Mother Blasts Pritzker After Daughter's Death Linked to Immigrant
A grieving Illinois mother publicly condemned Gov. JB Pritzker for siding with 'criminals over citizens' after her 37‑year‑old daughter, Megan Bos, was found dead in a container behind the home of Luis Mendoza‑Gonzalez, an undocumented immigrant who has been charged with concealment of a death, abuse of a corpse and obstruction of justice. The case—initially complicated by the suspect’s release by Lake County Judge Randie Bruno at an initial appearance and his later custody by ICE—has fueled local anger and a broader state‑federal dispute over immigration enforcement, with toxicology and coroner results cited in reporting and Pritzker publicly criticizing ICE operations in Illinois.
Crime
Immigration
Politics
🔍 Key Facts
- Victim: Megan Bos, 37, was found deceased in a container behind a residence north of Chicago after weeks of searching.
- Suspect and charges: Luis Mendoza‑Gonzalez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was charged in April with concealment of a death, abuse of a corpse and obstruction of justice; ICE arrested him in July after an earlier judicial release.
- Official findings and disputes: The coroner reported no signs of trauma; toxicology detected fentanyl, cocaine metabolites and morphine; the victim’s mother denies prior claims that the victim was decapitated. Governor Pritzker publicly criticized federal ICE actions in Illinois, prompting ire from the victim’s family.
📍 Contextual Background
- New York City has sanctuary city status.
- A magistrate released suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. in January 2025 on a written promise to appear without requiring bond.
- Video footage captured an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer pushing a visibly upset Ecuadoran woman to the ground outside an immigration court at the 26 Federal Plaza building in Manhattan.
- The Department of Homeland Security released a statement saying the officer was being relieved of current duties while a full investigation was conducted and denouncing the officer's conduct as unacceptable.
- A crime statistician testified that rates of murder and violent crime were falling nationwide and in Charlotte after increases early in the 2020s (as of 2025-09-29).
- ICE identified the detained husband involved in the courthouse altercation as Ruben Abelardo Ortiz-Lopez and said he illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in March 2024.
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executes search warrants at residences and family homes as part of criminal investigations.