MAN ARRESTED IN SEX ASSAULT, KIDNAPPING

Body is found in home after woman escapes, calls 911

San Diego police said they arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of sexual assault and kidnapping after a woman contacted police Wednesday and said she had been held captive for 24 hours in a home in the Palm City neighborhood of San Diego.

The woman told police she had been able to escape the home where she had been held.

When officers arrived there, they found the body of a different woman. It was not immediately clear Thursday how the person had died.

The suspect, Rafael Reyes Banda, was booked into jail shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday and was being held on $100,000 bail, according to county Sheriff’s Department online records.

The 43-year-old woman who contacted police told them she had been kidnapped by a man Tuesday and held captive for about 24 hours, said homicide Lt. Jud Campbell. She told police that the man — whom she had known for about a week — had threatened her with a gun and sexually assaulted her.

The woman said she was able to escape from the residence on Wednesday and flagged down a passing motorist to call 911. Officers arrived and made contact with her.

Police then went to the suspect’s home on Citrus Avenue — less than a mile from where the woman was located — and found Banda inside. They also found the body.

Banda was arrested shortly after 2:20 p.m., Campbell said.

The victim was treated at a hospital and released, he said.

Campbell said it was unclear what caused the death of the woman found in the home, and he said her name, race and age were not known.

The county Medical Examiner’s Office took custody of the body and will determine the manner and cause of her death.

Campbell said the case is “an active and ongoing investigation” and asked anyone with information about the incident to contact investigators at (619) 531-2293 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.