Man Facing Deportation Held in Jail, Charged with Hiding Illinois Woman’s Death

A Waukegan man set to be deported to Mexico is now being held in Illinois to face charges for concealing the death of a Lake County woman.

Jose Mendoza-Gonzalez is accused of hiding Megan Bos’s body in his backyard inside a trash can with bleach for weeks while her family searched for her. Bos, from Antioch, went missing around February 19, and her body was discovered nearly two months later.

Mendoza-Gonzalez faces charges of concealment of a death, abuse of a corpse, and obstructing justice. Initially, he was released because the charges did not meet Illinois’ SAFE-T Act requirements for pre-trial detention.

After Jennifer Bos, Megan’s mother, contacted former President Donald Trump, Mendoza-Gonzalez was taken into federal custody. He later requested to self-deport to Mexico, which would have allowed him to leave before facing further prosecution—a move initially approved by an immigration judge.

Prosecutors quickly acted to have Mendoza-Gonzalez returned to Lake County to be detained for trial. Lake County Judge Daniel Shanes noted that requesting deportation could be seen as a “sure thing” attempt to avoid prosecution.

Mendoza-Gonzalez was brought to court Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and handed back to Lake County authorities. He is expected to remain in jail until his trial in January.

Jennifer Bos said the immigration aspects have complicated her search for justice, taking time and attention away from her daughter’s case.

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