HOUSTON, Tx. – Houston police have arrested and charged two Venezuelan nationals with capital murder in the strangling death of a 12-year-old girl.
Department of Homeland Security sources confirmed to Fox News that suspects Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, both crossed the border illegally into El Paso, and were caught and released by Border Patrol.
The DHS believes Rangel Martinez entered the U.S. in March and Pena Ramos crossed the U.S. border in May, when he was let go with a notice to appear.
Houston Police say Martinez and Ramos walked with young Jocelyn Nungaray to a convenience store, and then to a bridge where she was killed. Her body was found in a nearby creek early Monday morning.
Police said the release of surveillance pictures and a flood of tips from the public helped them track down the suspects, who were arrested on Thursday.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire told reporters that if there was ever a circumstance where you don’t give someone bail, this is it.
The victim’s mother learned that the alleged killers were captured as she was making arrangements for her daughter’s funeral.
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