MIDLAND, TEXAS — A 27-year-old Texas man will spend the next several decades behind bars after pleading guilty to murdering his ex-girlfriend and concealing her body inside a missing coffee table, authorities announced.
Mario Juan Chacon pleaded guilty to one count of murder and one count of tampering with evidence in connection with the 2023 death of 20-year-old Madeline Pantoja, according to the Midland County District Attorney’s Office.
On Friday, a judge sentenced Chacon to 35 years in prison for murder and 20 years for tampering with evidence. The sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve them at the same time.
Last Contact and Welfare Checks
Pantoja was last heard from on the night of May 10, 2023. Friends told investigators she had spoken about plans to go swimming at her apartment complex the next day. When calls and messages went unanswered, friends went to her apartment at the Palladium Museum Place Apartments on West Francis Avenue in Midland.
No one answered the door.
On May 11, officers responded to a welfare check requested by her brother, but again there was no response. The following day, police returned after someone reported hearing a woman’s voice inside the apartment.
This time, officers gained entry.
Troubling Scene Inside Apartment
Inside the unit, police found no sign of Pantoja. Instead, they discovered what investigators later described as suspicious conditions.
According to court documents, a mop and a dirty bucket of water were near the front door. The floor was reportedly extremely sticky, consistent with heavy use of cleaning products. Pantoja’s coffee table was missing, and her dog had been left without food or water — something friends said she would never do.
There were also holes in a bathroom door and damage to a bedroom door, with hair attached. A comforter was missing, and a large red stain was visible on the bedsheet.
Changing Story and Surveillance Evidence
Chacon initially told police he last saw Pantoja on May 9 and last spoke to her by phone on May 10 while he was at home. That account later changed.
In a second interview, Chacon claimed he had met up with a cousin the night she disappeared. Surveillance footage and cellphone location data, however, placed his pickup truck near the apartment complex between approximately 12:26 a.m. and 3:37 a.m.
Cameras captured him near South County Road 1160 at 3:22 a.m., investigators said.
During a third interview, detectives confronted Chacon about inconsistencies in his timeline. He acknowledged they had found discrepancies but asked to leave, and investigators allowed him to do so at the time.
Discovery of Remains
On May 20, 2023, law enforcement and Texas Rangers used cellphone data to focus on an area near East County Road 190 and South County Road 1138 in Midland County.
Human remains were discovered in the search area and later confirmed to belong to Pantoja based on jewelry identification. Authorities indicated her body had been placed inside the missing coffee table.
Chacon was arrested later that same day.
Cause of Death and Court Proceedings
An autopsy conducted in Dallas County determined that Pantoja died from a combination of strangulation and suffocation. The report also stated she had been beaten during the attack, including with hands and at least one object.
Chacon was formally indicted for murder in July 2023 and later indicted on the tampering charge in November 2025.
He has remained in the Midland County Jail on a $3 million bond since his arrest. With his sentence now imposed, he will be transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He will be eligible for parole after serving at least half of his sentence, with credit for time already served.
The case has left lasting scars on the Midland community, as friends and family continue to mourn the loss of a young woman whose life was cut short.
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