Left: Jocelyn Nungaray (GoFundMe). Top inset: Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, bottom inset: Franklin Jose Peña Ramos (Houston Police Department). Background: Site of Jocelyn’s death (KHOU/YouTube)
Two suspects accused of the ghastly rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Texas pointed the finger at one another as to who was responsible for the reprehensible crime, according to a newly released warrant.
Houston police last month arrested 26-year-old Franklin Jose Peña Ramos and 21-year-old Johan Jose Rangel Martinez in the death of Jocelyn Nungaray. Both are charged with capital murder of a person between the ages of 10 and 15. The men, who crossed the U.S. border from Mexico illegally, are facing the death penalty and are at the Harris County Jail with a $10 million bond and a hold from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The warrant seeks data collection from Peña and Martinez’s phones and details police interviews with the two suspects about their interaction with Nungaray, described in the warrant as “J.N.” Peña told detectives he and Martinez went to a bar at around 3 p.m. on June 16 and stayed there until about 10 p.m. They began walking home but got lost and ended up at a 7-Eleven gas station where they met Nungaray, who had sneaked out of her house, the warrant said.
Martinez asked her for directions and they began walking west with Nungaray on Rankin Road. According to the warrant, Peña said that as they walked, Martinez kissed Nungaray on the lips. As they approached a bayou, Martinez allegedly wrapped his forearm around the girl’s neck and walked her to an area under the bridge, Peña alleged. Martinez allegedly took Jocelyn’s pants off as he held her down.
“Franklin said he told Johan to stop and that they should leave, however, Johan told him ‘I have to finish what I started,”” the warrant says.
Peña alleged that Martinez then choked Nungaray to death, the warrant stated. Martinez allegedly bound her hands and feet together and then threw her into the water to get rid of any DNA evidence. Peña denied touching Nungaray, cops say. They then left the scene and Martinez shaved his beard and got rid of their clothes, according to Peña.
“Franklin stated he asked Johan why he shaved his beard and Johan told him, ‘So that they do not recognize me,’” the warrant said.
In Martinez’s interview with cops, he said Peña was “solely responsible” for the crime. Eventually, he allegedly admitted to tying the victim’s arms and legs and telling Peña to throw her body in the water to wash off DNA.
A passerby found Nungaray’s body in the water shortly before 7 a.m. on June 17. The horrific nature of the crime outraged the community and police released surveillance images of the suspects. A roommate tipped off cops of the suspects’ identities, saying that Peña had confided to him that he and Martinez “made a mistake after partying on Sunday night (6/16/2024) and had hurt someone and that the person is now dead,” the warrant said. Cops raided the apartment where they arrested Peña and Martinez.
The victim’s mother, Alexis Nungaray, addressed reporters at a press conference following the arrest of the suspects. She spoke of the strength her daughter gave her when she became pregnant as a teen. Jocelyn will be remembered for her “dorkiness and her quirkiness,” her mother said.
“She definitely made people laugh,” Nungaray said, fighting back tears. “I’m always going to remember her memories because she had such a bright future ahead of her. I knew she was going to go very far and these monsters took that opportunity from her and from our family of watching her.”
The family is devastated.
“I’m angry that they took advantage of her,” her mother previously told local CBS affiliate KHOU through tears. “She was so young. She was 12, you took my baby away, you took her away. Now, I get to let her little brother know his older sister is never coming home.”
A family friend started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help pay for funeral costs and other expenses.
“Her family was not prepared for such a loss and needed help to give her daughter the memorial she deserves, to honor her memory, and to say our last goodbyes,” the fundraiser said.
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