A man who is married has faced a court appearance following the discovery of his alleged former lover’s body found in a wheelie bin.
Juan Francisco Toledo stands accused of the murder of Yajaira Castro Mendez, aged 46, who was a former co-worker. It was revealed in court at the Old Bailey that Toledo had a previous relationship with the victim. The prosecution claims that Toledo killed Mendez at their workplace in central London’s legal district and then disposed of her body in a wheelie bin.
Toledo has pleaded not guilty to the charges of murdering Mendez and obstructing justice by hiding and discarding her body on or before June 7. During the court proceedings, Toledo, utilizing a Spanish translator, only spoke to confirm his personal details and enter his plea of not guilty.
It was alleged that Mendez arrived at work at 5 pm on May 29 and sustained fatal injuries inside the office building on Grays Inn Road the following June. The prosecutor, Caroline Carberry KC, asserted that Mendez’s body was removed from the office in a wheelie bin shortly after 8:30 pm.
Subsequently, the defendant reportedly transported the body in his vehicle to Hampshire where it was disposed of. Mendez, a Colombian national residing in Ilford, east London, was reported missing to the Metropolitan Police on May 31.
After Mendez’s former flatmate raised concerns due to her failure to relocate to new housing, the authorities were alerted. Toledo, a 51-year-old Venezuelan national from Crystal Palace, south London, was apprehended on June 4 and later charged with murder.
Following a search conducted by the police, Mendez’s body was located in the rural Bolderwood area of Hampshire on June 7.
The trial for this case is scheduled to commence on April 20 next year.