(HorizonPost.com) – One of the two Venezuelan nationals arrested for the rape and murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray on June 17 was in a Houston court on Monday where he was arraigned on a capital murder charge.
Franklin Peña, 26, was held on a $10 million bond. Peña, along with Johan Jose Martínez Rangel, 22, were charged on June 21 with capital murder of a child.
The 12-year-old’s body was discovered under a bridge by a creek in north Houston at around 6:49 a.m. on Monday, June 17. Both her hands and feet were bound and she was naked from the waist down.
An autopsy by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences determined that Jessica’s death was caused by strangulation.
In a press conference following Peña’s arraignment, prosecutors gave details of the two men’s movements on the night before Jessica’s body was found.
According to prosecutors, the two men were trying to get the money to flee the city, with Peña calling his boss at a local construction company.
Lead prosecutor Megan Long told reporters that Peña’s boss figured out that someone had gotten hurt or killed and contacted the police. She said his information enabled detectives to identify the suspects responsible for Jocelyn’s death.
Prosecutors confirmed reports that Peña had been wearing an ankle monitor at the time he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A source from the Department of Homeland Security said Martinez’s ankle monitor was removed in May after DHS determined that he had no criminal record. Peña’s ankle monitor was still on when they murdered Jocelyn and he did not cut it off until two days after the murder
When asked if Peña was wearing an ankle monitor, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg refused to comment on the ankle monitors ICE puts on migrants before they are released into the US.
Instead, Ogg only said that the immigration system was “broken” and that this particular case was evidence of that.
According to US officials, the two suspects were apprehended at the border near El Paso earlier this year and were released by Border Patrol.
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