The last hours of Jocelyn Dungaray, 12 years old | Houston News

HOUSTON — It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. Their child is missing and isn’t answering their phone. That’s what happened to the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray on June 17, when she woke up to find her daughter had sneaked out of their apartment.

Alexis Nungaray did not yet know that Jocelyn’s body had already been found in a creek north of Houston.

A week later, the death of the little girl with the endearing smile left people in the Houston area heartbroken and angry.

Here’s what we learned about Jocelyn’s final hours.

Alexis put Jocelyn and her 5-year-old brother to bed around 10 p.m. on Sunday June 14.

Police later said they believed Jocelyn had sneaked out of the apartment shortly after midnight.

Her 13-year-old boyfriend later told police that Jocelyn called him late at night from a convenience store. He said he heard her talking with two adults.

Jocelyn seen with suspects (WARNING: contains graphic details)

Houston police said Jocelyn was walking on Kuhkendahl Road early Monday when two men, later identified as Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 22, asked her for directions.

The three men then headed toward a 7-Eleven store before the men lured Jocelyn toward a bridge on West Rankin Road. Police said she was there for a few hours before tying up the victim, taking off her pants, strangling her and throwing her in the creek.

RELATED: New surveillance photos show 12-year-old girl with man identified by Houston police as person of interest

The body of a young girl found by a passerby

Billie Jean Jackson had just dropped her husband off at work early Monday and was crossing the Rankin Road Bridge near Kuykendahl around 6 a.m. when something caught her eye.

“I saw what I thought was a mannequin,” Jackson told us.

She turned to take a closer look and realized it was “the body of a young woman,” so she called 911.

“It broke my heart when I found out she was 12,” an emotional Jackson said. “I was devastated. We have a 12-year-old granddaughter and it broke my heart.”

RELATED: “It Broke My Heart” | Woman who found body of 12-year-old girl was devastated to learn she had been strangled

Alexis said she took a shower that morning and then went to wake her children but Jocelyn was not in her room. After searching their apartment and the entire complex, she got into her car.

“I pinged his phone and it rang right there, and I ran. That’s where I saw the gang and the officers,” Alexis said. “I ran to them and told them my daughter was missing, they wouldn’t tell me anything.”

About an hour later, she received a call from HPD with devastating news. Jocelyn’s body was found in the creek.

“I don’t know why, what made him take a walk late at night, in this neighborhood of all places,” Alexis later said. “I always told him to never leave the house, never leave unsupervised, always be safe, there are people around here, it’s crazy.

Surveillance photos released

The following night, police released separate surveillance photos of two men at a convenience store. They described them as persons of interest.

Jocelyn linked to ‘persons of interest’

On Wednesday, new surveillance photos obtained by KHOU 11 News showed Jocelyn with one of the men previously identified as a person of interest. In one photo, they were entering a convenience store. In the other, they appeared to be in a parking lot.

There was also a photo of Jocelyn walking with a drink in her hand.

RELATED: Police release photos of people of interest in death of 12-year-old girl | The cause of death was strangulation.

RELATED: New surveillance photos show 12-year-old girl with man identified by Houston police as person of interest

Also Wednesday, Jocelyn’s mother asked anyone with information about the suspects to come forward.

“I’m angry because they took advantage of her. She was so young. She was 12 years old, you took my baby, you took her,” the anguished mother told us. “Now I can let his little brother know that his older sister is never coming home.”

Alexis said she was only 15 when she had Jocelyn and fought to keep her.

“They took my firstborn away from me… She grew into a very beautiful young woman,” she said. “I was really looking forward to seeing what it was going to be like and they took every opportunity for me and my family.”

Houston police and SWAT team members went to the Canfield Lakes Apartments on Northborough Drive early Thursday.

Neighbors at the complex said HPD arrived around 4 a.m. and used a loudspeaker to order Peña and Martinez to come out. When they did not, the police approached the second floor apartment with guns drawn.

A witness said one of the men tried to jump off the balcony to escape, but HPD surrounded the area and quickly caught him. Witnesses provided us with images of the suspects being questioned.

HPD forensic investigators then removed boxes of evidence from their apartment.

A woman who lives in the complex with her 14-year-old daughter was upset that the accused killers lived so close.

“It could have been my child, you know, it’s very moving,” she told us.

The woman, who asked us not to use her name, said Peña and Martinez had moved in a few weeks earlier. Other residents told us that men would often sit on their balconies and shout things to women who passed by.

RELATED: One of the men accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray tried to escape, neighbor says

“We’re going to watch you.”

At a news conference to announce the arrests, Acting Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said the department had worked around the clock to identify the killers and begin the process of seeking justice for Jocelyn and her family.

“Their hard work paid off. We were able to find video and trace the movements of the suspects and Jocelyn, back to the bayou where she was murdered,” Satterwhite said.

Mayor John Whitmire said the matter was personal.

“As a mayor, a grandfather and a father, the situation couldn’t be worse,” Whitmire said.

He praised the tireless efforts of HPD, which combined “old-fashioned police work with new technology” to identify suspects.

Whitmire also thanked community members and area businesses as everyone came together for Jocelyn and her family. Now that the accused murderers are in custody, Whitmire said it’s up to the courts to do their job.

“I want to contact the justice system, the justice system, we’re going to be monitoring you,” Whitmire said. “We filed a complaint. If there’s ever a circumstance where you deny bail, it’s this one.”

Both suspects are in the United States illegally

ICE confirmed that Peña and Martinez are being held by immigration officers at the Harris County Jail and that both “entered the United States illegally without inspection, parole, or admission by a U.S. immigration officer on an unknown date and in an unknown place.

On March 14, Martinez was taken into U.S. Border Patrol custody near El Paso. The same day, he was released on bail with summons, the press release said.

Peña was also arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol on May 28 near El Paso. He was also released on bail with a summons to appear in court.

Instead, they came to Houston and lived in the apartment where they were arrested.

RELATED: ICE: Men charged with capital murder in death of Houston girl entered US illegally

Candlelight vigil for Jocelyn

On Friday evening, dozens of people gathered for a candlelight vigil near the bridge where Jocelyn’s body was found. Many wore t-shirts with his photo that said “Forever 12.”

“She was goofy, had her own personality, one of a kind, pioneer, loved, loved animals,” Alexis told us. “I couldn’t wait to see how beautiful she was going to look.”

Whitmire, Satterwhite, Mattress Mack and other community leaders were in the crowd.

Also Friday, the family told Jocelyn’s 5-year-old brother that his sister was in heaven.

Family members also announced that Jocelyn’s funeral will be held June 27 at 1 p.m. at Earthman’s Resthaven on I-45.

On Monday, Peña appeared in court for the first time. Jocelyn’s mother and several other family members were present in the courtroom when Judge Josh Hill set his bail at $10 million, citing allegations that he was looking for money to leave town.

“He was talking to his boss, who works in construction, and asking for money, because of what they did, to get out of town,” said Assistant District Attorney Meghan Long.

Martinez, 22, is scheduled to make his first court appearance later this week.

At a news conference after the hearing, District Attorney Kim Ogg said Jocelyn’s accused killers are not eligible for the death penalty under Texas law, but that could change whether the evidence showed that Jocelyn had been kidnapped or raped.

“Both underlying offenses would make this capital murder and these individuals subject to the death penalty,” Ogg said. “Make no mistake, this is a horrific crime. And when we bring charges, we do so based on the evidence we currently have.”

If the charges are raised, Ogg said they will ask that both men be held without bail.

RELATED: Men accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray not eligible for death penalty, but that could change

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