Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Friday her decision to seek the death penalty against two men charged with the abduction, assault, and murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in June.
Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Pena, 26, both Venezuelan nationals, face capital murder charges for the June 16 abduction, sexual assault, and strangulation of Nungaray.
Her body was discovered in shallow water under a bridge in Houston’s Greenspoint area the following day. Both men remain in custody at the Harris County Jail.
“Jocelyn’s murder was as vile, brutal and senseless as any case in my tenure as district attorney,” Ogg said Friday. “And it was made worse by knowing that these two men were here illegally and, had they been held after being captured at the border, they would never have had the opportunity to murder Jocelyn and destroy her family’s future.”
