Audrii Cunningham (Texas Department of Public Safety), Don Steven McDougal wearing only a blanket in jail (KTRK/screenshot)
The man charged with capital murder in the disappearance and death of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham didn’t have any clothes on when Polk County, Texas, deputies showed up at his jail cell prior to an arraignment last Wednesday, video from inside the lockup showed.
Don Steven McDougal, 42, was covered only by a blanket when deputies informed him that the justice of the peace was ready for an arraignment, as seen on video obtained by local ABC affiliate KTRK. Just moments later, McDougal cast the blanket aside and left nothing to the imagination, leading the deputy to ask the obvious: “Where’s your clothes?”
“I ain’t got no clothes,” the capital murder suspect answered. McDougal then stood up, leaving the blanket on the jailhouse floor.
“Come on, man! Don’t disrespect me like that,” the disgusted deputy reacted, repeatedly telling the defendant to cover himself with the blanket. Then the two went on a short walk towards the justice of the peace.
The video showed that McDougal, covered in tattoos, was still shirtless when the justice of the peace advised him of his rights and told him he would be held without bond in the capital murder case.
McDougal, described in reports as a friend of Audrii Cunningham’s father who lived in a trailer behind the victim’s home, was initially identified as a person of interest on Feb. 17, two days after Cunningham was last seen alive outside of her Livingston home ahead of school.
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After Audrii Cunningham never made it to school that morning and never returned home that afternoon, her family called law enforcement. Authorities said the young girl was wearing a black hoodie with black lettering, a camo backpack, black pants and black high-top tennis shoes, and was carrying a bright red, Hello Kitty-styled backpack.
Tragically, on Feb. 20, five days after her disappearance, Audrii Cunningham was found dead in the Trinity River under U.S. Highway 59, Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons announced. The sheriff revealed that cellphone location data and other evidence played a role in locating the victim’s remains.
Officials have reportedly concluded that Audrii Cunningham died from “homicidal violence including blunt head trauma.”
Watch the jailhouse video of the defendant below:
David Harris contributed to this report.
