HOUSTON (AP) Two Venezuelan men are suspected of killing a 12-year-old Houston girl after they entered the country illegally, and Texas prosecutors said Friday they will pursue the death penalty against them.
Several cases this year became focal points in the discussion of the country’s immigration rules, including the death of Jocelyn Nungaray.Following the loss of her daughter, Nungaray’s mother advocated for improved border control during her campaign for President-elect Donald Trump.
According to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, her office will formally notify the court later Friday that prosecutors intend to pursue the death penalty against Franklin Jose Pe a Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22. For Nungaray’s death on June 16, each individual has been charged with capital murder. Both Pea and Martinez-Rangel were still behind bars on $10 million bail each.
In a statement, Ogg added that Jocelyn’s murder was as heinous, vicious, and absurd as any case during his time as district attorney. It was exacerbated by the knowledge that these two men were not authorized to be here and that they would never have been able to kill Jocelyn and ruin her family’s future if they had been detained after being apprehended at the border.
On Friday, the Associated Press emailed the lawyers for both individuals to request comment.
The girl was abducted, sexually molested, and strangled by the two males, according to the prosecution, who then left her body in shallow water beneath a bridge. On June 17, her body was discovered in a creek. She had been strangled, according to a medical examiner.
The U.S. Border Patrol had previously detained Martinez-Rangel and Pea near El Paso earlier this year for illegally entering the nation. Both were set free with instructions to show up in court later.
Republicans criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border during his administration, citing Nungaray’s death and other instances when illegal immigrants were charged with serious crimes. In a another instance, a Venezuelan man named Jose Ibarra was given a life sentence last month for the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
Trump has claimed that immigrants are to blame for the alarming rise in crime. Immigrants are less likely than native-born Americans to commit crimes, according to several studies.
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Juan A. Lozano can be followed at https://twitter.com/juanlozano70.
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