Two men arrested in murder case of 12-year-old girl who snuck out of home
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Houston Police Department/Fox Houston Courtesy of the Nungaray family
Two men have been arrested in connection with the death of a 12-year-old girl in Houston, Texas.
The body of Jocelyn Nungaray was found in a shallow creek in the early hours of Monday morning.
Jocelyn disappeared after sneaking out of her family home on Sunday, with authorities releasing CCTV footage of her before her death.
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A report from the medical examiner confirmed that the cause of Jocelyn's death was strangulation.
Investigators are also waiting on results of an exam to determine if a sexual assault took place.
Two men, Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, have now been arrested in connection with the case.
They both face capital charges of murder in the killing of Jocelyn.
CCTV footage shows the two men meeting Jocelyn before walking with her to a convenience store, police have confirmed.
The group then walked to a bridge, where it is believed Jocelyn was killed.
At present, it is not known whether Jocelyn knew the two men, who were roommates.
Police previously confirmed that they wanted to speak to the two men in connection with the case, writing: "UPDATE: Our homicide detectives want to speak with these two male persons of interest regarding the death of a 12-year-old female at 400 West Rankin Rd."
Mayor John Whitmire also revealed that Jocelyn had made a phone call to her boyfriend, who is 13, before she died.
In a press conference, Whitmore said that the 12-year-old was last seen by her mom at around 10pm on Sunday when she was putting everyone to bed.
This means that Jocelyn probably snuck out of the house between 10pm and 12am.
Authorities also released CCTV footage showing the pre-teen walking into a 7-Eleven in Houston on Sunday with two men.
Whitmore said: "It appears that he [her boyfriend] last talked to her at a convenience store around midnight, heard her talking to two grown-ups."
In an interview with local media, Jocelyn’s mother Alexis Nungaray said: "She was so young. She was 12, you took my baby away, you took her away."
Alexis added that she didn't know why her daughter had left the house, saying: "I always told her, 'Never leave the house, never leave unattended, always be safe. There’s people around here that are crazy'.
"I just hope, I hope they are found because Jocelyn was a fighter. She fought hard. She needs justice. She didn’t deserve this and she needs to be rested at peace."
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of funeral expenses. Click here to donate.