One Lost Life, Two Lost Souls in the Murder of Corriann Cervantes
Murder in the name of Satan is not new or as uncommon as we would like to think. However, when we hear about the kinds of acts that are typical in satanic ritual, the details are so brutal that they are almost impossible to fathom. What happened to Corriann Cervantes is no exception.
Corriann was a 15 year old girl who liked to listen to music and take selfies, just like any other teenager. Reports indicate that she also went to church. In February of 2014 her life was brutally cut short by two boys who went to the same alternative school as Corriann in Clear Lake, Texas. The 17 year old boy, Jose Reyes, had already sold his soul to the devil, and devil worship items were subsequently found in his room. His friend, Victor Alas, 16, also wanted to sell his soul to the devil, and he asked Reyes if he could accomplish that by murdering someone. Reyes said yes. Together they decided they would perform a heinous satanic ritual in which they would rape, bludgeon, and mutilate a beautiful girl as an initiation rite for Alas.
Corriann Cervantes Facebook selfie. Image credit: dailymail.co.uk
Grizzly Satanic Ritual
The crime began Tuesday evening when Corriann Cervantes decided to go out. She went to a friend’s house where she drank and smoked marijuana. Reyes and Alas were also at this party, and they led Corriann to a vacant apartment. Reyes stabbed her while he had sex with her. When she tried to get away they dragged her back in, and he hit her over the head with a toilet tank lid, which broke the lid in half.
Related: The Charles Walton Witchcraft Murder
Consensual sex turned into a gruesome rape. The two boys stabbed her in the face and body “dozens of times” with a screwdriver. They also bludgeoned her further with the toilet tank lid and an ashtray. While she begged for her life they gouged her eye out. When Reyes bragged about the murder to an individual identified as Miranda Leal, he told her Corriann cried out, “Why are you doing this to me?” But they continued to torture her. They also strangled her and carved an upside-down cross into her abdomen.
Aftermath
A few days after the murder a passerby noticed the door to the apartment open. When he went in he found Corriann’s disfigured body. Reyes and Alas had placed religious objects around her body. They had bashed in her head. Later during the autopsy, the coroner found pieces of porcelain embedded in her face.
After the murder, Reyes told two people explicit details about what they had done to Corriann, and someone reported him to the police. Miranda Leal said that he laughed and smiled while he boasted about the gruesome acts. She didn’t take it seriously, because it seemed just too bizarre for her believe. Once the police arrested Reyes, he confessed to the interrogators. He explained that he was just doing what the devil told him to do, and that the devil watched the whole time they were doing it. Later in court, Reyes smiled for the cameras.
Convictions of Reyes and Alas
Both Reyes and Alas were tried and convicted of capital murder and were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parol.
Jose Reyes mug shot following arrest(L). Victor Alas in court(R). Both were convicted of murdering Corriann Cervantes.
Although the boys were tried and convicted as sane adults, a case like this makes us question the nature of human beings. Was it nature, nurture, or Satan? One could debate this philosophical question all day, and the correct answer will always be based on beliefs. However, ultimately, it is the innocent victims, like Corriann Cervantes, who lose in the battle of good vs. evil.
Sources:
Daily Mail
Chron
