2 Men who were accused of killing a 12-year-old girl were caught by Border Patrol and let into the US weeks before the murder
A 12-year-old girl’s body was found this week murdered in a creek in north Houston. Two men have been arrested in connection with her death.
Martinez-Rangel, who is 22 years old, and Pena, who is 26 years old, have both been charged with capital murder.
Before the murder, the U.S. Border Patrol had arrested and released two men from Venezuela who were thought to be illegal immigrants. On Friday, after hearing about the arrest, ICE made a statement saying that the men were both illegal immigrants from Venezuela.
“Martinez and Pena both came into the U.S. illegally without being inspected, getting parole, or being allowed in by a U.S. immigration officer on an unknown date and in an unknown place.” Martinez was caught by the U.S. Border Patrol on March 14 near El Paso, Texas. He was freed on his own recognizance with a warning to appear the same day. It was May 28 when the U.S. Border Patrol caught Pena near El Paso. On top of that, he was given a promise to appear in court the same day he was arrested, which was part of the ICE statement.
What took place?
On June 17, Martinez-Rangel and Pena were charged with killing Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, and dumping her body in a creek.
Thanks to security video, police were able to figure out a lot about the suspects and where they were on the day of the murder.
Martinez-Rangel and Pena were first seen at a restaurant on Northborough Drive, which is close to where they lived at Canfield Lake Apartments.
Investigators say that shortly after, the two men met up with Jocelyn on Kuykendahl Road and continued to the 7-Eleven on Rankin and Kuykendahl, where more camera footage caught the three of them together.
Investigators say the group stayed at the convenience store for a short time before leaving and going to a bridge, where they think the girl was killed.
Martinez-Rangel and Pena are said to have brought Jocelyn to the bridge, where they killed her, took off her pants, tied her up, and threw her body into the creek. They did this for more than two hours. Police say the suspects then walked back to their apartment.
It’s not clear why the suspects killed the girl, but when they arrested the two men on Thursday to question them, police said they found evidence in their apartment that was connected to Jocelyn’s death.