Disturbing new details have surfaced in the investigation into the murder of a 12-year-old girl, who was found strangled in a creek shortly after sneaking out of her home. Jocelyn Nungaray's body was found in a creek close to her Houston, Texas home on Monday after she left her home at 10 pm.
It has since been revealed that the young girl visited a nearby convenience store, where authorities suspect she was approached by two unidentified men. Jocelyn called her 13-year-old boyfriend from the convenience store around midnight, and he later told authorities that he overheard her speaking with two adults, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said at a press briefing.
Missing and Now Found Dead
"There will be a report issued shortly, with very bad, horrific circumstances," he pledged - before revealing that the young girl was raped, according to KHOU.
Her mourning mother, Alexis Nungary, is now grappling with coming to terms with what had occurred. "It's like it's not real," she told Click2Houston. "I keep hearing everything, and everybody tell me everything, and I hear it and it's not registering."
Around 10 pm on Sunday night, she recalls telling her daughter not to stay up too late, as she would be joining her at work the next day. Little did she know, those would be the final words she ever spoke to her daughter.
By 3 am on Monday, Alexis noticed Jocelyn's cat was acting unusually agitated but assumed the cat was with her daughter, who always slept with her pet at night.
It wasn't until she woke up at 6 am and began her usual routine of waking up her five-year-old son and Jocelyn that she realized her daughter was missing.
She searched frantically around the house and walked around their apartment complex in search of her daughter. Alexis then got into her car and used her daughter's cellphone to try to locate her.
The phone's signal led her to a creek where police were already conducting an investigation.
Raped and Murdered
Earlier that morning, Billie Jackson was driving home after dropping her husband off at work when she discovered Jocelyn's body in a shallow creek. "I drove past, and when I looked up the creek, I thought it was a mannequin," Jackson told ABC 13.
"I did a U-turn, and I stopped on the bridge, put my flashers on, looked down and realized it was someone. I parked right here and called 911," she said.
Alexis now seeks justice for her young daughter. She said that she does not recognize the two men Jocelyn was seen with at the convenience store, whom the Houston Police Department has labeled as 'persons of interest in the case.'
However, Alexis suspects they either live in the apartment complex or walked to the store from a nearby state park.
"I want karma to hit them, I'm angry," Alexis told Click2Houston. "They took advantage of her. She's so young, she's 12. I want justice," she said.
"I want whoever has seen them to please call police. They took my baby away."
Alexis also mentioned that she is unsure why Jocelyn sneaked out of the house, although she acknowledged that her daughter had been dealing with mental health challenges in recent months.
