A Venezuelan cleaner accused of murdering his colleague and lover, then disposing of her body in a Hampshire forest, has appeared in court for the first time. Juan Toledo, 51, from Lambeth, wore a grey tracksuit and spoke only to confirm his name at the Old Bailey on Tuesday (June 10), where he is charged with murdering Yajaira Castro Mendez, a 46-year-old Colombian cleaner.
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC said Mr Toledo, of St Kitts Road in Gipsy Hill, and Yajaira, from Ilford, were colleagues at a building on Gray’s Inn Road in Camden, and that they had ‘recently been in a relationship’.
Security footage ‘suggested’ Yajaira was fatally injured within the building some time after 5pm, when she arrived, and 8:30pm, when it is alleged her body was removed in a wheelie bin and taken in the boot of a car to a rural part of Hampshire, the court heard. Yajaira was reported missing by a former flatmate when she failed to move into new accommodation on May 30, added Ms Carberry.
Detectives have said Yajaira was last seen in Camden on Thursday, May 29, and was reported missing two days later. After a missing persons investigation, the case was passed to the Met’s Specialist Crime Command. Mr Toledo was arrested in Lambeth last Wednesday (June 4), then charged with murder and remanded into custody at Barkingside Magistrates Court on Friday (June 6).
Following the discovery of Yajaira’s body in the Bolderwood area of the New Forest on Saturday (June 7)., Acting Detective Chief Inspector Sean Beasley said: “This is a very sad development in the investigation and our thoughts are very much with Yajaira’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. Officers have been working around the clock and continue to investigate the circumstances.
“There are still crime scenes in place and we’re working closely with Hampshire Police. We thank the community for their patience as we carry out our investigation and we continue to appeal to anyone with information that could assist the investigation to please come forward.”
Judge Mark Lucraft KC told Mr Toledo he will appear for a plea hearing on September 1, with a provisional three-week trial expected to take place on April 20 next year. The defendant was denied bail and remanded into custody.
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