NIGHTMARE FUEL

11-Year-Old Audrii Cunningham’s Cause of Death Revealed

The girl’s body was found dumped in a river in Texas after an exhaustive days-long search.

The cause of death of the 11-year-old Texas girl whose body was found in a river after she went missing days earlier on her way to school has been revealed.

Audrii Cunningham died from “homicidal violence,” the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences confirmed in a report seen by The Daily Beast.

The report adds Cunningham's cause of death included “blunt head trauma” and added the manner of death was a homicide. No further details were provided on the nature of Cunningham’s injuries.

Cunningham was reported missing on Feb. 15 by school officials who said the girl never showed up, Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said at the time. Her body was eventually discovered on Tuesday in the Trinity River.

Don Steven McDougal, who lived in a camper behind her father’s home in Livingston, a small town about an hour from Houston, was charged with capital murder one day later.

‘COULD HAVE BEEN ME’

Past Victim of Texas Girl’s Alleged Murderer Speaks Out

Josh Fiallo

McDougal had even joined the manhunt himself for a short time, authorities said, before he was seen as a suspect.

Lyons said in a press conference Monday that the 42-year-old was likely the last person to have seen Cunningham alive after he admitted leaving the house with her.

McDougal was apparently supposed to take Audrii to the bus stop the day she died, but she never made it to school.

Charging documents obtained by People claim the 11-year-old’s body was connected to a “large rock” with rope “consistent” with another length found in McDougal’s car.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Matt YoungNight Editor

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.