BRUTAL

Houston Teen Lured to Her Death by 3 Acquaintances

Emily Rodriguez-Avil was picked up by three people she knew, including an alleged ex-boyfriend, before she was shot and left by the side of the road in Liberty County.

A Houston teenager found slain by the side of the road after vanishing following her work shift was killed by three acquaintances, police say. Emily Rodriguez-Avil, 16, was allegedly picked up after work by ex-boyfriend Kevin Rivera-Ortiz, 19, Joel Garcia-Martinez, and Katherine Alvarez-Flores, before the trio shot her and left her body by the side of County Road 3550. Rodriguez-Avil was found in the early morning hours of Sept. 4 in neighboring Liberty County, still wearing her uniform from Niko Niko's, a Houston-area Greek restaurant. During a press conference on Friday, Houston authorities said the three confessed to the murder but offered different motives. Alvarez-Flores was initially arrested on Sept. 16 for attempting to alter or destroy a phone with evidence in it, before she ultimately admitted to her role in the murder, police said. It was her arrest that led investigators to the other two offenders. Authorities say they’re still examining the possibility of gang links to the case.