A man who is married made an appearance in court following the discovery of his alleged former lover’s body in a wheelie bin.
Juan Francisco Toledo is facing charges of killing his ex co-worker, Yajaira Castro Mendez, aged 46. According to proceedings at the Old Bailey, Toledo and Mendez had previously been in a relationship. The court heard that Toledo is accused of murdering Mendez at their workplace, an office block in central London’s legal district, and then disposing of her body in a wheelie bin.
Toledo pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering Mendez and perverting the course of justice by hiding and getting rid of her body on or before June 7. He utilized a Spanish interpreter and only spoke to confirm his personal details and enter his plea of not guilty.
The prosecution alleged that Mendez sustained fatal injuries inside the office block on Grays Inn Road after arriving for work at 5 pm on May 29. Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC claimed that Mendez’s body was taken from the office in a wheelie bin shortly after 8:30 pm.
Subsequently, the defendant is said to have transported her in his car to Hampshire, where the body was disposed of. Mendez, a Colombian national residing in Ilford, east London, was reported missing to the Metropolitan Police on May 31.
It was mentioned in court that Mendez’s former flatmate raised concerns when she did not relocate to new housing. Toledo, a 51-year-old Venezuelan national from Crystal Palace, south London, was apprehended on June 4 and charged with murder.
Following a police search, Mendez’s body was discovered in the rural Bolderwood region of Hampshire on June 7.
His trial is scheduled to commence on April 20 next year.