In court, prosecutors stated that a man who was charged with killing his live-in girlfriend and her son has admitted to killing them both. After a 12-year-old girl he had captured escaped, their bodies were discovered.
Tallapoosa County authorities said Jose Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, gave self-incriminating information about the deaths of Sandra Vazquez Ceja, 29, and her juvenile son in multiple statements.
The statements were revealed in a motion asking a judge to order a DNA sample from the man to compare with evidence found at the home where the hacked-up body parts were discovered.
Pascual-Reyes’ defense attorneys did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Pascual-Reyes remains in jail without bond on charges including murder, kidnapping, and corpse abuse. Upon conviction, he could face the death penalty.
When police found remains of the two after an escapee escaped from the home where her mother and brother were killed and dismembered, investigators said she was held against her will for days.
She was picked up by a motorist along a country road, leading police to search the house where her mother, brother, and Pascual-Reyes lived.
Around the time of the killings, authorities claim the girl was taken captive in a mobile home.
According to Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett, Reyes returned without proper documentation after being deported from Mexico and returned illegally. In a request that was approved by the judge, the defense said the man speaks Spanish and needs an interpreter to understand court proceedings.
For more on this story, please consider these sources:
- More gruesome details emerge in August kidnapping and double capital murder case – The Alexander City Outlook
- Man arrested after 12-year-old kidnapping victim escaped allegedly confessed to dismembering girlfriend, teen – AL.com
- Man in country illegally admits to killing girlfriend and her son, who were found dismembered in Alabama – Fox News