WATCH LIVE: Two men charged with capital murder in death of 12-year-old girl found in north Houston creek, HPD says

HOUSTON — BREAKING: Two men have been charged with capital murder in the death of 12-year-old  Jocelyn Nungaray, the Houston Police Department announced Thursday.

Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, were seen on surveillance cameras with the little girl before she was found dead in a north Houston creek early Monday.

The suspects were arrested Thursday morning at the Canfield Lakes apartments where they lived together. They’re the same men previously identified as persons of interest in Jocelyn’s death.

KHOU 11 cameras were at the complex when HPD forensic investigators were removing evidence from a unit. Witnesses provided images they say show the persons of interest in the case. 

Acting Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said the department worked around the clock to identify the killers and begin the process of finding 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 all the way to the bayou where she was murdered,” the chief said.

Investigators used surveillance cameras to track the movements of Martinez and Ramos before and after Jocelyn was strangled and dumped in the creek. They said the suspects ate at a restaurant late Sunday and left on foot. They met Jocelyn near Kuykendahl and the three walked to a nearby convenience store. They left the store and walked to the bridge on West Rankin Road where Jocelyn was killed. 

The arrests come a day after new surveillance photos obtained by KHOU 11 News showed Jocelyn with one of the persons of interest, belieThe new photos show her with a man previously identified by police as a person of interest wanted for questioning in her death. In one photo, they are walking into a convenience store. In the other, they’re in a parking lot.  

On Tuesday night, Houston police released separate surveillance photos of the same man and a second man. HPD described the persons of interest as “two males of an unknown age, wearing baseball-style caps.”

Earlier, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Jocelyn was at a convenience store when she spoke with her 13-year-old boyfriend on the phone after she snuck out of her family’s apartment late Sunday. The boyfriend told police that he could hear Jocelyn talking with two grown-ups.

Hours later, Jocelyn was found in shallow water below a bridge on West Rankin Road near I-45. She’d been strangled and Whitmire said she was also raped. 

If you recognize either man or have any other information about this case, you’re asked to call Houston police at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 713-222-TIPS. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Jocelyn’s killer or killers. 

Also Wednesday, we spoke with Jocelyn’s devastated mother. 

Alexis Nungaray described her daughter as spunky, goofy, and loving. 

“I’m like angry that they took advantage of her. She was so young. She was 12, you took my baby away, you took her away,” Alexis told us. “Now, I get to let her little brother know his older sister is never coming home.”

Alexis said she was a teen mom when she had Jocelyn and she was excited to see what the future held for her daughter.

“She turned into a beautiful, beautiful young lady,” Alexis said. “I was really looking forward to seeing how she was gonna be and they took every opportunity away from me and my family.”

She doesn’t know why Jocelyn snuck out of their apartment Sunday night.

“I always told her, ‘Never leave the house, never leave unattended, always be safe. There’s people around here that are crazy,'” Alexis said. “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.”

Jocelyn’s uncle told us she was always smiling and she loved her family very much. 

“Jocy was a smart, loving, nurturing young lady. She brightened up the room every time she came by and was loved by everyone around,” Joamel Guevara said. “She had no reason to die the way she did.” 

The family is praying that her killers are caught and punished.

“My sister, nephew and family deserve justice,” Guevara told us. “We will not sleep until justice is served and these predators are in the Harris County Jail. In God’s name, we pray!”

A GoFundMe.com account has been set up on behalf of Jocelyn’s family to help pay for funeral expenses.