Audrii, 11, Fished From River: Nazi Sex Perv Suspect Takes Plea Deal
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.2 • 8.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 February 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
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Summary
Audrii Cunningham's body has been found along the Trinity River after water levels were lowered, allowing detectives access.
Don Steven McDougal, 42, led investigators to the location earlier in the investigation. McDougal has now been charged with capital murder.
Don Steven McDougal has been a person of interest since the first 24 hours of Audrii Cunningham's disappearance. He was arrested on an unrelated charge. In 2010, Don Steven McDougal was working in a local garage with Elic Bryan III.
Bryan says McDougal seemed like an OK guy, until one night when McDougal had too much to drink and Bryan had to kick him out of his house. McDougal left, briefly, and came back with a knife, slashing tires and trying to stab Bryan. Bryan had to get his gun to try to run a drunk McDougal off his property, but it took police with police dogs coming out to track him down and take McDougal to jail.
Don Steven McDougal admits he was supposed to take Audrii Cunningham to the bus stop but he has yet to tell investigators if she made it to the bus stop or not. Now McDougal accepts a plea deal.
Joining Nancy Grace Today:
- Elic Bryan III - Assaulted by Don Steven McDougal in 2010
- Lana Shadwick – Attorney, Former Harris County Judge and Prosecutor; Legal Analyst for Breitbart, Texas; Facebook: @TXBoots
- Caryn L. Stark – Psychologist, Renowned TV and Radio Trauma Expert and Consultant; Instagram: carynpsych/FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice
- Chris McDonough – Director at the Cold Case Foundation, Former Homicide Detective; Host of YouTube channel: “The Interview Room”
- Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth) and Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School
- Mark Klaas - Founder, Klaas Kids Foundation
- Bob Price - Associate Editor and Sr. News Contributor for Breitbart Texas; Twitter: @BobPriceBBTX /FB: Bob.Price.Texas
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. |
| 0:06.6 | The twisted murderer who kidnapped and killed an 11-year-old girl, Audrey Cunningham, takes a plea deal. |
| 0:16.0 | What happened to Audrey? |
| 0:18.0 | I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Crime Stories and on Sirius XM 111. |
| 0:26.0 | First of all, take a listen to this. |
| 0:29.4 | At this time, I sadly announced that Audrey's body was located at the Trinity River on the U.S. Highway 59. |
| 0:42.3 | As a result of today's developments, I will just continue the Amber Alert for Audrey, and I want to thank DPS, Department of Public Safety, for all their help in this alert. |
| 0:48.3 | The information that we have gathered in this criminal investigation is substantial. |
| 0:53.3 | My heart aches with this news, and I express with my deepest sympathies and condolences |
| 0:58.6 | to everyone who knew, who cared for, and loved Audrey. |
| 1:04.1 | The Sheriff's Office, we will continue to process the evidence that has been gathered |
| 1:09.1 | to ensure that the justice for Audrey. |
| 1:11.6 | And you can hear the Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons voice cracking |
| 1:16.9 | after he and his whole team volunteers, you name it, |
| 1:22.8 | tried to find Audrey alive. |
| 1:26.4 | That did not happen. Take a listen to what else, Sheriff, Byron Alliance has to say. |
| 1:31.8 | Thank you to Trinity River Authority for lowering the water levels so that the divers could reach |
| 1:36.6 | the area, could reach areas of interest. Due to the lowering, we were able to contact TRA, |
| 1:43.2 | Trinity River Authority. They slowed down the outflow from the reservoir, and it allowed the water to go down. |
| 1:50.8 | And her body was discovered there in the water. |
| 1:55.4 | But I'm not going to say whether it was Harris County or Montgomery County or Ecocerge. |
| 2:00.4 | It was a conglomeration of a lot of love and law enforcement networking together that helped discover her. |
... |
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