WARNING: The content in this story may be disturbing to some viewers. Discretion is advised.
A Houston-area teenager was convicted of capital murder Thursday in the gruesome death of a teenage girl who prosecutors say was killed as part of a satanic ritual.
Jose E. Reyes, 18, was found guilty by a jury in the death of 15-year-old Corriann Cervantes who was found in a vacant apartment last February, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Jurors took just over an hour to find Reyes guilty of capital murder, and he was automatically sentenced to life in prison.
“There are so many horrible, heinous and inhumane things this defendant did,” said prosecutor Martina Longoria. “This is beyond imagination and in his words: it’s all good.”
During closing arguments prosecutors said Reyes killed the girl because he wanted to sell his soul to the devil.
In a chilling letter from Reyes read to the court Thursday, he said the devil was watching and commanding him during the killing.
“He was standing there, watching me and Victor,” the teen wrote. “It’s all good. It’s what the devil asked for.”
A second teen Victor Alas, who was 16 at the time, is also accused of assisting Reyes in the killing and faces a capital murder charge as well. The case against Alas is pending.
During the trial, jurors saw graphic photos of the injuries including an upside down cross carved on Cervantes’ stomach and her right eye which had been gouged out. Investigators also testified that the victim had been sexually assaulted.
Reyes is not eligible for the death penalty because of his age at the time of the slaying.
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