A man was charged with concealing a death after a missing 23-year-old woman's body was found in the popular Busse Woods forest preserve in suburban Cook County this week.
Juan Pio Toto appeared in court Tuesday in connection with the case and was granted pretrial release ahead of his next court appearance on Dec. 6.
A death investigation has been ongoing since the body of a missing Mount Prospect woman was found in the forest preserve over the weekend.
The death investigation began around 9:30 a.m. Nov. 9, after a motorist reported a person lying in Busse Woods near Higgins Road, Elk Grove Village Police said. When emergency responders arrived, they located a deceased female at the location, police added.
Later that day, around 2 p.m., Mount Prospect police officers responded to the 1400 block of Brownstone Court for reports of a missing 23-year-old female, a release from the Village of Mount Prospect said.
During an investigation, Mount Prospect Police were able to confirm with the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department and the Cook County Forest Preserve Police Department that the female found dead in Busse Woods was the same person reported missing from the1400 block of Brownstone Court, officials said.
According to Mount Prospect Police, the female was identified as Atalia Pucheta Martinez, 23.
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Police said the incident "appears to be isolated," and said there was no known threat to the community.
A police report obtained by NBC Chicago showed authorities indicated Toto allegedly was in a fight with Martinez prior to her death.
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Toto was arrested by Mount Prospect police on Sunday. As part of his release, he will remain on electronic monitoring and has been ordered not to leave Illinois without permission, to surrender his passport, to not possess a firearm and to have no contact with Martinez's family.
Anyone with information regarding the death is asked to contact Mount Prospect police at (847) 870-5654.
NBC Chicago and Telemundo Chicago reached out to Toto's attorney for comment but did not receive a response.
