POLK COUNTY, Texas — Livingston ISD is creating a scholarship to honor the life and legacy of a beloved 11-year-old student who was recently killed.
Superintendent Dr. Brent Hawkins says the Audrii Cunningham Memorial Scholarship will be included in the Green & White Scholarship Ceremony held on May 7, 2024. LISD says members of the Class of 2024 who have submitted a Green & White Scholarship application will be eligible for this scholarship.
“We will accept any donations to this scholarship fund through the Green and White Program. Audrii loved school, so what better way to honor her memory than to help a student further their education," Dr. Hawkins said.
Donations may be made to the Audrii Cunningham Memorial Scholarship by mailing funds to Green & White Scholarship Fund-Audrii Cunningham: PO Box 1297, Livingston, TX 77351
Audrii's family reported her missing when she didn't come home from school and a statewide AMBER Alert was issued. Audrii's body was recovered from the Trinity River under US-59 Tuesday following an exhaustive six-day search. Don Steven McDougal, 42, is charged with capital murder in Audrii's death and he remains in the Polk County Jail without bond.
McDougal lives in a camper behind the family's home and he was on law enforcement's radar from the beginning. Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons said McDougal was supposed to take Audrii to the bus stop on Thursday, Feb. 15, but she never arrived and she wasn't at school that day. He was questioned multiple times about Audrii's disappearance. In a news conference on Monday, Sheriff Lyons said McDougal was likely the last person to see Audrii alive and that he admitted to leaving the house with her. Investigators used cellphone records, video surveillance of McDougal's vehicle and statements from him to narrow their search areas to three points of interest, including where Audrii was eventually found. Her wet backpack was found near Lake Livingston after McDougal told them that's where he went after taking Audri to the bus stop.
During the search for Audrii, McDougal was taken into custody on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. According to court documents, McDougal stabbed a man in the back last August. McDougal and a woman the victim knew came to his home to ask for help and claimed his car battery was dead. The victim was jumping the car when McDougal stabbed him from behind, according to court records.
After Audrii went missing, the victim recognized McDougal as his alleged attacker and contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office. They charged McDougal and locked him up in jail while the search for Audrii continued. Sheriff Lyons also confirmed that McDougal has ties to the Aryan Brotherhood.
According to the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office, Audrii died from "homicidal violence including blunt head trauma."
Audrii will be laid to rest Saturday, March 2. A public visitation will take place Friday, March 1 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, located at 106 Colt Rd. in Livingston.
For more information on the scholarship, contact Lea Davis at 936-328-2100 or email ldavis@livingstonisd.com.