Jocelyn Nungaray’s heartsick family heard how the young girl fought with her dying breath as migrants raped and strangled her before disposing of her body in a Houston bayou.
Jocelyn Nungaray’s body was found floating in a creek near her Houston home after she was lured under a bridge and sexually assaulted for two hours by Johan Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, last week.
While prosecutors and police both believe the young girl was raped, the alleged assailants have not yet been charged with sexual assault and the results of the victim’s rape kit are still pending.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said on Tuesday, ‘the evidence is clear that a sexual assault likely happened. But since neither defendant has actually admitted that, circumstantial evidence will have to prove it.’
Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn’s mother, pictured center, with other heartsick family members during a news conference on Monday after one of the accused, Franklin Pena appeared in court Monday
‘We are waiting on lab tests now to see if the capital murder charge can be upgraded to one where they are death penalty eligible,’ Ogg told Fox News.
If charged with the sex crimes, the prosecutor will be able to seek the death penalty in this case.
During dramatic court scenes on Tuesday, one of Jocelyn’s family members shouted ‘Murderer,’ to Rangel-Martinez, who was reported to have two children of his own, ages 5 and 2, Click2 Houston reported.
She said in Spanish: ‘I hope they kill your children,’ as the shackled suspect walked out of the Harris County courtroom.
Jocelyn, 12, was lured under a Houston bridge last week and sexually assaulted for two hours before she was strangled to death by two illegal migrants
During the court hearing, prosecutors said Martinez-Rangel had bite and scratch marks on his arm. He also had shaved his facial hair after the murder to avoid being discovered.
Assistant District Attorney Megan Long and lead prosecutor said in court that Pena Ramos told cops he reportedly tried to convince Rangel Martinez to stop, but he allegedly refused and climbed on top of Jocelyn and strangled her.
She also said that Rangel Martinez reportedly said to his accomplice that he had to ‘finish what he started,’ as he covered the young girl’s mouth.
Rangel Martinez admitted to tying Jocelyn up, and tossing her body in the bayou, but claimed he did not kill her, The New York Post reported.
On Monday, Peña Ramos also accused of killing the 12-year-old claimed he only kissed Jocelyn, and denied any wrongdoing.
Johan Jose Rangel-Martinez, 21, one of the two men accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, is led from the courtroom by deputies on Tuesday
Franklin Pena Ramos, 26, one of the two men accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, is led out of the courtroom on Monday. His bail was set for $10 million
On Tuesday, the judge set Rangel Martinez’s bail at $10 million and said he was a potential flight risk. The same conditions applied to Pena Ramos.
Jocelyn’s grief-stricken mother, Alexis appeared in court overcome with grief. She called the two men, who took her daughter from her, ‘monsters.’
‘She was amazing, I still see her face in the back of my head every day, all day,’ Alexis said. ‘I keep getting little signs about her throughout the days and it’s been a very, very hard time for me and my family,’ as per the news outlet.
‘She had such a bright future ahead of her and I knew she was gonna go very far and these monsters took that opportunity from her, from our family.’
Jocelyn’s mother Alexis hugs family members in the Harris Count courtroom
District Court Judge Josh Hill presides over a hearing for Johan Jose Rangel-Martinez, one of the two men accused of killing the preteen
Prosecutors said that the two men, lived in the same apartment complex as Nungaray, followed her to a nearby 7/11 shortly after she snuck 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 he heard her talking to two adults.
The suspects then allegedly lured Nungaray under a bridge, where they stripped her naked to the waist and sexually assaulted 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.
Deputies comforting family members in court on Tuesday during the harrowing event
She would be found by a passerby hours later, with her feet also bound and her back covered in cuts, Click 2 Houston reports.
Just two days after Nungaray’s body was found, police say Ramos cut off an ankle monitor he was fitted with when he crossed the border illegally at El Paso on May 28.
The discarded ankle monitor was found last Wednesday NewsNation reported.
He also allegedly asked his employer at a construction site for extra cash so he could skip town.
But the boss instead contacted police, and Ramos was arrested, according to the Houston Chronicle.
In court on Monday, Judge Josh Hill set Ramos’ bond at $10 million – double what prosecutors recommended and 10 times the amount sought by the defense
The grief-stricken mother called the two men who took her daughter from her ‘monsters’
The judge declared that Ramos was an ‘astronomical’ flight risk, and the chances of him returning to court with a lower bond would be ‘near zero.’
He noted that, as a new migrant to the area, Ramos had no ties to Houston.
He was released into the country after telling border patrol officials he feared for his life if he was to be sent back to Venezuela, and claimed he was going to live with a cousin in Houston, sources told The Post.
Instead, Ramos became roommates with Martinez – who also entered the country illegally on March 14 and was fitted with an ankle monitor. His was removed in May, after Border Patrol determined he had no known criminal history.
Both men are now facing capital murder charges, and could be sentenced to the death penalty if the ongoing investigation reveals evidence that Nungaray was sexually assaulted or kidnapped, District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
Martinez is due to face his own bond hearing on Tuesday, and prosecutors are once again urging the judge to set his bail at $10 million as well, according to Local 21.