'Squad' Rep Summer Lee under fire for claiming she doesn't know about 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray's murder

Summer Lee's comments about Jocelyn Nungaray's murder were labeled as 'disgusting'
UPDATED JUN 27, 2024
Summer Lee said she wasn't aware of Jocelyn Nungaray who was killied by two illegal Venezuelan migrants (@summerleeforpa/Instagram, GoFundMe)
Summer Lee said she wasn't aware of Jocelyn Nungaray who was killied by two illegal Venezuelan migrants (@summerleeforpa/Instagram, GoFundMe)

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Rep Summer Lee (D-Pa), who identifies as far-left, said on June 26, that she has never heard of Jocelyn Nungaray, the 12-year-old whose death, purportedly caused by two illegal migrants from Venezuela, has sparked renewed demand for stricter border regulations.

Unsettling new court documents claim that illegal migrants from Venezuela killed Nungaray of Houston after luring her beneath a bridge and assaulting her for two hours.

Rep Summer Lee dodges questions about Jocelyn Nungaray murder

The Pennsylvania Democrat spoke to Fox Business reporter Hillary Vaughn regarding the torture and killing of Nungaray in Houston last week, “I don’t know who she is. I live in Pittsburgh.”

“I live in Pittsburgh. I don’t know anything about it,” Lee emphasized, when questioned by the journalist, before swiftly entering her Capitol Hill office.

Jocelyn Nungaray was allegedly lured to her death by two illegal migrants from Venezuela
 (GoFundMe)
Jocelyn Nungaray was allegedly murdered by two illegal migrants from Venezuela (GoFundMe)

A reporter asked Congresswoman Lee, 36, whether it was time to terminate the Biden administration's policy of paroling migrants caught crossing the border unlawfully—a policy that has enabled federal authorities to release large numbers of migrants into the US while they await immigration court proceedings.

“I have to look it up,” Lee replied, proposing a later conversation with the reporter.

Summer Lee's comments anger GOP Senate candidate Dave McCormick

Several Democratic lawmakers, none of whom are from Texas, described Nungaray's killing as horrific but did not attribute blame to the 81-year-old president, Joe Biden when questioned by a reporter.

Lee's comments provoked the anger of fellow Pennsylvanian Dave McCormick, the Republican Senate candidate in the Keystone State. The McCormick campaign labeled this as "disgusting," sharing a clip of Lee's comments on X.



 

“Her name is Jocelyn Nungaray,” McCormick wrote on his official X account. “Bob Casey should be absolutely ashamed for continuing to support Summer Lee.”

McCormick is contesting the seat of veteran Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa) in the upcoming November 2024 election. Lee, engaged in a contest with Republican James Hayes for Pennsylvania's 12th District, has received Casey's endorsement.

Jocelyn Nungaray's tragic murder

A Harris County court heard testimony on June 24 regarding the brutal killing of Jocelyn Nungaray after Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, bound her hands behind her back, strangled her, and dumped her body in a bayou.

KPRC reported that she had cuts all over her back and that her feet were also bound.

Prosecutors claimed that Pena Ramos asked his employer at a construction site for money after the murder to leave town, as reported by Fox 26 Houston.

Franklin Ramos, 26, is charged with capital murder in the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray on June 17 (Houston Police Department)
Franklin Ramos, 26, is charged with capital murder in the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray (Houston Police Department)

The two individuals have been charged with the crime of capital murder. They face the death penalty for Jocelyn's demise. Kim Ogg, the district attorney for Harris County, claims that the prosecution has not ruled out pursuing the death penalty.

Johan Martinez, 21, allegedly bound Jocelyn’s hands behind her back then strangled her (Houston Police Department)
Johan Martinez, 21, allegedly bound Jocelyn Nungaray’s hands behind her back and then strangled her (Houston Police Department)

Pena Ramos showed up for the hearing when the judge determined that he posed a flight risk and set his bond at $10 million, double what the prosecution had asked for and ten times what the defense had requested.

The amount of Rangel Martinez's bail is still pending.

Franklin Ramos and Johan Martinez crossed borders illegally

Pena Ramos entered the US illegally through El Paso, Texas, on May 28, intending to reside with his cousin in Houston and expressing fear for his safety if returned to Venezuela, according to the New York Post.

He was equipped with an ankle monitor programmed to track him for 21 days, which he severed two days post the discovery of Jocelyn's body, according to Homeland Security sources.

Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, were seen in surveillance footage hours before Jocelyn’s body was found in a creek (Houston Police Department)
Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, were seen in surveillance footage hours before Jocelyn Nungaray’s body was found in a creek (Houston Police Department)

Rangel Martinez also crossed into the US at El Paso on March 14 and received an ankle monitor, which was removed in May upon verification of no criminal history.

Surveillance footage captured both suspects at a 7-Eleven with Jocelyn on the evening of her murder, proceeding towards the bridge where her body was subsequently discovered.

Summer Lee's remarks spark outrage

After Rep Summer Lee dodged questions about Nungaray's murder, social media users went after her and called her out for her callous response.

A user slammed her saying, "Because she hates America and Americans."



 

Another user said, "She is nasty and mean - an embarrassment to our district."



 

The third commentator added, "She’s an uniformed, undereducated, Shaquetta who represents the hood in her state."



 

An X user remarked, "Ignorant and disgusting. Diversity hire."



 

"Summer Lee only cares about ONE PERSON...Summer Lee. Everyone else can go straight to H.ll. A true scumbag," one wrote.



 

A person labeled Lee as a "racist," "Lee is a racist. If it was a White man and Black girl there would be riots and looting."



 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

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