Three suburban men have been charged with the slaying of an 18-year-old Aurora woman whose beaten and burned body was found Saturday morning in a wooded area, police said Sunday night.
The last homicide in Aurora occurred 400 days ago, in 2011, city spokesman Dan Ferrelli said.
Aurora residents Juan Garnica Jr., 18, of the 400 block of East Ashland Avenue; Enrique Prado, 19, of the 400 block of Jefferson Street; and Jose Becerra, 20, of the 0-99 block of Seaton Creek Drive in Oswego, have been charged with the murder of Abigail Villalpando, 18, of the 1900 block of Lilac Lane in Aurora, according to a statement from Aurora police.
Garnica was charged with two counts of first degree murder and one count of arson, Prado with single counts of arson and concealment of a homicide, and Becerra with one count of concealment of a homicide, according to the statement.
They are all scheduled for Monday morning video bond calls in front of a Kane County Judge.
Villalpando’s body, which was burned beyond recognition, was discovered by a Kane County Sheriff’s Department K-9 in a wooded area just inside the village of Montgomery near the intersection of Fifth Street and Wabansia Avenue at around 9 a.m. Saturday, the statement read.
Confirmation of her identity was made through dental records at an autopsy conducted Sunday at the Kane County Coroner’s Office.
The preliminary cause of Villalpando’s death at a Sunday autopsy was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head, according to the statement.
Villalpando had been reported missing by a family member at around 2:30 a.m. Friday after she failed to show up for work at Denny’s Restaurant on Thursday afternoon. Her empty car, a 2003 Nissan Altima, was found fully engulfed in flames underneath the High Street Bridge over the Burlington Northern Rail Road Tracks on the City’s near east side at about 10:40 a.m. Friday, the statement said.
Villalpando was last seen by the family member who had reported her missing Thursday afternoon at around 1 p.m., when she left her home for her job at the eatery, 4330 Fox Valley Center Dr., according to the statement.
A Denny’s employee called Villalpando’s home at around 5 p.m., saying she never showed up for work.
During the investigation into her disappearance, detectives learned she went to visit Garnica and Prado, both of whom she knew, at Prado’s home shortly after leaving her home, according to the statement.
During that meeting Garnica allegedly hit Villalpando several times in the head with a hammer after Prado left the room. It is not clear why Garnica started beating the victim. He then stuffed the girl’s body into a tote-type container and hid it in Prado’s garage, according to the statement.
During the overnight hours on Thursday, Garnica allegedly drove Villalpando’s vehicle to the area where it was found torched, the statement read.
At around 9 a.m. Friday morning, he met Prado, and the two went to a downtown gas station and filled a gas can with gasoline. After dropping off Garnica at the scene where he parked the vehicle, Prado returned to his home, the statement said.
Garnica set the vehicle on fire and ran back to Prado’s house. He then burned Villalpando’s body in a barrel in the backyard and enlisted Becerra’s help in dumping the body at the location where it was found, according to the statement.
Police have recovered several pieces of evidence but cannot elaborate further.
Garnica and Prado showed up at the police department for questioning at around 3 p.m. Friday, and were taken into custody. Becerra was taken into custody Saturday afternoon at his home, the statement said.
At around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the Kane County State’s Attorney authorized the charges.
Detectives have not established a motive.
rsobol@tribune.com
Police: 3 men face charges in slaying of Aurora woman
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