LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas — Three people were arrested and charged with murder in connection to the Liberty County teen who was found dead on the side of the road earlier this month.
The Liberty County Sheriff's Office identified the three people charged as Kevin Rivera-Ortiz, 19, Katherine Alvarez-Flores, 20, and Joel Garcia Martinez, 20. Rivera-Ortiz is her ex-boyfriend, according to investigators
In addition to the murder charge, Alvarez-Flores also faces a tampering charge.
Alvarez-Flores was arrested a few days ago while Rivera-Ortiz and Garcia-Martinez were arrested Tuesday in Houston, one in southwest Houston and the other at his place of employment. Gang units from the Houston Police Department and Homeland Security were involved in the arrests.
All three were taken to the Liberty County Jail.
Emily Rodriguez-Avila was found dead on Sept. 4, the day after she texted her family and said friends were giving her a ride after work. Her body was found dumped on the side of a rural road east of Plum Grove in Liberty County, which is roughly an hour away from her job at Niko Niko's.
She was still wearing her work uniform.
Niko Niko's held a fundraiser for Rodriguez-Avila on Wednesday to help her family with funeral costs.
The goal was to raise enough money for the family to bury the teen in Honduras, where she was born.
The investigation into this murder is still ongoing as investigators try to figure out the motive.
Reporter Grace White is following this story and will have an update on KHOU 11 News at 10 p.m.
Hard worker and friend
Not much has been shared about Rodriguez-Avila but some of her friends said she had been in the United States for 10 years. They said she was a hard worker and wasn't going to school.
She was living and working in Houston at the Niko Niko's restaurant and a McDonald's on Gessner Road near Westview Drive.
Friends made a memorial for her by marking a spot for a cross where her body was found.