AP Photograph/Evan Vucci
Tuesday marks one yr since 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was found lifeless in a shallow north Houston creek.
There have since been requires stricter immigration laws from each members of the family and lawmakers because the lady’s homicide turned a part of the election marketing campaign final yr for Republicans corresponding to President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. There is also an ongoing capital homicide case involving two Venezuelan males accused of killing Nungaray.
Legislation enforcement officers final yr stated Nungaray sneaked out of her household’s house the evening of June 16, 2024. She walked to a comfort retailer down the road from her residence, the place she was noticed on surveillance video with two males.
Her physique was found the following morning under a bridge at 400 West Rankin Rd. Days later, Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Peña, 26 — two Venezuelan males suspected of being within the nation with out authorized standing — have been arrested and charged along with her homicide. A trial has not but been set for the lads accused in Nungaray’s sexual assault and killing. Former Harris County District Lawyer Kim Ogg final yr introduced her workplace would search the dying penalty in opposition to the lads, who’re being held within the Harris County Jail on $10 million bonds.
Right here’s the place the case stands right now:
Case sparks legislative calls
Lawmakers sought legislative adjustments in an effort to deal with legal justice and immigration points following Nungaray’s dying, which garnered nationwide consideration.
Her mom, Alexis Nungaray, has been a staunch advocate for elevated border safety because the dying of her daughter, repeatedly standing alongside Republican politicians corresponding to Trump, who was elected in November after beforehand serving as president from 2016-20, and Cruz, a senator from Texas.
Senate Joint Decision 1, a proposed modification to the Texas Structure that will have particularly denied bail to individuals within the nation with out authorized standing who’re accused of a variety of significant crimes, obtained bipartisan assist. However the invoice didn’t make it out of the Texas Home earlier than the top of the biennial legislative session.
Senate Invoice 990, which might have expanded the state’s capital homicide statute in opposition to individuals convicted of killing youngsters of a sure age, additionally failed to achieve the governor’s desk earlier than the lawmaking session ended. The laws was authored by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston).
The invoice would have raised the sufferer age threshold for capital punishment from 10 years outdated to fifteen. Proponents of the invoice stated a authorized loophole permits some accused of killing minors in that age vary to avoid Texas’ most extreme punishment.
Proponents of the invoice included Alexis Nungaray.
“They’re alleged to be our future,” she stated throughout a listening to on the invoice in March. “They’re alleged to make us proud and after we cannot shield them, that is an issue. I believe all youngsters must be accounted for, no matter their age, as a result of they’re necessary and we have to maintain them protected.”
Alexis Nungaray final yr additionally referred to as for stronger border laws earlier than a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Capital homicide case awaits trial
A trial has not but been set within the capital homicide circumstances in opposition to Martinez Rangel and Peña. Ogg final yr stated the DA’s workplace, which is now led by fellow Democrat Sean Teare, would search the dying penalty in opposition to Peña and Martinez Rangel.
The workplace in December filed a discover with Decide Josh Hill’s of its intention to hunt the dying penalty within the case. Ogg accomplished her second and closing time period as district lawyer that month. She has been succeeded by Teare, one in all her former prosecutors.
Proceedings within the case slowed as attorneys have sought gag orders within the case that’s garnered nationwide consideration.
A gag order request from the lads’s attorneys final yr partially stemmed from feedback Ogg has made in the course of the case’s proceedings, in accordance with courtroom paperwork. Attorneys stated a gag order was essential for a good and neutral jury trial.
Hill denied their request for a gag order within the case, however urged each events to chorus from making extrajudicial feedback. The problem arose once more this yr after Ogg appeared on native TV station FOX 26, alleging in an interview that Peña was previously accused of sexually assaulting a lady in Costa Rica.
“When she reported it to the authorities in Costa Rica, they did nothing,” Ogg stated in the course of the interview. “And so think about the frustration of that particular person. I don’t need that to be swept underneath the carpet.
“I’m very involved in regards to the choices that my successor district lawyer has been making,” Ogg added.
The district lawyer’s workplace underneath Teare stated Ogg’s interview violated components of Hill’s request about making extrajudicial feedback. The Houston Chronicle final week reported that Hill is contemplating whether or not to carry a listening to over a possible legal contempt grievance in opposition to Ogg.
A part of the marketing campaign path
In a presidential debate final yr, Trump didn’t point out Jocelyn Nungaray by identify however included her dying as one in all three latest killings that legislation enforcement businesses alleged have been dedicated by individuals with out authorized standing. The others have been Laken Riley, a 22-year-old killed Georgia in February, and Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old girl who was killed final yr in Maryland.
Nungaray’s dying has been invoked by Trump and state lawmakers to name for harder crackdowns on immigration.
Alexis Nungaray, who endorsed Trump and Cruz final yr, previously has spoken at Trump rallies the place the president referred to as for mass deportations. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have additionally been seen alongside the mom of their requires stricter border laws.
“Below President Biden, our nation has skilled an unprecedented disaster at our southern border with record-high numbers of unlawful immigrants, weapons, and lethal medicine like fentanyl coming into our nation,” Abbott stated in a social media publish after the presidential debate. “President Biden’s harmful open border insurance policies have already allowed over 11 million unlawful immigrants — together with harmful criminals, gang members, and recognized terrorists — into our nation.”
Wildlife refuge named in Nungaray’s honor
Sarah Grunau/ Houston Public Media
Trump in March signed an govt order to rename the Anahuac Nationwide Wildlife Refuge close to Galveston Bay in honor of Jocelyn Nungaray.
RELATED: President Donald Trump to rename Anahuac wildlife refuge after Jocelyn Nungaray
Alexis Nungaray was once more seen subsequent to Trump throughout his tackle to the Home chamber earlier this yr, when the president introduced he would rename the 34,000-acre wildlife refuge east of Houston.
“The dying of this lovely 12-year-old lady and the agony of her mom and household touched our total nation tremendously,” Trump stated. “Alexis, I promised that we might all the time keep in mind your daughter, your magnificent daughter and earlier tonight I signed an order conserving my phrase to you.”
The chief order cited the lady’s love for animals and fervour for guaranteeing that they had properties.
