The funeral for Jocelyn Nungaray, the 12-year-old Houston girl allegedly killed by two illegal immigrants and left for dead in a creek, will be held Thursday.
Jim McIngvale, known in and around the Houston area as “Mattress Mack,” is footing the bill for the service and will host a celebration of Nungaray’s life at one of his Gallery Furniture locations. Nungaray was found strangled to death last week near a creek, a crime that has shocked and angered local officials and prompted questions about the Biden administration’s border policies.
Days after the June 16 attack, Harris County prosecutors charged two illegal immigrants from Venezuela — Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26 — with capital murder. The pair lured Nungaray under a bridge and sexually assaulted her for two hours before killing her, authorities said.
‘EVIDENCE IS CLEAR THAT A SEXUAL ASSAULT LIKELY HAPPENED,’ PROSECUTOR SAYS
Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, was found strangled to death in a Houston creek. (Fox Houston courtesy of the Nungaray family)
“She would have gone to the same high school two of my children graduated from had she made it that far. This is obviously a gut-wrenching story. So, I was more than happy to take care of the funeral arrangements,” McIngvale told Fox News Digital. “Regardless of how you feel about migrants — illegal or legal — if they wouldn’t have been here, she would still be alive.”
Ramos was wearing a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) ankle monitor at the time he allegedly murdered Nungaray.
Her death came during a series of gruesome crimes across the country allegedly involving illegal migrants. Last week, Houston Mayor John Whitmire raised concerns about the Harris County criminal justice system’s ability to prosecute the two suspects.
“We’re going to be watching you; the arrests have taken place, and the charges have been filed. Now, we want the justice system to do its job. If there was ever a circumstance where you do not give someone bail, this is it,” he said at a news conference.
Bail for both men was set at $10 million.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT ACCUSED OF KILLING JOCELYN NUNGARAY WORE ICE ANKLE MONITOR
Jim McIngvale smiles before throwing a ceremonial first pitch prior to a game between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park. (Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports)
The wait for a murder case to go to trial in Harris County can take years, said McIngvale, adding he was told so by Houston officials.
“The families have to go to five or six hearings as they postpone, postpone, postpone, and there’s the perpetrator laughing and yucking it up with his family and his lawyers,” he said. “He’s probably out on bail. It’s just madness.”
McIngvale, who has often extended a helping hand to victims of crimes and natural disasters in the Houston area, said criminals aren’t being prosecuted to the fullest extent in Harris County. He cited nearby Montgomergy County, where he said criminal offenders are normally held accountable.
Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, left, and Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel have been charged in the killing of Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston. (Harris County Jail)
“They’ve got footage of these criminals being chased by the police to Montgomery County. And they get to Montgomery County, and they turn around and go back to Harris County,” McIngvale said. “They want to be arrested in Harris County.”
In response to the killing, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called for Martinez and Ramos to be sentenced to death if they are convicted.
Jocelyn Nungaray’s mother, Alexis Nungaray, speaks after Pena Ramos’ court appearance June 24, 2024. (KRIV)
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“This is horrifying. If guilty, both of these men should receive the death penalty for this horrible crime,” Cruz wrote last week on X. “These men are illegal aliens and Jocelyn Nungaray would still be alive and with her family if not for Joe Biden’s open border policies. The Biden administration is directly responsible. My heart goes out to Jocelyn’s family.”
