Two men suspected of murdering a 12-year-old girl crossed the border illegally and, according to immigration officials, were released into the country by the U.S. Border Patrol a month before the tragedy.
Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, both of Venezuela, had court records with immigration violation holds from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to NBC News.
Martinez, who crossed the border on March 14, was released from monitoring on May 15 after complying with check-ins and having no criminal history. Ramos, who crossed the border on May 28, removed his ankle monitor two days after Jocelyn Nungaray’s body was found in a Houston creek on Monday.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Houston police charged both men with capital murder in the death of Jocelyn, who was found strangled to death. Martinez and Ramos were seen on surveillance video with Jocelyn Nungaray on Sunday night, Houston Police Lt. Stephen Hope said.
Jocelyn is believed to have snuck out of her apartment Sunday night. She was reportedly on the phone with her 13-year-old boyfriend when she was overheard talking to two men.
Surveillance video from a 7-Eleven convenience store showed the two men approaching her. Investigators said they used another video to track the two men from earlier in the evening when they had dinner at a restaurant in Northborough. and then left on foot.
Police said they met Jocelyn near Kuykendahl Road and followed her to a convenience store. From the store, they walked to a bridge on West Rankin Road, where they allegedly killed her.
Both men were taken into custody Thursday morning at the Canfield Lakes apartments on Northborough Drive, where they shared an apartment.
Acting Houston Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said the two men were initially identified as persons of interest and were detained for questioning Thursday morning while detectives executed a search at the apartment. There, he said, they found evidence connecting them with Nungaray’s murder.
The exact details of Jocelyn’s death are still under investigation. A sexual assault kit has been requested by authorities, according to Fox 26.
Meanwhile, KHOU11 reports that Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced at a Friday night vigil for Jocelyn that Houston businessman Jim McIngvale would cover the funeral expenses for the girl’s family.
The funeral service will take place at Earthman’s Resthaven on I-45 at 1 p.m. on June 27. Her burial will be held after the service.
The arrests come after two other recent murder arrests, allegedly at the hands of suspects who entered the country illegally.
Rachel Morin, 37, who was found dead in a drainage ditch along Bel Air’s Ma and Pa hiking trail on August 6, was allegedly murdered by Victor Martinez Hernandez, a 23-year-old El Salvadoran who allegedly entered the country illegally.
Laken Riley, 22, was attacked and killed in February while she was out for a jog in Athens, Georgia. Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, a Venezuelan man, has been arrested and charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another.
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[Featured image: Jocelyn Nungaray/Houston PD]
