Tallapoosa County Man Faces 11-Count Indictment in Double Murders, Corpse Abuse

Jose Paulino Pascual-Reyes/Source: Tallapoosa County Jail

Attorney General Steve Marshall has announced the indictment of Jose Paulino Pascual Reyes of Tallapoosa County on charges of capital murder and abuse of a corpse.

Marshall says Reyes faces nine counts of capital murder for the deaths of Sandra Vazquez Ceja and Omar Gallegos Vazquez. Additionally, Reyes was indicted on two counts of abuse of a corpse.

The indictment was served at the Russell County Jail, where Reyes is currently being held without bond.

The indictment says that Reyes intentionally caused the death of Ceja and Vazquez during the abduction and sexual assault of a minor, and that he dismembered and/or mutilated their bodies.

As WAKA 8 reported in September, prosecutors said Reyes admitted to the murders. They say Ceja was his live-in girlfriend and Vazquez was her juvenile son.

Crime scene tape surrounds mobile home on County Road 34 in Tallapoosa County – Photo from Alabama News Network

Authorities say the dismembered bodies were discovered in a mobile home south of Dadeville after Ceja’s 12-year-old daughter escaped captivity at the home in August.  Authorities said she was held against her will for days. A motorist saw her walking along  Tallapoosa County Road 34, where a motorist stopped to pick her up. That led to a search of the home and the discovery of the bodies.

Reyes, who is from Mexico, was in the country illegally after being deported and returning without proper documentation, Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett has said.

If convicted, Reyes faces the death penalty or a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for each of the nine charges of capital murder.  The punishment for the abuse of corpse charges ranges from one to 10 years.