Police in Houston, Texas, found the body of Jocelyn Nungaray, inset, early June 17. On Thursday, cops arrested Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, top, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos. (Jocelyn: GoFundMe; Mugshots: Houston police; Screenshot: KHOU/YouTube)
Prosecutors in Texas on Monday said two men lured a 12-year-old girl to a bridge where they stripped off her pants and bound her for two hours before strangling her and leaving her body in a shallow creek.
Houston police last week 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 person between the age of 10 and 15. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said at a press conference that investigators are still trying to determine whether Peña Ramos and Martinez kidnapped and/or sexually assaulted Jocelyn, which would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty against the men.
“Make no mistake this is a horrific crime,” Ogg said.
Jocelyn’s mother, Alexis Nungaray, also addressed reporters. She thanked the public for its support in a case that has garnered national interest. Nungaray 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.”
A judge set Peña Ramos’ bond at $10 million. Prosecutors say he arrived in the Houston area in mid-May. Martinez’s bond is slated to be set on Tuesday. Both men are reportedly undocumented immigrants from Venezuela.
“Our immigration system is broken and if there’s ever a case that reflected that, it’s this one,” said Ogg.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the investigation began around 6:15 a.m. June 17 when cops discovered Jocelyn’s body in a bayou near 400 West Rankin Road. An autopsy determined she had been strangled. Houston Mayor John Whitmire told reporters last week she had also been raped, but investigators are still trying to confirm that detail. The heinous crime set off a fervent search for the person or persons responsible.
Detectives learned through interviews and surveillance videos that Jocelyn had sneaked out of her apartment late June 16 to go hang out with her 13-year-old boyfriend. Prosecutors say the suspects asked Jocelyn for directions at a 7-Eleven and later took her to the bridge on Rankin Road where they murdered her.
After releasing surveillance images to the public, investigators identified Peña Ramos and Martinez as the suspects. SWAT teams arrested the men at their apartment on Thursday morning, cops said.
“As the mayor, as a grandfather and a father, it doesn’t get any worse,” Whitmire told reporters at a Thursday press conference.
Jocelyn’s 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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