Update – Mount Prospect Police say they have charged a person in connection to the death of Atalia Pucheta Martinez whose body was found in the Busse Woods Forest Preserve on November 9, 2024.

MPPD says 26-year-old Juan Pio Toto is charged with one felony count of Concealment of a Death.

Detectives say they interviewed the victim’s ex-boyfriend, Juan Pio Toto, during the investigation. According to police, Pio Toto told detectives that he and Martinez had an altercation in the parking lot outside of their apartment in the early morning hours of November 9.

Pio told detectives that Martinez fell to the ground during the altercation and hit her head. Detectives claim he said he put her in the backseat of the vehicle and drove her to a wooded area where he placed her body.

Authorities say the charge is not a detainable offense so Juan Pio Toto was released and placed on electronic monitoring. He was also ordered to surrender his passport, not to leave the state, and not to have contact with the victim’s family.

Pio Tito will appear in court again on December 6, 2024. Police say any additional charges would occur after an official ruling on the cause and manner of death by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Original – The Mount Prospect Police Department reports that a missing person’s investigation has turned into a death investigation following the discovery and identification of a body. MPPD says it responded to the 1400 block of Brownstone Court for a report of a missing 23-year-old woman around 1:51 p.m. on November 9.

Around 9:30 a.m. on November 9, the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department and the Cook County Forest Preserve Police Department conducted a death investigation at the Busse Woods Forest Preserve after a body was located.

Police say the woman found deceased in Busse Woods was the same person reported missing from Brownstone Court. Police have identified the victim as Atalia Pucheta Martinez.

MPPD says it is conducting a death investigation. Police believe this is an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public.