For Immediate Release:
March 7, 2023
For press inquiries only, contact:
Cameron Mixon (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Eleven-Count Indictment of Jose Paulino Pascual Reyes on Capital Murder and Other Charges
(MONTGOMERY) Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the indictment today of Jose Paulino Pascual Reyes, of Tallapoosa County, on nine counts of capital murder for the deaths of Sandra Vazquez Ceja and Omar Gallegos Vazquez. Additionally, Reyes was indicted for two counts of abuse of a corpse. The indictment was served on Monday at the Russell County Jail, where Reyes is currently being held without bond.
On January 31, 2023, Attorney General Marshall’s Criminal Trials Division presented evidence to a Tallapoosa County grand jury which resulted in Reyes’s indictment* on nine counts of capital murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse on March 3, 2023.
Specifically, the indictment charges that Reyes intentionally caused the death of Sandra Vazquez Ceja and Omar Gallegos Vazquez during the abduction and sexual assault of a minor, and that he dismembered and/or mutilated the corpses of Sandra Vazquez Ceja and Omar Gallegos Vazquez. 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.
No other information about the investigation or about Reyes’ alleged crimes other than that stated in the indictment may be released at this time.
Attorney General Marshall thanked the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Camp Hill Police Department, the Alexander City Police Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and the Homeland Security Immigration Agency, for their expert work in investigating this case, as well as Mike Segrest, District Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit, and his office.
*An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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