Cause of death revealed in ‘gruesome’ Tallapoosa County murders

TALLAPOOSA COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - Court documents are revealing new details of what an Alabama sheriff’s office calls a “gruesome” scene involving two decomposed bodies.

On Tuesday, the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office charged Jose Paulino Pascual Reyes, 37, with three counts of capital murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse, along with one count of first-degree kidnapping.

The court documents, in this case, are extremely graphic and share gruesome details of what investigators say happened to the victims. Officials say one of the victims was smothered, and the other was beaten to death.

Sheriff Jimmy Abbett said deputies were called just before 8:30 a.m. Monday to County Road 34, just south of Dadeville, on a report that a 12-year-old girl was found wandering down the road. The child was taken from the area for medical help.

Abbett called the child a “hero” for what she endured.

The U.S. Marshals and the Auburn Police Department took Reyes into custody in Auburn. He was transported to Tallapoosa County, where he awaits a bond hearing scheduled for some time Wednesday.

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