Murder suspect brought back to Alleghany County

The suspect in the murder of an 18-year-old woman in Sparta was extradited back to Alleghany County last week from Virginia. The man, earlier identified as 42-year-old Enrique Hernandez Soto, is being charged with murder, according to a warrant served on July 20.

Soto is charged in the death of 18-year-old Amy Devon Reese, who was killed on the morning of July 15 at a residence on Grandridge Road. Although Soto's address is listed on a warrant as Grandridge Road, law enforcement sources said his last known address was in Cleveland, as was Ms. Reese's.

Soto and Reese had traveled to Alleghany County on July 6 after arriving via bus in Wytheville, Va. The two were staying with Ms. Reese's family after having come here to visit Ms. Reese's mother. During the course of his extradition, Soto told law enforcement officers last Thursday when he was picked up at the New River Regional Jail in Dublin, Va. that his real name is Enrique Hernandez, despite the fact that he had an Illinois driver's license identifying his last name as Soto.

Capt. Carlton Edwards of the Alleghany County Sheriff's Office said the man's true identity is still being probed and will be validated. In another facet of the case, Edwards said the results of an autopsy on Ms. Reese's body was not complete as of Monday.

The suspect, now named Hernandez on warrants, was being held in the Alleghany County Jail without bond awaiting a probable cause hearing on Tuesday, Edwards said.

According to information from the sheriff's department, Hernandez Soto is charged with stabbing Ms. Reese multiple times in her torso. Her body was discovered by her family members sometime after Hernandez Soto had left the residence on foot. The sheriff's department received the call at around 11 a.m. Hernandez Soto was seen walking away from the home at around 9 a.m. The time of the murder is being placed at between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.

After the body was discovered, law enforcement immediately started the search for Hernandez Soto. Sheriff Mike Caudill said his department canvassed area bus stations, which eventually led to Hernandez Soto's arrest by Wythe County deputies Ray Danner and David Meredith in Wytheville at around 1:30 p.m.

Caudill said Hernandez Soto had hitchhiked to Wytheville and had just arrived there when he was arrested. Hernandez Soto had made some attempts to change his appearance, including placing a Band-aid over a tattoo of a teardrop on his face.

Also assisting in the investigation and responding to the murder scene were the State Bureau of Investigation, Sparta Police Department and the North Carolina Highway Patrol. The SBI helped investigate and process evidence at the crime scene.

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