Resolved case
Investigation Ready
Convicted
Court Records
Midland, Texas
•
2023-05-11
•
ex-girlfriend
intimate partner violence
homicide
domestic-abuse-history
body-concealment
plea-agreement
community-protest
texas
multi-agency-search
How to use this case file
Readers often arrive looking for the victim name, the case, the suspect, or the location. This page is meant to help you understand the memorial story, the documented timeline, and the verified public record in one place.
Browse the full case archive, explore the warning signs index, see the cross-case timeline, or find domestic violence support resources.
Victim summary
This summary layer helps readers understand the person, the known case posture, and the documentary shape of the file before moving into the fuller reporting.
Case snapshot
- Victim: Madeline Pantoja
- Age: 20
- Gender: female
- Race / ethnicity: L
- Relationship: ex-girlfriend
- Offender: Mario Juan Chacon Jr
Location and dates
- City: Midland
- County: Midland
- State: Texas
- Incident date: 2023-05-11
- Date of death: 2023-05-11
Case status and outcome
This section summarizes the court posture and procedural outcome that readers most often search for.
Status
- Case status: Sentenced
- Conviction status: Convicted
- Source strength: 4 linked sources
Charges and sentencing
Charges: Murder, Tampering With Evidence
Sentence: Chacon avoided a jury trial by pleading guilty on February 20, 2026, in the 142nd District Court to charges of first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. Under the terms of the plea agreement, he received a 35-year sentence for murder and a concurrent 20-year sentence for tampering, with parole eligibility after serving 17.5 years.
Court monitoring
This section reflects core court-tracking details only when they are available in the public case record.
Warning signs and risk factors
These markers help readers connect a single case to broader patterns of coercive control, escalating abuse, and missed intervention points.
Warning signs
Risk factors
Access to firearms
Available records
These are the documentary layers currently reflected in the public case file.
Court records
Life, memory, and case context
Madeline Molina Pantoja was a lifelong resident of Midland, Texas, born on May 25, 2002. Remembered by those close to her as a creative, energetic, and kindhearted young woman, she had a passion for beauty and style and aspired to build a career as a professional cosmetologist. She was deeply devoted to her family, including her parents and her two brothers, Roberto Jr. and Christian. Her sudden absence was immediately recognized as alarming by her family and her best friend, Jasmine Hernandez, because she would never willingly leave her pet dog without food and water. Madeline passed away just days before her 21st birthday.
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Fatal incident and reported circumstances
On the night of May 10, 2023, Madeline Pantoja was in her apartment on West Francis Avenue in Midland. Neighbors reported hearing a loud scream coming from the apartment at approximately 1:30 a.m. on May 11. According to court records and police affidavits, a violent struggle occurred inside the residence. Madeline's ex-boyfriend, Mario Juan Chacon Jr., assaulted her by striking her with his hands and feet, suffocating her, and strangling her to death. Chacon then removed her body from the apartment, concealing her remains inside her own living room coffee table, which he took from the apartment. He then used excessive cleaning products on the apartment floors in an attempt to erase the crime scene, leaving behind a dirty mop and a sticky residue. He drove the concealed remains to a remote field near County Roads 190 and 1160 in Midland County, where he left the table and her body.
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Aftermath and case developments
When family members were let into Pantoja's apartment on May 11, 2023, they noticed her dog was neglected, her phone and keys were left behind, and her coffee table was missing. Law enforcement subsequently executed search warrants and discovered a dark stain on her mattress, missing bedding, and holes punched through the bedroom and bathroom doors. As days passed without answers, her family and community members marched in protest of the Midland Police Department's handling of the case.
Following a breakthrough using Chacon's cellular location data, investigators focused on a rural area of Midland County, discovering Pantoja's remains on May 20, 2023. Chacon was arrested that day and held on a $3 million bond. Following indictment and pre-trial procedures, Chacon avoided a jury trial by pleading guilty on February 20, 2026, in the 142nd District Court to charges of first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. Under the terms of the plea agreement, he received a 35-year sentence for murder and a concurrent 20-year sentence for tampering, with parole eligibility after serving 17.5 years.
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Prevention context
This case illustrates the critical danger window that occurs during and immediately after a relationship breakup, which is a well-documented trigger for lethal escalation in domestic abuse. It highlights how a perpetrator's prior history of volatile behavior... indicated here by Chacon’s previous conviction for deadly conduct...serves as a clear warning sign of physical danger. The initial delay in processing the scene and obtaining early search warrants, which drew sharp public criticism from the victim's family, points to a common systemic barrier: the need for law enforcement to treat unexplained disappearances with immediate domestic violence protocols when there is a known history of relationship distress.
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Family interviews and memorial voices
When families choose to speak, their words help preserve memory, context, and the human reality behind the public record.
Family interview
Mario Juan Chacon Sentenced for Killing Madeline Pantoja
verified
Mario Juan Chacon Sentenced for Killing Madeline Pantoja
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Additional evidence and source material
Some materials do not fit neatly into one category but still belong in the documentary record of the case.
Document or transcript
Order Denying Defendants Renewedd Motion for Bond Reduction
On 11/16/2023 motion for Bond Reduction is DENIED and remains at $3,000,000.00
verified
News report
Surveillance Evidence
Flock cameras and security footage showed a pickup truck matching Chacon's driving near South County Road 1160 (near where the body was later found) at 1:59 a.m. and 3:22 a.m. the night of the murder.
verified
Surveillance Evidence
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News report
Madeline's 21st Birthday
Madeline's 21st birthday fell on May 25, 2023, just days after her remains were found. Loved ones held a balloon release in her honor. A memorial mass was held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church on May 27.
verified
Madeline's 21st Birthday
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Document or transcript
Relationship Timeline
Madeline had ended her relationship with Chacon the day before he killed her.
verified
Relationship Timeline
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