A Midland County judge has sentenced Mario Juan Chacon, 27, to decades in prison for the 2023 killing of his ex-girlfriend, Madeline Pantoja.
According to the Midland County District Attorney’s Office, Chacon pleaded guilty to one count of murder and one count of tampering with evidence. Judge David G. Rogers sentenced him to 35 years for murder and 20 years for tampering with evidence, with the sentences running concurrently.
Investigation Uncovered Signs of Violence and Deception
Pantoja, 20, was last heard from on May 10, 2023, when she made plans with a friend. After she failed to respond to calls, friends and family requested welfare checks at her apartment at the Palladium Museum Place Apartments in Midland, Texas.
When officers eventually entered the residence, they discovered signs of an attempted cleanup, including a mop and bucket near the door, sticky floors, missing furniture, and damage to doors. A large red stain was found on bedding, and her dog had been left without food or water.
Investigators tracked Chacon’s movements through surveillance cameras, traffic footage, and cellphone data, placing him near the apartment complex during the early morning hours after Pantoja disappeared. After inconsistencies in his statements, search teams used phone data to focus on a rural area of Midland County, where Pantoja’s remains were discovered on May 20, 2023. Authorities said the remains were found inside her missing coffee table.
Autopsy Findings and Sentence
An autopsy determined that Pantoja died from strangulation and suffocation and had been beaten. Chacon was indicted later in 2023 and remained in custody on a $3 million bond.
Under Texas law, he will be eligible for parole after serving at least half of his sentence and will receive credit for time already spent in jail awaiting trial.
