Mother on daughter found dead in trunk of vehicle: 'She didn't deserve for someone to take her life'

A former county sheriff's deputy has been arrested in connection with the death of a Galveston County woman who was found dead in the trunk of a vehicle, Houston-based media outlets reported.

According to Houston FOX affiliate KRIV, authorities implicate Christopher Lee Maldonado, an ex-deputy with the Galveston County Sheriff's Office (GCSO), in the death of Dickinson resident Angela Leeann Mitchell. 

The station reported that Maldonado was arrested on Friday (June 10) during a traffic stop in the Lago Mar subdivision in Texas City.

The 24-year-old decedent was found in the trunk of her own car on May 11, just days after her family reported her missing, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported.

The suspect's former employer told the station that it terminated him three years ago in response to an assault charge.

Maldonado is held in the Galveston County Jail on $200,000 for tampering with evidence, KTRK reported.

"She didn't deserve to die," the woman's mother, Georgia Mitchell, told the station. "She didn't deserve for someone to take her life. She's not a bad person."

According to Houston CBS affiliate KHOU, the elder Mitchell filed a missing person's report with the Dickinson Police Department (DPD) on May 5.

Less than a week later, authorities discovered Angela Leeann Mitchell's body.

“They just put her in her trunk," her mother said, KHOU reported. "Threw here away like she was a piece of garbage. My baby is not a piece of garbage.”

Angela Leeann Mitchell leaves four children, according to the station.

As of June 10, the station reported, the Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office (GCMEO) conducted an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

The Texas City Police Department (TCPD) is heading the investigation, KHOU reported.