One of two illegal Venezuelan migrants charged with the murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray appeared in court Monday as gruesome new details of her death emerged.
Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, wore a yellow jumpsuit, his hands handcuffed in front of him as he faced capital murder charges for the girl’s death.
He and his roommate, Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21 — another Venezuelan migrant — are accused of raping and killing the preteen and dumping her body in a Houston bayou.
“Our immigration system is broken, and if ever there was a case that reflects that, this is it,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said at a conference press release after the bail hearing on Monday.
Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, appeared in court Monday for a bond hearing.
He, right, and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, left, face murder charges in the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray.
Prosecutors say the two men, who lived in the same apartment complex as Nungaray, followed her to a nearby 9/11 shortly after she sneaked out of her house on June 16, and he asked 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 sexually assaulted her for two hours, according to court documents obtained by Fox 26.
Ramos and Martinez also allegedly tied Nungaray’s hands behind her back during the assault, then strangled her and dumped her body in the bayou.
She would be found by a passerby a few hours later, her feet also tied and her back covered in cuts, reports Click 2 Houston.
Ramos and Martinez allegedly assaulted Nungaray (pictured) for two hours before strangling her and disposing of her body.
Ramos later admitted to police that he had kissed Jocelyn that night, but blamed other parts of the assault and her death on his roommate, Deputy Harris County Prosecutor Megan Long said. before the tribunal.
She and other prosecutors now say Rangel grabbed Jocelyn around the neck, got on top of her and put his hands over her mouth in an apparent effort to stop her from screaming.
Martinez reportedly shaved his beard to avoid detection later, and just two days after Nungaray’s body was found, police said Ramos cut off an ankle monitor fitted to him when he crossed illegally the border in El Paso on May 28.
The abandoned ankle monitor was found last Wednesday, NewsNation reported.
He also allegedly demanded extra money from his employer at a construction site so he could leave town.
But the boss instead contacted police and Ramos was arrested, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Ramos was arrested after allegedly asking his boss for more money so he could leave town
Martinez, another Venezuelan migrant, faces his own bond hearing Tuesday.
In court Monday, Judge Josh Hill set Ramos’ bail at $10 million, double what prosecutors recommended and 10 times the amount requested by the defense.
The judge said Ramos posed an “astronomical” flight risk and the chances of him returning to court on a lower bond would be “close to 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 agents he feared for his life if he were 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 the Border Patrol determined he had no known criminal history.
Both men now face capital murder charges and could face the death penalty if the ongoing investigation uncovers evidence that Nungaray was sexually assaulted or kidnapped, District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
Martinez faces his own bond hearing Tuesday, and prosecutors are once again urging the judge to also set his bond at $10 million, according to Local 21.
Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn’s mother, called the suspects ‘monsters’
The Nungaray family are pictured comforting each other during Monday’s hearing.
Nungaray’s mother, Alexis, called the accused killers “monsters” who took away her daughter’s future.
“She was amazing, I still see her face in the back of my head every day, all day,” Alexis said of her child during a news conference after the bond hearing Monday.
“I continue to receive little signs about him throughout the day, and this has been a very, very difficult time for me and my family.
“She had such a bright future ahead of her, and I knew she would go very far, and these monsters took that opportunity away from her and our family,” she said.
dailymail us
