It has been three years to the day since José Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, was arrested for double murder and for kidnapping a 12-year-old girl who escaped his Dadeville trailer; there has still been little to no movement on the prosecution.
Pascual-Reyes, who is in the country illegally, was arrested on August 2, 2022, after authorities were alerted about a 12-year-old girl reportedly escaping from his residence.
SEE: Gruesome details emerge in kidnapping, murder in Tallapoosa County
Since the murder, progress on the case has been more or less stagnant. Through a series of continuances, applications for foreign language interpreters, mental health evaluations and the defense’s attempts to block things like DNA sample collections, there has yet to be any significant movement in Pascual-Reyes’ case.
Pascual-Reyes is considered indigent, meaning his counsel, interpreters and every other service are provided by the taxpayer.
According to court records, the last motion filed in the case was in March, ordering a status hearing to be postponed until an undefined date.
See Also: Dadeville double-murder, kidnapping suspect admits to murders, court documents say
According to court documents, the 12-year-old girl was drugged and tied to a bedpost for over a week. At some point, she was able to chew her way through her restraints and was later found by a motorist who called the police.
Upon investigating Reyes' residence, police discovered two dismembered, decomposing bodies.
The first body was identified as Sandra Vasquez Ceja. The second body, a juvenile boy, was only identified as "AOGV." The escaped girl and AOGV are Ceja's children.
According to Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett, Pascual-Reyes and Ceja lived together as boyfriend and girlfriend. The escaped girl and the unnamed body have been officially identified as Ceja's children.
Both AOGV and Ceja were killed and dismembered on July 24. Ceja was "smothered by a pillow," and AOGV was "bludgeoned with hands or feet."
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