Kelvin Alvarenga, the grandfather of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered by two illegal immigrants from Venezuela, said “God bless you” to former President Donald Trump for reaching out to the family after the tragedy.
During last week’s presidential debate, President Trump revealed that he had called the Angel family that day to offer his condolences following Jocelyn’s murder. Angel’s mom, Alexis Nungaray, said she was “shocked” when she got the call from the former president.
in interview Speaking to FOX 26 Houston, Alvarenga thanked President Trump for acknowledging the pain and suffering Jocelyn’s murder has caused her family.
“God Bless [Donald Trump] …I am my [grand]”I don’t want my daughter to become another statistic in the city of Houston or the state of Texas,” Alvarenga said. “Former President Trump has reached out, so bless him and God bless him.”
A participant places a candle near a photo of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nangaray during a candlelight vigil for her in Houston, Friday, June 21, 2024. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Alvarenga and Alexis Nungarei told Fox News Channel last week that Jocelyn’s murder should never have happened in the first place.
“This should never have happened to her or any child,” Alvarenga said, while Alexis Nungary said they “need to step up and do more to let people into the country.” [to the United States]”…This won’t do.”
“Just sit back and think about these little angels who should never have been taken away because we’re not doing what we should be doing. [in terms of] “Test these people,” Alvarenga said. “… This is happening all over the country. We need a safer country.”
As Breitbart News reported, illegal Venezuelan immigrants Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, and Franklin Peña, 26, were both released into the United States from the southern border and charged with murdering Jocelyn in the early morning hours of June 17.
This week, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office released the results of an examination of Jocelyn’s body conducted by the Houston Forensic Science Center, which confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted before she was murdered.
On June 17, the day Jocelyn was murdered, her body was found in a creek near a bridge: she was naked from the waist down, her hands and feet were bound, and she had cuts all over her back.
Prosecutors said Martinez Rangel admitted to binding Jocelyn’s hands and feet and telling Peña to dump her body in a creek under a bridge. An autopsy determined Jocelyn had been strangled to death.
Venezuelan illegal immigrants Franklin Peña and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel. (Photo provided by Houston Police Department)
At the time of his arrest, Martinez-Rangel had scratches and bite marks on his body that appeared to be from a fight with Jocelyn, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors allege that after he allegedly dumped the girl’s body in a creek, Martinez-Rangel shaved his beard and researched ways to flee the United States to avoid arrest.
Border Patrol agents arrested Martinez-Rangel at the border near El Paso, Texas, on March 14. He was released on bail that same day to the U.S. mainland and was notified to appear before a federal immigration judge at a later date.
Border Patrol agents arrested Peña near El Paso on May 28 and released him on U.S. soil the same day under a Homeland Security Agency bail order, just 20 days before he allegedly helped kill Jocelyn.
The House Homeland Security Committee subsequently found that Peña and Martinez Rangel were released from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody at the border, even though Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had thousands of detention beds available at the time of their release.
Martinez Rangel and Peña are each being held on $10 million bail. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued detention orders for both men, requesting that they be held if released at any time.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter. here.
