The illegal Venezuelan migrants who murdered a 12-year-old Houston girl lured her under a bridge, where they assaulted her for two hours and stripped her naked to the waist, disturbing new court documents allege. Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, allegedly bound Jocelyn Nungaray's hands behind her back during the horrific assault.
They then allegedly strangled her and discarded her body in a bayou, as detailed in a Harris County court on Monday. Her feet were also bound, and her back was covered in cuts, KPRC reported. After the murder, Pena Ramos allegedly asked his employer at a construction site for money to flee town.
Mercilessly Killed Her
Prosecutors say that the two men, who lived in the same apartment complex as Nungaray, followed Nungaray to a nearby 7/11 shortly after she sneaked out of her house on June 16 and asked her for directions.
While at the convenience store, Nungaray called her 13-year-old boyfriend, who later reported hearing her talking to two adults.
The suspects then allegedly lured Nungaray under a bridge, where they stripped her naked to the waist and raped her for two hours, according to court documents obtained by Fox 26.
Ramos and Martinez also allegedly bound Nungaray's hands behind her back during the assault, then strangled her and dumped her body in the bayou.
Her body was found by a passerby hours later, with her feet also bound and her back covered in cuts, according to Click 2 Houston.
Both men are charged with capital murder for Nungaray's death, and Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said that prosecutors have not ruled out seeking the death penalty.
Pena Ramos appeared at the Monday hearing, where the judge deemed him a flight risk and set his bond at $10 million—double what prosecutors requested and ten times the amount sought by the defense.
Rangel Martinez's bail has not yet been set.
Illegal Entry, Rape and a Murder
"Our immigration system is broken and if there was ever a case that reflected that, it's this one," Ogg said during a press conference after the hearing.
Pena Ramos illegally crossed the southern border at El Paso, Texas, on May 28, as reported by The New York Post last week. He told agents that he intended to live with his cousin in Houston and expressed fear for his safety if he were sent back to Venezuela.
He was fitted with an ankle monitor to track his location for 21 days, but Homeland Security sources said he cut it off two days after Jocelyn's body was found.
Rangel Martinez entered the country at El Paso on March 14 and was also given an ankle monitor. It was removed in May after authorities confirmed he had no known criminal history.
Jocelyn's family revealed that she sneaked out of her home the night she disappeared and met up with the suspects at some point.
Her mother, Alexis Nungaray, spoke alongside the district attorney on Monday, saying that her daughter had amazing opportunities in her future that were tragically taken away by her killers.
"She was amazing, I still see her face in the back of my head every day, all day. I keep getting little signs about her throughout the days, and it's been a very, very hard time for me and my family," Nungaray said.
