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Don Steven McDougal, 42, was charged with capital murder in the death of Audrii Cunningham, 11. Audrii’s body was found in the Trinity River near Livingston, Texas.

The accused was living in a camper in the family's backyard and is accused of killing Audrii 10 days after her birthday.

The family says he should have never been allowed near children.

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Audrii Cunningham Death

Audrii disappeared on the way to school on Feb. 15. It was reported that McDougal, would sometimes walk her to the bus stop, as he did on the day she was murdered.

McDougal has an extensive criminal history dating back twenty years. 

According to local station KJAS, McDougal was previously indicted on a charge of attempted indecency with a child in 2007.

He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of child enticement and was not required to register as a sex offender. 

McDougal was not on the sex offender registry. And his status wasn’t disclosed due to legal loopholes. This left Audrii's family unaware of the danger lurking on their property.

The Family issues a Statement

The family’s statement addresses the criticisms leveled against them for allowing McDougal, a convict and acquaintance of Audrii's father, to live on their property.

Captain Philip Munsch, Audrii's grandfather, spoke on behalf of the grieving family, offering a poignant tribute to his granddaughter's memory. 

Describing Audrii as charismatic, beautiful, and full of promise, he shared her dreams of becoming a veterinarian or animal trainer—a future tragically cut short by McDougal's heinous actions.

 Speaking to local Texas news outlets, the family claims there is a failure within the system. And says if they been aware of McDougal's true history, he would have never been permitted near Audrii or their family.

The family's full statement:

One week ago on Thursday, the 15th of February 2024 Audrii Danielle Cunningham was lured under false pretenses, which led to a senseless act of violence occurring and ultimately to her death. Tragically, Audrii's death occurred at the hands of a monster we thought was a friend, only 10 days after Audrii’s 11th birthday.

Audrii Cunningham was a charismatic, beautiful, talented, and kind young lady. She loved singing, dancing, reading, and painting, she was even learning the skills of a tattoo artist. Most of all, caring for and playing with animals was her passion; Audrii's aspirations were to become a veterinarian or an animal trainer. Every day Audrii was out caring for our pets and walking our dogs, she would even walk the dogs of neighbors in the subdivision. She touched so many lives and filled them with joy and happiness that was infectious. She had so much energy and brought a passion to everything she did. Audrii will be missed by a great many people.

The Munsch and Cunningham families are devastated and grieving for what happened to our little ray of sunshine, Audrii. We are being attacked and criticized on social media platforms for showing compassion and mercy to this formerly incarcerated person, but our interactions with this person were a result of our faith, which teaches us to give our fellow man a second chance.

Unfortunately, the system failed us due to a loophole in the sex offender registration system. Don Steven McDougal had a history of disrespect for young female children, but it did not show up when we checked the registry before allowing him to stay in an old camper in our back yard while he tried to start a new life. Had we been aware of what we know now, this man would never have set foot on our property, much less been a part of our little girl’s life.

We wish to acknowledge and thank the Polk County Sherriff’s Office, the Livingston Police Department, the Texas State Troopers, the Texas Rangers, the Texas State Guard, the Trinity River Authority, the FBI and nearby County Sherriff Departments and well as thousands of volunteers, our local VFW Post, and the public for helping to search for and ultimately find the body of Audrii. We also wish to thank the non-profit organization Texas EquuSearch for their tireless efforts that ultimately led to the discovery of, and recovery of Audrii's body from the waters of the Trinity River. This was a hard-working multi-jurisdictional effort that spent long hours in order to bring our angel Audrii home to us and bring this monster to justice.

We also wish to acknowledge and thank the members of the press who helped spread the word when the Amber Alert went out, and quickly pulled our community together with the common goal of bringing our little girl back home safe and sound. This coverage was considered invaluable to help focus attention and gather valuable leads that helped the search efforts. We were advised not to speak with the press during this time as it may have impeded the search for Audrii or shifted the focus from finding her.

Audrii Danielle Cunningham will be missed, but hopefully not forgotten as we would like to ask Legislators and Law Enforcement both locally and in Washington, DC to look at the loophole that prevented us from knowing what Don McDougal was, a convicted sex offender. The sex offender registry is a valuable tool that parents and grandparents everywhere use to keep their children safe from these violent predators. This failing of the system is a crime that we cannot allow to go overlooked.

There will be a memorial ceremony for the repose of the soul of Audrii Danielle Cunningham at the First Baptist Church in Livingston, TX on Friday, the 1st of March 2024 between the hours of 5 PM to 8 PM, and the public who helped in this effort are invited to attend. Please wear purple which was Audrii’s favorite color. A private funeral ceremony will be held the next day for close friends and family only. Please respect us in our time of grieving as we lay our precious little Angel to rest.