Two men suspected of having crossed into the United States illegally have been arrested in connection to the brutal rape and murder of a Houston teenager.
The body of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was found early Monday morning in a creek under a bridge on West Rankin Road. While the official medical examiner’s report has not yet been released, she appears to have been strangled to death, per Fox 26 Houston.
“I had dropped my husband at work, and I was going home, and I was just driving I just happened to look over. She was there. I thought it was a mannequin,” said Bilie Jean Jackson, per Click2Houston.
“How can somebody do this?” she added.
Investigators found that the victim had snuck out of her apartment the night before and gone to a nearby 7/Eleven convenience store. Her 13-year-old boyfriend was the last to speak to her at around midnight and noticed she was talking to two adults, according to Mayor John Whitmire, who spoke about the killing at a city council meeting on Tuesday.
“This is a reminder that there are violent offenders on our street and that we must do something about public safety. It must continue to be our highest priority,” Whitmire said.
While noting that the city needs additional law enforcement resources, he went on to point out that despite over 400 suspects wanted on felony offenses being arrested recently, half have already been released.
On Thursday, Mayor Whitmire appeared alongside acting Houston Chief of Police Larry Satterwhite and Houston PD homicide detectives at a press conference, providing important updates on the case.
They revealed that two suspects — 21-year-old Johan Jose Rangel Martinez and 26-year-old Franklin Jose Pena Ramos — had been arrested that morning after surveillance video and public tips had helped identify them and trace their movements to an apartment complex in the 13000 block of Northborough Drive.
Unconfirmed reports from Fox News say that the men had been caught illegally crossing the border near El Paso — Rangel Martinez in March and Pena Ramos in May — but then released, with at least the latter being given a Notice to Appear in court.
Both suspects have been charged with capital murder, providing a modicum of relief for Jocelyn’s mother, Alexis Nungaray, who is still stunned by the sudden loss of her daughter.
“It still doesn’t register, I can’t believe it’s her, it will take some sinking in,” she said, per Fox 26.
Mayor Whitmire recently reiterated his critical remarks about judges’ release of suspected violent offenders, saying, “The charges have been filed. Now we want the justice system to do its job. If there’s ever a circumstance where you do not give someone bail, this is it,” Fox 26 reported.
Dallas County has faced similar complaints, from District Attorney John Creuzot being reproached for soft-on-crime policies, such as his theft amnesty policy in 2022, to judges lowering bail amounts for suspected violent offenders.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, officer shortages in both Houston and Dallas make it difficult for the police to curb crime, further exacerbating the aforementioned issues.