An Elmhurst man is being held in custody on murder and armed robbery charges after a woman's body was found in Wadsworth, Illinois, over the weekend.

The Lake County Coroner's Office said they were notified shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday that a body had been found in a wooded area near Adams and Delany roads in Wadsworth. The coroner identified the remains as 21-year-old Claudia Mojarrieta-Matos of Greenacres, Florida, who was connected to a missing persons investigation being conducted by Elmhurst police.

The DuPage County State's Attorney's Office said Elmhurst police received a 911 call about a missing person at about 4:35 a.m. on Saturday. The man who called said he had dropped Mojarrieta-Matos off in the 600 block of West Lorraine Avenue to meet with another person, who police later identified as 22-year-old Santino Ortiz.

The man told police that about 15 minutes later he received a call from Mojarrieta-Matos, during which he heard a struggle and her crying before the call was abruptly cut off. When he returned to the area he dropped her off, the man was not able to find her and so he called 911.

Elmhurst police said they identified Ortiz as a suspect, noting his home was one block directly north of where Mojarrieta-Matos had been dropped off. Ortiz agreed to meet with Elmhurst police at the department, where they interviewed him and then took him into custody.

Prosecutors say Ortiz solicited Mojarrieta-Matos for sex work and arranged the meetup, after which Ortiz led her into his garage.

Prosecutors say he then took out a knife and repeatedly stabbed her from behind, then wrapped her head in a garbage bag and put her body in a garbage can.

Prosecutors say the next morning, around 8 a.m., Ortiz put her body into his pickup truck, left his home and then ultimately disposed of her remains in the wooded area in Wadsworth about 40 feet off the roadway.

Prosecutors said the autopsy found Mojarrieta-Matos had been stabbed seven times in her face and head.

Ortiz appeared in court Tuesday and was ordered held without bond. He is charged with six counts of first-degree murder, one count of armed robbery and one count of concealment of a homicidal death, all felonies.

He is due back in court on Jan. 5, 2026.