Two people charged with capital crimes in connection with the death of Jocelyn Nungaray

(NewsNation) — Two men have been charged with capital crimes in connection with the death of 12-year-old Texas girl Jocelyn Nungaray, Houston police said Thursday.

Investigators said Nungaray sneaked out of her home late Sunday night and her body was found in a creek by a passerby early Monday morning, local NewsNation affiliate KIAH reported. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences determined her cause of death was strangulation.

Houston police released surveillance images of the two suspects on Wednesday. The images show the men talking to Nungaray, then all three walking together to a convenience store and then to the bridge where police say Nungaray was killed.

Lt. Stephen Hope of the Houston Police Department identified the two men arrested as Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26. Martinez and Ramos were taken into custody at a Houston apartment complex Thursday morning.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told NewsNation that after their arrests, the agency issued arrest warrants for both men at the Harris County Jail on suspicion of entering the country illegally from Venezuela. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said the date and location of their entry are unknown. On March 14, Martinez was arrested by Border Patrol near El Paso, Texas, and released on a summons. Ramos was released on the same warrant after being arrested by Border Patrol near El Paso on May 28.

To honor Nungaray’s memory, people laid flowers, stuffed animals, balloons and candles at the site where her body was found.

Alexis Nungaray, the girl’s mother, said in an interview with KRIV that Jocelyn was an “amazing little girl.”

“I was so excited to see the woman she would become,” she said. Although Jocelyn struggled with her mental health, Alexis Nungaray knew “God had other plans” for her daughter.

“She should have been here. She was meant to be here,” said Alexis Nungaray. “My baby doesn’t deserve this at all.”