Two illegal immigrants charged with capital murder in death of 12-year-old Houston girl

Two men who entered the country illegally were charged with capital murder on Friday, in the death of a 12-year-old girl in Houston earlier this week.

12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was seen on video recordings talking to the two migrants, Houston police said. There is also video evidence of the men and Nungaray walking to the bridge where she was allegedly murdered, the police said. Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences determined she died by strangulation, according to NBC News.

The two men, identified as Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Pena, 26, were charged with capital murder of a child between 10 and 15 years old. They also have immigration violation holds from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on their records. They are originally from Venezuela.

Houston’s Acting Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said he was proud of the work that his team has put in to arrest the perpetrators. Martinez-Rangel, and Pena were arrested on Thursday.

“The teams were out there, and they were scouring every potential video feed, and they were talking to everybody possible that might have seen something or heard something,” Satterwhite said in a press conference on Thursday. “Their hard work paid off because we were able to find video and … trace the movements of our suspects and … of Jocelyn … all the way to the point of where she was murdered and left in a bayou in the water.”

Earlier reports claimed that the 12-year-old was also raped, but forensic tests will still need to determine if she was sexually assaulted, according to Satterwhite. However, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Michael Abner said the suspects allegedly tied Nungaray up and took her pants off before killing her, Fox News reported.

The men were being held in the Harris County Jail as of Friday afternoon, and were expected to appear in court. Prosecutors are recommending that their bail be held at $1 million.