Vigil honors 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray who was murdered and found in creek in north Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Hundreds of people gathered on Friday night for a vigil to remember Jocelyn Nungaray, the young girl who was murdered and then dumped in a creek in north Houston.

Among those in the crowd were Jocelyn's family, Mayor John Whitmire, acting HPD Chief Larry Satterwhite, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, and some of her friends.

"Jocelyn, she was such a great friend, and she always made everyone feel included," Olivia Stevens said.

A group of five girls came from Conroe with their parents. They were all classmates at Gordon-Reed Elementary with Jocelyn until this past March when she moved to north Houston.

The girls shared videos and pictures, the kind that fill up many preteen phones.

Friday night, the giggles and goofy dances were gone.

"It's like multiple emotions. It's like anger. It's sadness. It's everything, and it's just heartbreaking," Abby Bohanon said. "It's just hard to understand. It's hard to believe that such a sweet little girl is, yeah. So, it's hard to believe and it's upsetting."

The emotions are hard to navigate.

"Just to be here for her," Catherine Musoni said before breaking down into tears.

They are all just 12 years old.

"It is because we are all so young, and no one at all should have to go through something like this," Bohanon added.

"It's just crazy. It's hard to comprehend," Sophia Johnson said.

The girls said Jocelyn used to share her dreams with them.

"She was always positive and always had a smile on her face, and her smile was so contagious," Belen Pereira said.

Summertime should be carefree at their age. They said 7th grade will be even harder knowing Jocelyn is gone.

"We're praying for her and her family, and we just want to support them," Stevens said.

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