Police say a suspect was “scared,” which led him to wrap up a dead missing woman from Antioch and dump her body in a garbage can, while the two were hanging out at his home in Waukegan.
Megan Bos, 37, of Antioch, was reported missing to the Antioch Police Department on March 9 after she was last heard from on February 17.
The police department began an investigation, which included working with other law enforcement agencies, including the Waukegan Police Department due to Bos frequenting the Waukegan area.
The Waukegan Police Department Patrol Division searched numerous times for Bos, according to Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain.
Flyers were circulated in the area and social media outreach was conducted as investigators sought clues to her whereabouts.
Antioch police detectives went to a business in Waukegan on Thursday to question a person of interest who had frequent contact with Bos.
Jose Mendoza-Gonzalez, 52, who resides in Waukegan and is a Mexican national, needed a Spanish translator and a Waukegan officer responded to assist Antioch detectives with translation.
Mendoza-Gonzalez said that Bos came to his house on February 19 but claimed that she left after her visit, Chastain said.
Detectives continued speaking with Mendoza-Gonzalez and asked if she was still alive.
Mendoza-Gonzalez said he did not want to be arrested at the store but did not say why, Chastain said.
Detectives moved the conversation to the Waukegan Police Department and Mendoza-Gonzalez told them that Bos was in a container in his yard in the 700 block of Yeoman Street in Waukegan.
Detectives and officers responded to the home and located a partially decomposed body, which was wrapped in a blanket, in a garbage can in the rear of the residence, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Manuel Mandujano.
Crime scene tape was placed around the property of the single-family home as the Waukegan Police Department’s Major Crime Scene Unit and Criminal Investigation Division remained at the scene for hours into the evening. A search warrant was also executed.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene and took possession of the body. They later identified the subject as Bos.
Detectives conducted a further interview with Mendoza-Gonzalez, who said that Bos had come over to his residence on the evening of February 19 and visited with him, Chastain said.
He said that Bos snorted unknown drugs and asked if she could hang out in his basement, which he agreed to let her do.
Mendoza-Gonzalez said he noticed a leak coming from the upstairs and went to tend to it, Chastain said.
Mendoza-Gonzalez said he returned and believed the woman had overdosed and was deceased.
He reported that he was scared that he was going to be in trouble so he left her in the basement for a few days before moving her to the garbage can in his yard, Chastain said.
Mandujano said that Mendoza-Gonzalez wrapped Bos’ body in a blanket before placing it in the garbage can.
She remained there for nearly two months until being located on Thursday.
Mendoza-Gonzalez also admitted to breaking Bos’ phone and throwing it into a trash can. He said he did not know what he planned on doing with the body after dumping it in the garbage can, Chastain said.
An autopsy on Bos performed on Friday by the coroner’s office showed no signs of trauma or a struggle.
Chastain said the investigation is still ongoing and detectives are waiting for further results from the lab, including toxicology.
The Waukegan Police Department said Antioch police did a “tremendous job” in locating the information that led them to the suspect.
Mendoza-Gonzalez was charged with abuse of a corpse, two counts of concealing the death of a person and obstructing justice.
All of the charges against Mendoza-Gonzalez are Class 4 felonies but none of them are detainable offenses under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, which ended cash bail in the state.
Lake County Judge Randie Bruno, who was the judge to authorize the search warrant in the case and called the offense “very serious,” released Mendoza-Gonzalez from custody following a First Appearance Court on Saturday morning.
Mendoza-Gonzalez, who does not have prior criminal history in the United States, was placed on Level 4 pre-trial services monitoring.
He was ordered not to have any contact with the victim’s mother and not to leave the state without court permission.
Mendoza-Gonzalez will be subject to random drug and alcohol screenings. He will also be placed on a curfew.
Mendoza-Gonzalez is scheduled to appear in court again on May 8 for a preliminary hearing.