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Two Illegal Aliens Arrested in Connection With Murder of 12-Year-Old Girl in Texas

Madeline Leesman
Madeline Leesman  |  June 21, 2024 9:45 AM

Two illegal aliens from Venezuela have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 12-year-old girl in Houston, Texas.

The victim, Jocelyn Nungaray, was found strangled to death in a creek earlier this week. 

Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, were charged Thursday with capital murder. According to several reports, the illegal immigrant suspects were recently caught by Border Patrol and released into the United States. 

According to the New York Post, sources from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that Pena Ramos crossed the border into El Paso on May 28. He was released into the country soon after and told authorities he planned to live with his cousin in Houston until his court date. 

Reportedly, agents placed a GPS tracker on Pena Ramos, which only monitored him for 21 days.

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Martinez Rangel, on the other hand, also crossed the border at El Paso back in March. He was released into the U.S. with a court date in August. His GPS tracker was removed in May. 

The two illegal aliens were identified from surveillance footage, where they were stalking the 12-year-old (via NYP):

Investigators identified the suspects from surveillance footage, after they were seen following Jocelyn as she walked into a local convenience store.

Her body was found in a swampy creek on Monday by a Houston resident who happened to be driving by. She told KTRK-TV she thought the girl was a floating mannequin at first.

“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 immediately,” she said.

The two migrants were arrested at a local apartment complex, where they had been living as roommates, cops said.

Alexis Nungaray, the victim’s mother, told reporters that her daughter sneaked out of their apartment on Sunday. 

“I’m like angry that they took advantage of her. She was so young. She was 12, you took my baby away, you took her away. Now, I get to let her little brother know his older sister is never coming home,” she said.

“She turned into a beautiful, beautiful young lady,” Alexis Nungaray added. “I was really looking forward to seeing how she was gonna be and they took every opportunity away from me and my family.”

Multiple outlets noted that authorities in Houston are investigating whether the 12-year-old was sexually assaulted.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) reacted to the news on X. 

“Kill kids in Texas; you get the death penalty,” he wrote. “That little girl would be alive today if Biden enforced immigration laws at the border.”

This week alone, Townhall has covered two other high-profile cases where an illegal immigrant was arrested. In one case, an illegal alien was arrested in connection with the murder of a mother-of-five in Maryland. The mother, Rachel Morin, 37, was last seen on August 5. She was reported missing after going for a hike. The following day, her body was discovered.

In another incident, an illegal immigrant from Ecuador was arrested in connection with the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl New York City. The suspect, Christian Geovanny Inga-Land, attacked the child in broad daylight at a park and admitted that he filmed the ordeal as he became more “comfortable” during it.