The family of a Texas girl allegedly murdered by two illegal immigrants said Thursday that they were grateful for Donald Trump mentioning her during last week’s presidential debate.
Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, was sexually assaulted and killed, before her body was left in a creek in Houston, on June 16. She was found the following day.
The suspects — Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26 – both entered the U.S. illegally, border patrol officials confirmed to Newsweek.
At last week’s debate, former President Trump briefly mentioned Jocelyn’s case, but did not name her directly. He had placed a call to the grieving family earlier in the day.
“God bless him, because at the telling of the day, I wouldn’t want my daughter’s accident to go as another statistic for the city of Houston or the state of Texas. With former President Trump reaching out, my blessings to him and God bless him,” Jocelyn’s grandfather, Kelvin Alvarenga, told Fox 26 Houston on Thursday.
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Trump brought up Jocelyn’s case early in the debate as part of his comments on immigration and his accusation that President Biden had not done enough to secure the border during his term.
“I just spoke to the mother and they just had the funeral for this girl, 12-years-old, this is horrible what’s taken place,” Trump said.
Martinez was apprehended by border patrol officials near El Paso on March 14, while Pena was apprehended two months later also near El Paso, according to immigration officials. Both men were released on their own recognizance with notices to appear.
While the family said they were grateful for Trump mentioning Jocelyn’s story in front of a national audience, they said they wanted to make sure she was remembered fondly and not just for the horror she went through the day she died, or as a political prop.
“I want them not to just use my granddaughter as a political base, but to know her name is Jocelyn Nungaray,” Alvarenga told Fox 26. “We just want to make a difference for Jocy. We don’t want Jocy’s memory or name to be easily forgotten.”
Martinez-Rangel and Pena both face capital murder charges, but with confirmation to local media earlier this week that their alleged victim had been sexually assaulted, they could also face the death penalty.
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That is something the family told Fox 26 they did not support. Instead, they are hoping that the pair would face life in prison without parole.
“I want them to remember Jocy the rest of their life,” Melfri Vargas, Alvarenga’s wife, said. “I want, every time they go to sleep, they remember what they did and show the others you don’t mess with our child, you don’t mess with the United States, you don’t mess with Texas.”
The couple said Jocelyn’s death was a consequence of current border policies which needed to change. But Alvarenga said that it did not matter to him where his granddaughter’s killers were from, but that “good is good, and bad is bad”.
The grandparents said it had been an extremely difficult time for Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn’s mother, adding that it would take time for her and Jocelyn’s surviving brother to recover.
“[Alexis] a single mom and one of the hardest thing for her and us to explain to a five-year-old that his, Cici, will not be at home anymore. He asks when is he going to see Cici. We try to explain the best way we can to a little one, it’s not an easy thing to do. He always ask for her, he wants to go see her,” Vargas said.
The suspects each being held on a $10 million bond. They are next due in court in September.
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