San Diego Police announced the arrest of a 44-year-old man who allegedly abducted a woman from a South Bay neighborhood this week, sexually assaulted and held her captive in a home that also contained the remains of a deceased woman.
​​Rafael Reyes Banda, 44, was booked early Thursday morning on suspicion of kidnapping and rape by force, according to the San Diego Police Department.
According to SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell, a 43-year-old woman made an emergency call reporting that she had been abducted at gunpoint by a man she had known for about a week at Palm Avenue and Saturn Boulevard in the Egger Highlands area. The woman said she was able to escape and flag down a passing motorist.
The woman told investigators she was held captive at a home in the 2200 block of Citrus Avenue in the Palm City neighborhood for roughly 24 hours, according to Lt. Campbell. The kidnapper sexually assaulted her and threatened her with a gun as she was held captive. She also told investigators about a dead woman being inside.
Officers went to the residence after the woman spoke with investigators, and found Banda. They detained him and found the deceased woman. According to Lt. Campbell, the deceased woman remains unidentified, and her exact race and age are unknown.
“At this stage of the investigation, it is unclear what caused her death,'' Lt. Campbell said.
Homicide detectives were called in to investigate the suspicious fatality.
