HOUSTON – A family member of 12-year-old Houston murder victim Jocelyn Nungaray lashed out in court Tuesday as new and disturbing details emerged in court about the second man accused in her killing.
KPRC 2 reporter Re’Chelle Turner was in court where Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel stood before a judge for his first hearing.
Initially, he denied any wrongdoing, but prosecutors said Franklin Peña, who made his court appearance Monday and is accused of killing the 12-year-old with Martinez-Rangel, claimed he only kissed Jocelyn.
On Tuesday though, prosecutors said Martinez-Rangel admitted to tying her legs and had bite marks/scratches on his arm. He also instructed Peña to throw Jocelyn’s body in the creek to get rid of DNA.
He also shaved his facial hair after the murder to avoid being detected. The lead prosecutor, Megan Long, also said detectives were able to get inside Martinez-Rangel’s phone and said he researched ways to get out of the country.
His defense attorneys meanwhile claimed Martinez-Rangel does not have a previous criminal history and has two children, ages 5 and 2, but it’s unclear if they live in Houston or in Venezuela, where he and Peña are originally from. However, he does have family here and was requesting to have his bond lowered. A judge gave him a $10 million bond and the same conditions as Peña.
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As Martinez-Rangel was escorted out of court, one of Jocelyn’s family members shouted “Murderer” and “I hope they kill your children” in Spanish.
Currently, both Martinez-Rangel and Peña are charged with capital murder. Court records said Pena and Martinez-Rangel visited a local bar for hours and eventually saw Jocelyn at a 7/11 and asked her for directions.
Prosecutors also said they Lured Jocelyn to a bridge, where her body was found without her pants and cuts on her body and backside.
During a press conference Monday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said the current charges they face do not make them eligible for the death penalty.
“Our laws treat the age of victims differently, and they’ve changed where they draw the line,” she explained. “[It] used to be children under six. If they were murdered, that created an underlying offense that would support death penalty and capital murder. That law was expanded to 10 years old and under, and then further expanded from 10 to 15. If the victim was 10 to 15 years old, yet the death penalty was taken off the table by the legislature, and instead they suggested that life without parole would be the appropriate charge. But age is not the only consideration in this case or any case, the underlying actions of the criminals. This victim was found, you know, bound and without clothing from the waist down in the water. And we just think that there’s a good possibility. We hope that there’s evidence that remains to be tested.”
Ogg also said if lab results show that sexual assault happened, both would become eligible for the death penalty.
On Tuesday, outside the courtroom, Long spoke with our Re’Chelle Turner noting there are efforts to expedite the lab results but it’s unclear how soon they’d be available.
“It’s our intention to expedite the testing on the buccal swabs from the defendant as well as from the SANE [(Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner)] exam,” she said. “That would be a question for the lab in terms of how soon, but we would like to get those answers as soon as possible so that we can start to get some answers for the family.
When asked if the evidence heard in court Tuesday could likely show sexual assault occurred, Long said it would be too dangerous to speculate.
“As a prosecutor, the most important thing to me is finding the evidence and following the evidence,” she said. “So if the evidence points towards a sexual assault, then we’ll proceed that way. But it’s it’s dangerous to presume anything in my line of work.”
The victim’s family told KPRC 2′s Corley Peel they were content with the initial outcome in court for both suspects, who each had bonds set at $10 million.
“I’m very pleased with the judge. In 2023 there were a lot of bonds that he set that weren’t high for repeat offenders. I’m pleased that he actually did his job. Thanks to the media and thanks to everyone that is making this high profile, I’m just pleased with this ruling today,” said Kelbin Alvarenga, Grandfather.
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