Who Is Jocelyn Nungaray? What We Know on Killing of Texas Girl

Police in Houston, Texas, have apprehended two men in the slaying of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray.

The suspects—Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26—are both charged with capital murder in the killing of Nungaray, whose body was found in a creek in northern Houston about 6:15 a.m. Monday CDT. A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed with Newsweek on Friday that Martinez and Ramos are Venezuelan nationals who entered the country illegally.

Police said during a press briefing that surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Martinez and Ramos meeting up with Nungaray at a convenience store before the three walked to the bridge where she was killed. The girl sneaked out of her apartment the night before her death, police added.

"It was a horrible scene," acting Houston Police Department (HPD) Chief Larry Satterwhite told reporters at the briefing Thursday afternoon.

Police said that the results are still pending from a sexual assault exam on the victim. Medical examiners previously determined that Nungaray's cause of death was strangulation.

Who Are the Suspects? What We Know

HPD Lieutenant Stephen Hope said Martinez and Ramos were arrested Thursday morning in a joint effort by officers with the Houston SWAT team and the HPD's Gang, North Belt and Homicide divisions.

The suspects were found in an apartment complex at 13355 Northborough Drive, less than half a mile from where Nungaray's body was discovered near 400 West Rankin Road.

Hope said that additional evidence linking the suspects to the killing was found inside the apartment where the men resided.

"It's because of the hard work of my police officers, the teams, the media and the community at large that we were able to do this," Hope told reporters at Thursday's briefing. "And I'm very proud of everyone who was involved."

In a statement to Newsweek on Friday, the ICE spokesperson said that Martinez and Ramos "both illegally entered the U.S. without inspection, parole or admission by a U.S. immigration officer on an unknown date and at an unknown location."

Martinez was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso, Texas, on March 14 and was "released on an order of recognizance with a notice to appear" that same day. Ramos was detained by border officials on May 28, also near El Paso, and was "also released on an order of recognizance with a notice to appear the same day he was apprehended."

Several Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have reacted to reports regarding Martinez and Ramos' citizenship status, blaming the administration of President Joe Biden.

"We have a new Biden Migrant Killing - It's only going to get worse, and it's all Crooked Joe Biden's fault," Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social Thursday evening. "He's a disgrace to the Office of President, he's a disgrace to America. I look forward to seeing him at the Fake Debate on Thursday. Let him explain why he has allowed MILLIONS of people to come into our Country illegally!"

On one of Trump's last days in the White House in January 2021, the outgoing president signed an executive order shielding more than 145,000 Venezuelan migrants from facing deportation, writing that the "deteriorative condition" in Venezuela was grounds for providing the relief, reported the Associated Press.

In contrast, in October 2022, Biden invoked a Trump-era rule, Title 42, to deny Venezuelans who enter the U.S. illegally the chance to request asylum. That executive order stated that any Venezuelans who enter the U.S. "between ports of entry, without authorization, will be returned to Mexico," the news outlet added.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee who is set to face Trump in November as both men vie for reelection, has faced immense pressure from both sides of the aisle to address the spike in southern border migrant encounters over the past few years. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the increase in migration into the U.S. has also led to a rise in violent crime across the country. Studies have shown that non-U.S. citizens are less likely to commit crimes than those who are naturalized.

Texas GOP Representative Wesley Hunt, whose district includes parts of Houston's northwestern suburbs, also blamed the White House following reports of Nungaray's death.

"An absolutely heartbreaking story out of Houston," Hunt wrote to X, formerly Twitter. "12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was found strangled and r*ped in a Houston creek. Her murderers were two illegal aliens from Venezuela."

"REMINDER: Joe Biden opened this border on day one of his Presidency," the congressman continued. "REMINDER: 13 months ago we passed the Secure the Border Act which would have ended this invasion. 211 House Democrats VOTED NO."

"American children are being butchered by animals because Biden won't stop the invasion," he added. "The blood of all these innocent victims is on his hands."

Update 06/21/24, 5:19 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from ICE.