One of the two migrants accused of the rape and murder of 12-year-old Texas girl Jocelyn Nungaray has been connected to the assault of an American woman on holiday in Costa Rica.
Jocelyn’s tragic case triggered an immigration debate last summer when the suspects, Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, both migrants from Venezuela, had entered the U.S. unlawfully just months prior to her death.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, surveillance footage from a 7-Eleven convenience store captured the two individuals approaching the girl on June 17, 2024. Authorities utilized additional videos to trace the two men earlier that evening. They encountered Jocelyn near Harris County’s Kuykendahl Road and accompanied her to the convenience store.
From the store, they walked to a bridge on West Rankin Road, where they strangled the girl to death and left her body in the creek. It was later confirmed, on July 1, 2024, by the Houston Forensic Science Center, that Nungaray had been sexually assaulted.
Now, the U.S. citizen who vacationed in Costa Rica has said that Pena Ramos raped her, according to Fox 26. The reported attack occurred before Jocelyn’s murder, likely while Pena Ramos was traveling from South America to the U.S.
The unidentified woman reported the assault to Costa Rican authorities but claimed they ignored her, according to Houston’s former district attorney Kim Ogg.
”What we learned over the course of the investigation was that one of the suspects, Pena, had been involved in a prior sexual assault,” Ogg said.
“It happened in Costa Rica. It happened to an American citizen who came forward with that information after their pictures were shown on national television.
When she reported it to the authorities in Costa Rica, they did nothing. Imagine the frustration of that individual. I don’t want that to be swept under the carpet.”
Ogg stated she is making the alleged rape in Costa Rica public now due to concerns that the new district attorney, Sean Teare, who recently dismissed several cases, might reduce the charges in the Nungaray case, MailOnline reports.
“I think it’s important for the public to get the final say. Do they deserve death for the rape and murder of Jocelyn? Or should they spend their life in the penitentiary? What I don’t want is some backdoor deal done in the quiet of the night and a long time after people have forgotten the horror of this case. I just want people to remember Jocelyn and I want them to hear and make a decision about the evidence,” Ogg said.
In December, Ogg officially filed notice to seek the death penalty for the suspects in connection with Jocelyn’s case.
Meanwhile, both men have a bond set at $10 million each and are being held at Harris County Jail, Arraignments for the suspects have been scheduled for next month.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Jocelyn Nungaray/Houston Police Department]
