By Katie Daviscourt – The Postmillennial
A young Houston girl, 12, was brutally killed by two alleged illegal immigrants from Venezuela. She died by strangulation and her body was found dumped in a creek earlier this week, police said.
Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, have been arrested on capital murder charges over the killing of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, according to the Houston Police Department. When pressed about reports that the two suspects are Venezuelan nationals, police declined to comment and said their legal status is still under review as of Thursday, Fox News reports.
Department of Homeland Security sources told the New York Post that Ramos illegally entered the US on May 28 through El Paso, Texas, and was quickly released by border agents. Ramos reportedly told authorities that he planned to live with his cousin in Houston before his court appearance in July.
Multiple DHS sources told Fox News that Martinez illegally entered the US through El Paso in March and was released on an unknown basis. Houston police Lt. Stephen Hope said investigators used surveillance footage to track Martinez and Ramos before and after the killing, allegedly pinning them to the crime.
Still shot of Martinez and Ramos captured on surveillance video.
The victim’s boyfriend, also 13, told investigators that he was talking to Jocelyn on the phone after she snuck out of her parent’s apartment on Sunday night. He told authorities he could hear Jocelyn talking to two men over the phone while at a convenience store.
Police said Martinez and Ramos were at a restaurant and then were spotted on surveillance video walking southbound. They were later captured on video having a meeting with Nungaray. The three chatted for several minutes then proceeded to walk southbound toward a 7-Eleven convenience store.
All three of them left the convenience store and walked to a bridge, where police later found Nungaray’s dead body. The two suspects left the bridge and walked to their apartment complex, leaving the victim’s body behind. Authorities believe Martinez and Ramos lived in the same apartment complex as Nungaray. The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Nungaray died by strangulation.
12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray
Houston Police Chief Larry J. Satterwhite told reporters that the department has reached out to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to find out Martinez’s and Ramos’s immigration status and whether or not they are legally in the US.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire unleashed on the criminals and said: “We’re gonna be watching you; the arrests have taken place, and the charges have been filed. Now, we want the justice system to do its job. If there was ever a circumstance where you do not give someone bail, this is it.”