Two years after Jose Paulino Pascual-Reyes, an illegal alien living in Dadeville, was arrested and charged with kidnapping and double murder, the case continues to get kicked down the road with a litany of continuances and reschedules.
Pascual-Reyes, who is in the country illegally, was arrested on Aug. 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
See Also: Dadeville double-murder, kidnapping suspect admits to murders, court documents say
According to court documents, a 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." Pascual-Reyes and Ceja lived together as boyfriend and girlfriend. The escaped girl and AOGV are 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."
Despite the lengthy time since Pascual-Reyes was charged, there has been very little movement on the case. There have been a series of continuances and requests for rescheduling, mostly from Pascual-Reyes.
Pascual-Reyes initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. However, after the state requested a mental evaluation, Pascual-Reyes officially rescinded his original plea and entered a standard plea of not guilty in November 2023. This came after the state officially stated it would seek the death penalty for Pascual-Reyes.
The case was scheduled for a status hearing in July. However, Pascual-Reyes requested a continuance since his attorney had another capital murder trial. The judge granted the continuance and scheduled the hearing for October. Again, Pascual-Reyes asked for another continuance because his attorney needed to attend a seminar on mental health in criminal trials.
The hearing was then set for this month. However, William Whorton, the judge overseeing the case, filed an order setting the status hearing for March 2025. Whorton stated in his order that he had another capital murder trial to preside over during that time, and another judge would oversee the March hearing.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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