Horrific details revealed about victims after abducted girl's dramatic escape leads to discovery of 2 bodies
Authorities in Alabama on Wednesday released horrific details of how a woman and boy were allegedly killed a day after an abducted 12-year-old girl escaped by chewing her way out of restraints, leading investigators to the discovery of two bodies.
Already charged with first-degree kidnapping in connection with the girl's mistreatment, José Paulino Pascual-Reyes also was charged with capital murder and corpse abuse in the deaths of a woman and a boy younger than 14 who were found inside the mobile home in the central Alabama town of Dadeville, according to Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett and court documents.
According to arrest warrants obtained by CBS affiliate WRBL, investigators believe Reyes killed his girlfriend, Sandra Vazquez Ceja, by smothering her with a pillow. Reyes is also charged with killing Ceja's son, who was younger than 14, by striking him with his hands and feet. The boy's full name has not been released.
Both bodies were cut into small pieces at the joints to hide evidence.
Authorities haven't released information about the surviving girl, a possible motive or whether any of the victims and Pascual-Reyes were related, but Abbett said additional charges were possible.
Ceja, 29, used an address that matched the location of the mobile home when she received traffic tickets for speeding and driving without a license in April, court records showed.
The records don't include the name of a defense attorney who could speak on behalf of Pascual-Reyes, 37, who was being held in the Tallapoosa County Jail following his arrest in Auburn, about 25 miles from Dadeville.
Abducted from an undisclosed location around July 24, the girl was restrained to bedposts for about a week so she could be sexually abused, according to a complaint filed in court by authorities. The two people were killed around the time of the alleged abduction, records show.
The girl was kept in a "drugged state" with alcohol and assaulted in the head before chewing her way out of the restraints, the document said.
With her braces damaged from the chewing and marks on her wrists indicating she'd been tied up, the girl was spotted on the road outside the mobile home on Monday morning, authorities said.
A driver picked up the girl and notified authorities, prompting an investigation and search that led to police officers discovering two decomposing bodies inside the mobile home where Pascual-Reyes lived and the girl was believed to be held, Abbett said. Other people lived at the residence, he said, but no one else was there when police arrived.
The girl, who authorities said had not been reported missing, received medical attention and was placed in the custody of child welfare officials, said Abbett, who described her as a "hero."
"She is safe now, and so we want to keep her that way," Abbett said.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security were also involved in the investigation, WRBL reports.