Funeral service set for 12-year-old Houston girl whose body was found in a creek

HOUSTON (AP) — A 12-year-old Houston girl who was killed after she disappeared during a walk to a convenience store earlier this month was set to be remembered at a funeral service and a celebration of her life on Thursday.

Family members of Jocelyn Nungaray are recalling her as someone who was caring, compassionate, loved animals and sought to make people laugh.

“We miss her goofiness. She was a child that loved animals. She always said, ‘Grandpa, all animals need a house.’ She was always trying to pick up strays,” said Kelvin Alvarenga, Nungaray’s grandfather.

The girl’s body was found June 17 in a shallow creek after police said she sneaked out of her nearby home the night before. She was strangled to death, according to the medical examiner.

Two Venezuelan men who had entered the U.S. illegally have been charged with capital murder in Nungaray’s death. Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, are each being held on $10 million bonds in the Harris County Jail in Houston. The two men were arrested earlier this year near El Paso, Texas, by U.S. Border Patrol after entering the country without documentation. Both were released and given notices to appear in court at a later date.

The suspects allegedly lured the girl under a bridge and remained with her there for more than two hours, according to court documents. They allegedly took off her pants, tied her up and killed her before throwing her body in the bayou, according to prosecutors.

Family members and friends were set to gather for Nungaray’s funeral service Thursday afternoon in north Houston.

The funeral was set to be followed by a celebration of her life to be held at a furniture store owned by Houston businessman Jim McIngvale, who is paying for Nungaray’s funeral.

“We invite you to come out and we all as a community lift up Jocelyn and her family,” McIngvale said in a post on X.