HOUSTON (CN) — Harris County prosecutors on Friday announced they would seek the death penalty against two men accused of killing Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl from the Houston area.
Nungaray’s death became a political rallying point for Republicans in Texas after prosecutors revealed that the two men charged in connection with the murder — Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos — had entered the U.S. illegally after traveling from Venezuela.
Both men had been detained by immigration officials after entry but were released under the Alternatives to Detention program. They have been held in custody since June under separate $10 million bonds.
Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Troy Nehls, both Texas Republicans who won 2025 reelection bids after campaigning hard on immigration, held a press conference in July to push for the Justice for Jocelyn Act, which would severely limit the program both suspects had been released under. Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn’s mother, also joined the Trump campaign at an August campaign stop along the border in Arizona.
The original capital murder charge against the two defendants excluded the death penalty. But after prosecutors amended the charge in September to include sexual assault, that opened up the possibility of capital punishment.
Kim Ogg, the outgoing Harris County District Attorney, directed the prosecutors’ push for the death penalty in this case. She has also repeatedly voiced her support for Cruz’s legislation.
Although herself a Democrat, Ogg has leaned into tough-on-migration rhetoric and even endorsed incumbent Ted Cruz over Democratic challenger Colin Allred. She publicly announced her office’s intent to seek the death penalty in a “Fox & Friends” appearance on Friday morning, where she received gestures of support rarely extended to Democrats on the network.
“Jocelyn’s murder was as vile, brutal and senseless as any case in my tenure as district attorney,” Ogg told the Associated Press and other news outlets in a statement after the broadcast. “It was made worse by knowing that these two men were here illegally and, had they been held after being captured at the border, they would never have had the opportunity to murder Jocelyn and destroy her family’s future.”
Daniel Werlinger, the defense attorney for Peña, told the Houston Chronicle that he and other attorneys involved in the case received notice of the prosecutors’ intent to seek the death penalty back in November. Werlinger also said that Ogg’s comments on FOX may have violated the judge’s broad gag order for attorneys on the case.
Prosecutors are expected to officially file their intent with the court later Friday.