LIVINGSTON, Texas – The family of Audrii Cunningham, the slain 11-year-old Livingston girl, will testify in front of Texas state lawmakers as they push to change sex offender registry laws.
HB 2000, commonly known as Audrii’s Law, is set for a public hearing on Tuesday.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Trent Ashby (R), who represents the area where Audrii Cunningham lived in.
READ: Finding Audrii: A story of tragic loss and lasting legacy
Cunningham was 11-years-old when Don Steven McDougal kidnapped her in February 2024 and brutally murdered her.
He was close with the family and lived in a camper behind their home. Audrii’s grandparents, Philip and Tabitha Munsch, say they were trying to help McDougal start a new chapter in his life.
RELATED: KPRC 2 documentary premieres one year after Audrii Cunningham’s disappearance, murder
They knew he had a troubled past, but the grandparents say they never knew he committed sexual crimes against children.
In 2007, McDougal was accused and convicted of a sexual crime against a minor. However, he accepted a plea deal, which lowered the level of the crime.
This means he didn’t have to register as a sex offender.
“I checked the sex offender registry. I checked it. He wasn’t there,” Tabitha told KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding on Monday.
READ: Audrii Cunningham remembered one year after her death, Texas lawmakers consider bill in her honor
The law proposed to state legislators would “close the loophole” and require anybody convicted of a sexual crime to register as a sexual offender, regardless of the plea.
Philip Munsch: “Audrii’s Law is kind of like a patch in the state of Texas sex offender registry.”
Gage Goulding: “In Audrii’s name, you have the opportunity to potentially save an infinite number of children in the future.”
Philip Munsch: “It means a lot. It means that we’re helping to make sure Texas and hopefully the nation, a little bit safer for children.”
They received the call late last week that it was finally their chance to speak in front of lawmakers.
On Monday, they packed up their car and hit the road heading to Austin.
Gage Goulding: “Are you nervous at all to speak in front of the state lawmakers?”
Tabitha Munsch: “I’d be lying if I said no.”
Philip Munsch: “We want her life not to be in vain.”
Audrii’s family, including her father, will speak at the Capitol on Tuesday.
HB 2000 is still in a committee, which means it has a long way to go, including through the State Senate, before eventually reaching a final vote.
