A Cedar Park man has been indicted by a Williamson County grand jury in connection with the April death of a 9-year-old who was initially believed to have been accidentally electrocuted.
Family members and police told KVUE News the child touched a power line that stands about four feet above the fence around her house on April 25.
But Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said Tuesday that the investigation was expanded after a forensic examination found that Cecilia Izquierdo had been killed. During an autopsy, the medical examiner noticed the girl's throat had been cut. Forensic testing revealed she had also been raped. The Texas Rangers assisted with the investigation, and Rone Nunez, 24, was arrested in May on an unrelated charge and later named a suspect in the case.
"She was not electrocuted. There was not an electrocution," Bradley said. "The information that we received early in the investigation caused us to take another look."
The grand jury indicted Nunez on six counts: capital murder, super aggravated sexual assault of a child, murder, aggravated sexual assault of a child, aggravated kidnapping and injury to a child.
Prosecutors said they would not discuss details of the investigation until a trial happens.
Nunez, a Honduran national, was apparently living with the little girl's family when she was killed.
When the 9-year-old's body was found in April, Cedar Park investigators said the little girl had been electrocuted after touching a low hanging power line. Bradley couldn't say why Cedar Park police didn't let others know an alleged killer was still living in their neighborhood.
"The danger of early statements and jumping to conclusions and press releases in these kinds of cases you run the danger of saying something that's not accurate and misleading the public," he said.
Cedar Park Police Chief Henry Fluck says this was an ongoing investigation -- but was not clear on why the public continued to get the wrong information about Izquierdo's death.
"The initial theory by investigators did not pan out, we will certainly admit to that," Fluck said. "We're very pleased that the efforts made in this investigation resulted in an indictment. And we feel it was a very solid case against the suspect and i think that's what matters in the long run."
Super aggravated sexual assault was created through Jessica's Law in 2007 and carries a sentence of 25-99 years or life in prison. Capital murder is punishable by death or life in prison. Neither offense allows for parole.
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