Ex-Boyfriend Charged With Concealing Death Of Woman Found In Busse Woods

MOUNT PROSPECT, IL — An ex-boyfriend of a woman found dead over the weekend in the Busse Woods Forest Preserve has been charged with a felony count of concealment of a death. Juan Pio Toto, 26, of the 1400 block of South Brownstone Court, was arrested Monday stemming from an investigation into the death of Atalia Pucheta Martinez, 23, of Mount Prospect.

According to the Cook County Sheriff's Office website, Pio Toto remains in the Cook County Jail and is due back in court on Dec. 6. Mount Prospect police tell Patch Pio Toto will soon be released and placed on electronic monitoring.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office approved the felony charge.

A motorist had noticed a person lying in Busse Woods, near Higgins Road about one mile west of Arlington Heights Road, at around 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The police departments of the Cook County Sheriff's Office and the Cook County Forest Preserve headed the initial investigation.

According to the Mount Prospect Police Department, officers responded to 1400 block of Brownstone Court at 1:51 p.m. for the report of a missing 23-year-old woman, identified as Pucheta Martinez. During that investigation, officers were able to confirm with the other police agencies that the missing person was the same as the person found dead in Busse Woods. Both Pucheta Martinez and Pio Toto lived in the 1400 block of Brownstone Court.

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After Pucheta Martinez was identified, Mount Prospect police began conducting a death investigation. During the investigation, police interviewed Pio Toto, who told detectives that in the early morning hours of Saturday, he and Pucheta Martinez had an altercation in the parking lot outside their apartment. He said Pucheta Martinez fell to the ground during the altercation and hit her head.

According to police, Pio Toto said he placed Pucheta Martinez in the backseat of his vehicle and drove her to a wooded area, removed her from the vehicle and placed her body in a wooded area. Pio Toto said he left her in the wooded area and drove away in his vehicle.

Following his arrest, Pio Toto was taken to the 3rd District Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows for a detention hearing. According to Mount Prospect police, under the Pre-Trial Fairness Act, the felony charge of concealment of a death is not a detainable offense. Police tell Patch Pio Toto is currently in the Cook County Jail and will soon be released and placed on electronic monitoring. Pio Toto was also ordered by the judge to surrender his passport, not to leave the state, and to have no contact with Pucheta Martinez's family.

Mount Prospect said it is continuing to investigate Pucheta Martinez's death and is working with the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office and the Cook County State’s Attorney's Office on this case. The Medical Examiner's Office is waiting for further test results before making a final conclusion on the cause and manner of death in this case. Any potential additional charges being filed would occur after an official ruling on the cause and manner of death of Pucheta Martinez by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, according to police.