HOUSTON – The man accused of killing a 15-year-old girl in a brutal satanic ritual will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Closing arguments wrapped up Thursday in the case against Jose Reyes, who kidnapped, beat, raped and mutilated Coriann Cervantes after luring her to a vacant apartment in Clear Lake. Prosecutors described the crime as heinous and extremely violent. "How can someone do that to another human being?" said Jennifer Hall, a family member of Cervantes.
Jurors deliberated for a little over an hour Thursday afternoon before deciding to charge Reyes with capital murder, instead of a lesser charge of murder. It means an automatic life sentence for Reyes. "He didn't express any feelings. I think he anticipated the jury would probably find him guilty," said Reyes' lawyer, Jerald Graber.
"She's no longer here to voice her opinion, and I'm glad the court system worked, and he got what he deserved," said Cory Cervantes, Coriann's father.
Reyes is not eligible for the death penalty under Texas law because he is younger than 18 years old.
Another teen accused of taking part in the murder is set to go to trial in January.
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Both prosecutors and defense attorneys took their turns questioning forensic experts about evidence in the murder of Cervantes Wednesday.
On Tuesday, defense attorneys for Jose Reyes called for a mistrial after a witness on the stand made mention of a confession, but the judge denied the request.
Day two of Reyes' trial began with jurors viewing graphic video taken inside the cold, dark apartment in Clear Lake where Cervantes' body was found in February. Earlier, the homicide investigator showed photographs of blood smeared and splattered throughout the apartment.
At times on Tuesday, Reyes looked at the witnesses, and at other times, he looked down, refusing to make eye contact.
Agapita Gonzalez, the mother of Reyes' child, testified that Reyes admitted to her that he killed a girl because he said "somebody wanted her soul." Gonzalez said she was scared and told a Webster police officer, who put her in touch with investigators. She said nothing as she left the courthouse after her testimony.
Defense attorneys called for a mistrial after a witness said on the stand that there had been a confession in the case. The judge denied the request for a mistrial, and told jurors to ignore the statement about the confession and the trial continued.
Prosecutors said an inverted cross was carved into Cervantes' stomach.
"They discussed the fact that Mr. Reyes had sold his soul to the devil, and if they ended up killing this teenager, that would also allow the 16-year-old to also sell his soul to the devil, " Assistant Harris County District Attorney John Jordan said after the boys were taken into custody. "The teenager screamed, 'Why are you doing this to me?' During that time, they stopped her. It became a kidnapping and, ultimately, she was killed."
Extremely graphic testimony was given Monday about what happened during the attack. The medical examiner determined that Cervantes was alive when she was being mutilated.
Prosecutors said Reyes told at least two people, including his sister, that he killed a girl. His sister said little on the witness stand, but agreed that Reyes told her that he killed a girl.
Cervantes' grandmother also took the stand. She described picking up and dropping off her granddaughter at school daily.
"The only thing that we're looking for is justice for her. It's been really difficult," said Catherine Cervantes. "We not only have to go through this trial, but we have another trial also, with the other person. So it'll be hard for the family."
While on the witness stand, Catherine Cervantes rarely looked at Reyes.
Prosecutors said that when Coriann Cervantes attempted to run away, Reyes began beating her head with an ashtray and Alias strangled her with a belt. Cervantes was also beaten with a toilet water tank lid. She had puncture wounds from a screwdriver on her face and her eyes were gouged because she bit one of the boys, prosecutors said.
The first witness to discover Cervantes' body testified that he did not recognize her even though he knew her. He said that he ran and told his neighbors, who came to investigate.
Alias and Cervantes attended Clear Creek ISD's Clear Path Alternative School in League City.
Alias was certified to stand trial as an adult on the capital murder charge.