Ex-boyfriend among 3 arrested after teen found dead along country road, Texas cops say

Three people are accused of murder after the body of a 16-year-old girl was found shot along a country road, Texas authorities say.

Emily Rodriguez-Avila was last seen leaving work at Niko Niko’s Greek restaurant in west Houston on Saturday, Sept. 3, according to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. Her family came to pick her up that night, but she texted them that she had already left with friends, KHOU reported on Sept. 5.

The sheriff’s office received a call about a body being found along a country road east of Plum Grove on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 4, KTRK reported at the time. Plum Grove is about 50 miles northeast of Niko Niko’s restaurant.

Deputies arrived to find Rodriguez-Avila lying on her side with a gunshot wound, still wearing her work uniform, 12 News Now reported.

The murder investigation led officers to arrest three people: 19-year-old Kevin Rivera-Ortiz, 20-year-old Joel Garcia-Martinez and 20-year-old Katherine Alvarez-Flores, the sheriff’s office said in a news release on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Rivera-Ortiz is an ex-boyfriend of the victim, KTRK, KHOU, and Click2Houston reported, citing the sheriff’s office.

All three are facing murder charges, the sheriff said. Alvarez-Flores is facing an additional charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, according to the release.

“The investigation is still on-going in an effort to determine a motive,” authorities said.

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