Two men have been arrested and charged with capital murder in the death of a 12-year-old girl found strangled in a Houston creek.
Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, were taken into custody Thursday, a day after they were declared persons of interest in the case of Jocelyn Nungaray.
Jocelyn had apparently snuck out of her house between 10 p.m. Sunday and midnight Monday after everyone had gone to bed, police said. Her mother discovered her missing the next day and tracked her cellphone signal to a local skate park, according to ABC affiliate KTRK.
Jocelyn was caught on surveillance footage talking to two men at a 7-Eleven convenience store within walking distance from her house, and was then seen leaving with them. She was on the phone with her boyfriend, 13, when she first encountered the men.
Police said Jocelyn and the two men walked to a bridge, where they murdered her, left her in a shallow bayou and sauntered home.
A woman en route home from driving her husband to work found the girl at around 6:15 a.m. Monday and called police, according to Fox affiliate KRIV.
“It was a horrible scene,” Acting Chief of Police Larry Satterwhite said at a press conference on Thursday announcing the arrests.
Wide circulation of their photos helped lead to the suspects’ apprehension, police said. After they were taken in, a search of the men’s apartment yielded evidence linking the two roommates to Jocelyn’s murder, police told reporters.
The Harris County Coroner ruled that Jocelyn died of strangulation.
Investigators said Thursday that results of a sexual assault exam were pending.
With News Wire Services
