One of two illegal Venezuelan migrants accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray appeared in court Monday as gruesome new details emerged about her death.
Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, wore a yellow jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him as he was charged with murder in the girl’s death.
He and his roommate, Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21 – another Venezuelan migrant – are accused of raping and murdering the young teen, and disposing of her body in a Houston bayou.
“Our immigration system is broken, and if there was ever a case that shows that, it’s this one,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said at a news conference after Monday’s bail hearing.
Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, appeared in court Monday for a bond hearing
He, right, and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, left, are charged with murder 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 7/11 shortly after she snuck out of her home on June 16 and asked her 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 to her 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 attack, then strangled her and dumped her body in the bayou.
Hours later, she would be found by a passerby, with her feet also tied up and her back covered in cuts. Click on 2 Houston Reports.
Ramos and Martinez allegedly attacked Nungaray (pictured) for two hours before strangling her and throwing her body away
Ramos later admitted to police that he had kissed Jocelyn that night, but blamed his roommate for other parts of the attack and her death, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Megan Long said in court.
She and other accusers now allege that Rangel grabbed Jocelyn around the neck, sat on top of her and put his hands over her mouth in an apparent attempt to stop her from screaming.
Martinez reportedly shaved his beard to avoid detection in the aftermath, and just two days after Nungaray’s body was found, police say Ramos cut off an ankle bracelet he was wearing when he illegally crossed the border at El Paso on May 28 .
The discarded ankle monitor was found last Wednesday NewsNation reported.
He is also said to have asked his employer at a construction site for extra money so he could skip town.
But the boss contacted the police instead and Ramos was arrested. according to the Houston Chronicle.
Ramos was arrested after allegedly asking his boss for more money so he could skip town
Martinez, another Venezuelan migrant, will hold his own bond hearing on Tuesday
In court Monday, Judge Josh Hill set Ramos’ bond at $10 million — double what prosecutors recommended and 10 times the amount sought by the defense.
The judge stated that Ramos posed an “astronomical” flight risk, and that the chances of him returning to court on a lower bond would be “almost 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 guards he feared for his life if he were sent back to Venezuela, claiming he was going to live with a cousin in Houston, sources said. The mail.
Instead, Ramos became roommates with Martinez, who also entered the country illegally on March 14 and was fitted with an ankle monitor. He was removed in May after Border Patrol determined he had no known criminal history.
Both men are now charged with murder and could face the death penalty if the ongoing investigation reveals that Nungaray was sexually assaulted or kidnapped, District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
Martinez will face his own bond hearing on Tuesday, and prosecutors are once again urging the judge to set his bail at $10 million as well. according to Local 21.
Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn’s mother, labeled the suspects as ‘monsters’
The Nungaray family are pictured comforting each other during Monday’s hearing
Nungaray’s mother, Alexis, has branded the accused killers as “monsters” who took away her daughter’s future.
“She was amazing, I still see her face in the back of my mind every day, all day,” Alexis said of her child at a news conference after Monday’s bond hearing.
‘I’ve been getting little signals about her all day, and it’s 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 those monsters took advantage of that opportunity from her, from our family,” she said.