By Emeka Blast 
Ex-Lover Killed Woman, Used Bin for Body, Court Told
A tragic case has emerged in London involving the death of Yajaira Castro Mendez, a 46-year-old woman from Ilford. She was reported missing on May 31, 2025, and her body was discovered on June 7, 2025, approximately 96 miles away in Bolderwood, Hampshire. Her former partner and co-worker, Juan Francisco Toledo, 51, has been charged with her murder. Prosecutors allege that Toledo killed Yajaira on the evening of May 29 at their shared workplace in central London, where they both worked as cleaning staff. He is accused of placing her body in a wheelie bin, transporting it in his car to Hampshire, and disposing of it there. A post-mortem examination is ongoing to determine the exact cause of death. Toledo, a Venezuelan national, appeared at the Old Bailey with the assistance of a Spanish interpreter and was remanded in custody. A plea hearing is scheduled for September 1, 2025, with a provisional trial set for April 20, 2026.
This case is reminiscent of other tragic incidents where victims’ bodies were disposed of in wheelie bins. For instance, in 2011, Valmai “Jane” Birch was found dead in a water-filled wheelie bin in her Woonona apartment. Her ex-partner, David Bagster, was convicted of her manslaughter in 2022. Despite an inconclusive autopsy, evidence such as DNA on the wheelie bin and a letter implicating Bagster led to his conviction.
Another case involved Melissa Sowders, a 26-year-old pregnant woman who was murdered in late 2013. After a split from her controlling ex-husband, she went missing after meeting him. Her body was later found in a wheelie bin in a creek, showing signs of strangulation and chemical burns. Her ex-husband, Matthew Sowders, was arrested, pleaded guilty to capital murder, and was sentenced to sixty years in prison.
These cases highlight the tragic outcomes of domestic violence and the extreme measures some individuals take to conceal their crimes. The legal proceedings in Yajaira Castro Mendez’s case are ongoing, and further updates will be provided as they become available.
