Who was Jocelyn Nungaray? Trump pays tribute to 12-year-old girl murdered at Texas Bridge

US President Donald Trump honored the life of 12-year-old Houston girl Jocelyn Nungaray, who was allegedly killed by illegal migrants, by signing an executive order to rename a national wildlife refuge in her memory. The sanctuary, spanning 34,000 acres across Galveston Bay in Texas, will now bear her name as a tribute to her life and love for nature.

Trump signed the executive order during his first address to the US Congress after assuming the presidential role. He also introduced Nungaray’s mother Alexis Nungaray at the session. “Alexis, I promised that we would always remember your daughter, your magnificent daughter,” Trump said.

“Across Galveston Bay, from where Jocelyn lived in Houston, you will find a magnificent National Wildlife Refuge, a pristine, peaceful, 34,000-acre sanctuary for all of God’s creatures on the edge of the Gulf of America. Alexis, moments ago, I formally renamed that refuge in loving memory of your beautiful daughter, Jocelyn,” he added.

Nungaray’s lifeless body was found in a creek in North Houston on June 17, 2024. According to The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, the young girl had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death.

The gruesome murder that sent shockwaves across the Houston community, occurred hours after Jocelyn had left her family’s apartment late that night.

The Houston police stated that the two men charged in the crimeJohan Jos Martnez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jos Pea Ramos, 26had met Jocelyn when they allegedly asked her for directions.

These two men then led her to a nearby 7-Eleven store and ultimately to a bridge where she was murdered. Martnez-Rangel and Pea were arrested on June 20, and both have been charged with capital murder. Nungaray’s murder also stirred a debate about immigration policy, as both men charged in Jocelyn’s death were staying in the US illegally. Harris County

District Attorney Kim Ogg called Nungaray’s murder ‘vile, brutal, and senseless’ as any case in his tenure as district attorney. “And it was made worse by knowing that these two men were here illegally and, had they been held after being captured at the border, they would never have had the opportunity to murder Jocelyn and destroy her family’s future,” he added.