ICE arrests man accused of concealing Antioch, Illinois woman's body

CBS News

6 days ago

An Antioch, Illinois woman was missing for weeks before her body was found hidden in a container in Waukegan this past spring, and now, a suspect charged in connection with her death may not face justice after he was picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week.
Jose Mendoza-Gonzalez of Waukegan, Illinois,, faces several charges associated with hiding Megan Bos' body after she disappeared in February.
None of the charges though were severe enough for detainment in Lake County, Illinois court, so Bos' loved ones say this development comes with complex emotions.
"I've never called her anything but my sister," said Jennie Szalay. "I call her mom my mom, her dad my dad."
Szalay and Bos were friends for three decades, going back to when they were nine years old. After Bos disappeared, Szalay was part of the team that circulated missing persons flyers around Waukegan.
The team met just 100 feet from the backyard where Bos' body was found hidden in a garbage can.
Bos was reported missing to the Antioch Police Department on March 9, according to Waukegan police. On Thursday, April 10, Antioch detectives went to a Waukegan business to question Mendoza-Gonzalez as a person of interest who had frequent contact with Bos.
During that conversation, which had to be translated into Spanish, Mendoza-Gonzalez talked about Bos going to his house on Feb. 19 but initially said she left after her visit, police said. After further conversation about her whereabouts and whether she was still alive, he said that he did not want to be arrested at the store but did not say why, police said.
The conversation moved to the Waukegan Police Department, where Mendoza-Gonzalez told detectives that Bos was in a container in his yard in Waukegan, police said. He went on to say that Bos had come over to his residence on Feb. 19, and at some point, she snorted some drugs, but he did not know what type of drug it was, police said.
Mendoza-Gonzalez then told detectives that she asked if she could hang out in his basement, which he let her do, police said. He went to another part of the house, tending to a leaky pipe, but when he returned, he found her, police said. He believed she had overdosed and was already dead, police said.
Police said Mendoza-Gonzalez said 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 a container in his yard, where she remained until she was found by police.
Mendoza-Gonzalez, 52, is now charged with concealing Bos' death, abuse of a corpse, and obstructing justice.
Mendoza-Gonzalez was released to his home, as the charges didn't qualify for pre-trial detainment under Illinois' SAFE-T Act.
The defendant is now instead being detained by ICE. He is a Mexican national who could be deported before trial.
"We all slept better last night, knowing that A, no other person is going to get hurt right now, by him, at least; B, he didn't get to just go back home and sleep in his own bed," said Szalay.
"You have to keep in mind — it's two separate sovereigns doing two different things — the criminal case to put him in jail, and the immigration case possibly to deport him," said CBS News Chicago Legal Analyst Irv Miller.
Bos' loved ones are hoping to see the justice they wear across their hearts play out in court.
"Does this feel like justice? Absolutely. But is this where we stop? Absolutely not," said Szalay.
CBS News Chicago has reached out to ICE and to the Lake County, Illinois State's Attorney's office for next steps, but have not heard back