José Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, is facing kidnapping charges and multiple counts of capital murder. Photo / Tallapoosa County Sheriff's Office
José Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, is facing kidnapping charges and multiple counts of capital murder. Photo / Tallapoosa County Sheriff's Office
A young girl miraculously chewed through her restraints to escape her kidnapper's home in the US where investigators later uncovered two decomposing bodies.
José Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, is facing kidnapping charges and multiple counts of capital murder in connection to the bodies found at the home after a 12-year-old girlwas discovered walking along a roadside in Alabama on Monday morning, the NY Post reports.
Police at a press conference said a driver had picked up the girl who managed to escape and called police, setting off an investigation that led to Pascual-Reyes' arrest.
Authorities then made the horrifying discovery of two decomposing bodies in the 37-year-old's home, not far from where the girl was discovered walking.
José Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, is facing kidnapping charges and multiple counts of capital murder. Photo / Tallapoosa County Sheriff's Office
Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett said the decomposing remains have been sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences to be identified, adding it's unclear how long they had been there.
"It's a fluid investigation," the sheriff told reporters. "Things are changing, and I don't want to jeopardise the identification of our juvenile."
According to court documents, the girl had been tied to bedposts for close to a week.
She was assaulted and plied with alcohol but managed to escape after chewing through her restraints.
Police said she is now safe and described her escape as heroic.
José Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, is facing kidnapping charges and multiple counts of capital murder. Photo / Tallapoosa County Sheriff's Office
"I would say she's a hero," Abbett said. "It's one of those things we won't get into until later. We gave her medical attention. She is safe now. We want to keep her that way."
"It's horrendous to have a crime scene of this nature," the sheriff told reporters on Tuesday.
Pascual-Reyes had lived at the property since February. It is not clear if the girl knew her captor.
