Jocelyn Nungaray's flatmate froze after spotting alleged killers on TV as they sat together in a bar

The country is still grappling with the heartbreaking death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, whose body was discovered in a Houston creek earlier this month by passersby.

Arrest and search warrants recently obtained by KPRC 2 reveal his alleged killers, Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Pena, had a roommate – who called police the moment he saw the two men on the evening news .

Three days after Jocelyn's murder, police reportedly received a call from a man in Laredo, Texas, who told authorities that his cousin, known only as “Joe,” was living with the two men involved in the child's death.

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When he realized who the police were looking for, Joe forwarded a picture to his cousin showing him with Pena and Martinez-Rangel at the Ojos Locos bar the night of the murder. The three were out together until “Joe” returned home around 10 p.m., leaving his roommates to continue partying.

Joe met the two men accused of murder during the migration process, when they arrived in the United States around the same time. He knew them as “Gordo” and “Gordo’s cousin.” The three reconnected after Joe moved to Houston, where the suspects already lived. The three shared a room. The other room was occupied by the suspects’ construction manager.

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Joe said he picked up Pena and Martinez-Rangel Sunday night and went to the bar with the suspects before leaving without them around 10 p.m.

The day after Jocelyn's murder, Joe was watching the news with Pena and Martinez-Rangel and recognized them as the two suspects in the 7-Eleven surveillance footage. Houston police had just released the video to the public.

According to the warrant, Joe “tried not to react” because he didn't want his new roommates to become murder suspects and know he recognized them. So he sent a photo of the three of them taken the day before to his cousin. Then he deleted the photo.

Joe was terrified to speak to his cousin, fearing the suspects would hear him. On Wednesday evening, Joe made up an excuse to leave the apartment and later met with an HPD investigator.

Meanwhile, the documents state that the suspects' employer went to HPD headquarters for an interview. The boss recounted how Pena admitted to him during a car ride that he and another individual had “made a mistake after partying” and had “hurt someone” who was now deceased.

Houston police Lt. Stephen Hope said surveillance footage confirms the two suspects were together at a restaurant on the night of June 16.

The two were traveling south when they met Jocelyn and struck up a conversation. Prosecutors say they asked her for directions, then joined her on her walk to a 7-Eleven convenience store that evening.

Security cameras captured the men waiting outside the 7-Eleven while Jocelyn shopped inside. Hope said they then went to a bridge where Jocelyn was tied up, stripped naked, sexually assaulted and strangled to death. His body was then dumped in the bayou.

The next morning, the 12-year-old's body was discovered along West Rankin Road in a shallow creek in north Houston. Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, were located and arrested by police on June 20, three days after Jocelyn's body was discovered in the creek, according to HPD.

Both men now face capital murder charges and are each being held this week on bail, worth a whopping $10 million, according to court documents.

A memorial service was held Thursday by Jocelyn's family, where she was remembered as a kind-hearted preteen who had a close relationship with her mother. Mayor John Whitmore called for justice, saying children should not be taken off city streets.