. You don't know that girl? Okay. That girl, that's her SIM card that you put in that phone. That girl on the phone. The SIM card that's in it. The SIM card that's in the phone. It's from her, at least. Now, I don't think you wanted anything to happen to her. He doesn't think that something bad happened to her. And I think you feel bad about it. And he thinks that you feel bad about it. I can't put words in your mouth. You got to tell us what happened. You need to tell us the truth. If you're sorry about what happened to her. You don't want anything to do with her. What happened there. Just tell us what happened. Tell us what happened. Do you have to tell us what happened? Yes. And with BJ's gas, she gets there first. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at BJ's.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Finding a doctor is hard enough. Finding the right doctor, even harder. Someone who takes your insurance, has an available appointment when you need one, and feels like someone you can actually open up to. That's where ZocDoc comes in. Download the ZocDoc app. To search and compare doctors by specialty, insurance, and availability. Find the right fit for you. And book instantly. Because getting seen by the right doctor matters. ZocDoc. Ready to be seen? Download the ZocDoc app today. Rafael. Someone saw you running from inside that house. Alguien te vio a ti corriendo de ese apartamento. Why were you inside? Porque estaba dentro de ese apartamento. Ah, si, no estaba dentro de ese apartamento. Ni una persona ha sido ahí. Ni los que estaban ahí, los que estaban quemados o algo, han sido ahí. Ni yo ni yo. He said he didn't enter any apartments. Okay, what happened to that girl? Just tell me what happened. Okay. La razón por que corrí no fue por una, si, muy fría, pero tenía un pilo de baño, pero. He said the reason why he ran is because he found the phone on top of the car, and when he got it, he just took off running. I don't think you're a bad guy, man. The only thing that makes it worse than actually doing it is to lie about it. To lie. Lie, lie, lie. When we started this off, you hadn't been to the apartment complex. Now you've been to the apartment complex. No, that's not. that's your phone. Okay, I got the phone. It's one lie after another. Somebody that's innocent doesn't lie. They tell the truth. Back at Romero's house, investigators can't believe the mountain of evidence they uncover in a vent in his room, including different devices that may be the same ones stolen from Jacqueline Medina and Lisbeth's apartment three weeks earlier, as well as many other items that appear to be stolen. They begin to worry Lisbeth is not his only victim. Buried deep in the vent is Lisbeth's wallet. When Ranger Johnston hears this back at the police station, he ramps up the pressure on Romero. Finally, he begins to talk. He said he went over there, he knocked on the door and asked where he can buy drugs. Did this girl? He says that he thought she was very pretty. He told her and wanted to get her phone number, and she said no, and he got very angry, and he's not sure what happened after that. Okay, do you remember hitting her? Did y'all fight? He says, you know, this sounds crazy. He goes, but after I got mad, I don't really remember what happened. Why did you kill her? ¿Por qué la mataste? No sé. ¿Después de que me enojé, no recuerdo? No. ¿Sí? No. You need to tell me. Okay. Hey. The por qué is the most important. Very important. Es muy importante para decir la verdad. No recuerdo, solo recuerdo que me enojé y hasta ahí. All I remember is getting angry and that's. No sé por qué lo hice. I don't know why I did it. ¿Por qué yo soy así? ¿Por qué? I'm not sure why I did it. I'm not that type of person. Mi cabeza como. Tiene un. Como. ¿Qué? ¿Qué pasó? ¿Qué? He said once he left the apartment, he got in his car and he drove about 10 miles and he just pulled over. Because he had to. He was like, "What just happened?" What do you think should happen to you? ¿Qué crees que necesita que pasar con usted? ¿Qué creo que necesita pasar conmigo? Sí. No sé. He doesn't know. If someone killed your sister, what should happen to those. them? If alguien mató tu hermana, ¿qué necesita que pasar con ellos? ¿Qué pagan? ¿Qué propiciarán? ¿Qué pagan? ¿Qué propiciarán? ¿Qué pagan? ¿Qué propiciarán? He said they need to pay, just like I need to pay. The Ranger places Rafael Gouveia Romero under arrest on murder charges. When they translate his journal, they find a list of what was taken from Jacqueline and Lizbeth's apartment on November 13th, and evidence that he liked to steal women's underwear. Some excerpts read: "I really want new thongs with a fresh odor. How I'm craving some new thongs from a slender woman. **** I was about to break a window to break into a house. Because I saw a short and tasty girl exit. The stupidest thing is my objective was not to steal things of value. But first look for underwear or dirty thongs, and afterwards see what I could find. And I have the keys to the apartment. I will return and put a camera in so I can see them naked." Three days later on December 13th, Hank joined BJ's Wholesale Club the day he became a father of 30. I coach football. Now Coach Hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices. 30 pounds a day. 3 cases of pasta. 3 cases of protein bars. 75 sports drinks. And that's just pre-game. He knows teamwork. And BJ's knows savings. Home of the Save. Join for just $20 at BJs.com/Mosquite and save 10 cents per gallon for 6 months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJ's. Home of the Save. So, the fact that your annual physical is overdue just shows how hard it can be for you. If you want to learn more about your health, visit ZocDoc.com. I'll see you next time. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. What's the best way to be to get seen by a doctor? The next availability is in 3 months. Then book instantly. ZocDoc. Ready to be seen? For 12th, they drive Romero to Lizbeth's apartment to try to jog his memory of what exactly happened that day. When they get there, he tells them they. That he had knocked on the door looking for drugs, and Lizbeth had let him in. When he asked her about the drugs, and she told him to come inside. How did she tell you to come inside?. Your hand? Okay. Did she walk backwards when you waved? When she waved?. About two, three steps. Okay. They head inside the apartment and walk him room by room, where he repeatably tells him to come inside. ZocDoc tells him to come inside. And then he tells him to come in. saves up to 25% off grocery store prices. He knows teamwork and BJ's knows savings. Home of the Save. Open soon. BJ's. Home of the Save. Steal more underwear. In September 2025, Rafael Govea Romero pleads guilty to the murder of Lisbeth Medina, as well as aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and burglary of a habitation. He receives two life sentences, plus an additional 20 years. Though Lisbeth's mother, Jacqueline, now knows who took her precious daughter from her, she may never learn why this man turned his evil eye in their direction.