Court records and public announcements

Texas DA Seeks Death Penalty for Venezuelan Nationals Accused of 12-Year-Old's Murder in June

Dec 13, 2024, 03:01 PM

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has announced that her office will seek the death penalty against Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Pena, two Venezuelan nationals accused of the kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in June. The suspects allegedly lured Jocelyn to a bridge in Texas, where they spent over two hours with her, sexually assaulted her, tied her up, strangled her, and then dumped her body in a creek. Martinez-Rangel and Pena were indicted on capital murder charges in September and are currently detained in Harris County Jail. Both men had illegally crossed into the United States from Mexico earlier in the year and were released on their promise to appear in court by Border Patrol agents. At least one of the defendants was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the murder. The decision to seek the death penalty was made after consultations with Jocelyn's parents, who support the move. Ogg emphasized the severity of the crime and the strength of the evidence in her decision to pursue the ultimate sentence.