The mother of a 12-year-old Houston girl who police say was strangled to death and pushed off a bridge by two illegal immigrants provided a heartbreaking account of her daughter's final moments in congressional testimony Tuesday, slamming the Biden-Harris administration's border policies for allowing violent criminals to enter the United States “in the open” and wreak havoc on the public.
Rep. Alexis Nungarei told the House of Commons Judiciary Committee that his last words to his daughter Jocelyn were “good night” and “I love you” – she woke up terrified.
“When I closed my eyes that night, she was there,” Nangaray said, “and when I opened them that Monday morning, she was gone.”
Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Victims of Illegal Immigrant Crimes Testify at House Hearing
Alexis Nungaray finishes speaking at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the impact of illegal immigration crime, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Nungaray's 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, was kidnapped and murdered near her Houston home after two Venezuelan illegal immigrants were arrested on murder charges. (House of Representatives Judiciary Committee)
Jocelyn had gone to a nearby convenience store to buy a soda after her mother had gone to bed when two Venezuelan robbers kidnapped and murdered her, allegedly throwing her off a bridge, believing that running water would hide their DNA.
“The morning of Monday, June 17, was terrifying,” Nungarei testified, “waking up to find my child missing, frantically searching the area just two minutes from my home, my phone ringing, driving to the location and seeing the crime scene tape and officers by the bridge.”
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Jocelyn Nangaray, 12, was found strangled to death in a creek in Houston. (Courtesy of Fox Houston and the Nungarei Family)
She said officers at the scene had no answers, but 45 minutes later she got a call from police telling her to come downtown.
“I'm still holding out hope that my 12-year-old daughter is out there somewhere,” she said. “They took me to a floor that said homicide.”
They are nothing but predators, monsters, and we are openly allowing them into our country.
Detectives questioned her about the night before, and then revealed they had found a body they believed to be her daughter's. Police found Jocelyn naked from the waist down and bound at the wrists and ankles. Investigators said she had been strangled.
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Franklin Jose Peña Ramos (left) and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel are charged with murdering Jocelyn Nungaray on Monday, June 17, in Houston, Texas. (Harris County Jail)
“My heart was broken,” Nungarei said. “I couldn't believe what I had just been told.”
She said she could not imagine the horror her daughter experienced in her final moments.
“They found a young girl, my daughter, Jocelyn, and targeted her without her knowledge,” she said. “They were caught on video on June 17th at 12:57am walking along the road near the bayou under the bridge, and at 3:04am the two illegal immigrants emerged alone. They were there for two full hours. I cannot imagine what was going through Jocelyn's mind and how scared she must have been in those final moments of her life.”
Left, surveillance footage shows murder suspects Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26. Right, suspect Jocelyn Nungaray's face lights up after opening the package. (Courtesy of Houston Police Department, Fox Houston and the Nungarei Family)
Two Venezuelan men, Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 21, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, have been charged with Jocelyn's murder. Both were arrested earlier this year but released in the United States, one just weeks before Jocelyn's murder.
Nungarey said one of the suspects confessed to “doing something wrong”. Both men had reportedly tried to flee the town and asked their boss for money but failed.
“Those people have no heart,” Nungarei said, “They are nothing but predators, monsters, and we are openly allowing them into our country.”
The grieving mother, along with other victims' families, testified at the hearing, aiming to persuade the government to close the border to illegal immigrants and crack down on immigration crime.
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“Due to the Biden-Harris Administration's open border, capture and release policy, they were enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention Program,” Nungarayi told lawmakers, “which means they were released into the United States. It was less than three weeks later that they took the life of my daughter, Jocelyn Nungarayi.”
