A 26-year-old man faces felony charges following the death of his ex-girlfriend, a 23-year-old woman whose body was found in the local Busse Woods Forest Preserve. Juan Pio Toto, the charged individual, was accused of concealing her death. An allegation comes after a harrowing search for Atalia Pucheta Martinez, who was reported missing this past Saturday.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Toto informed the Mount Prospect Police of an altercation that occurred in a parking lot outside of their shared apartment. He claimed it was during this dispute that Pucheta Martinez supposedly hit her head on the morning she went missing. It was not long before her body was discovered in the forest preserve—a grim conclusion to the urgent quest to find her alive.
Busse Woods, generally considered a peaceful retreat, became the focal point of a joint investigation carried out by the Cook County sheriff’s office and the Cook County Forest Preserve police this past weekend. The search concluded with the discovery of Pucheta Martinez's body early Saturday morning. As reported by NBC Chicago, the Mount Prospect Police were able to match the deceased with the missing person report filed in their jurisdiction.
Toto made a court appearance on Tuesday, whereupon he was granted a pretrial release. His next court appearance is scheduled for December 6, NBC Chicago noted.
