MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Mario Chacon, Jr., was set to appear in court Thursday for a pre-trial hearing in connection with the disappearance and subsequent death of 20-year-old Madeline Pantoja last May; that hearing did not take place after the defense team filed a motion late Wednesday requesting a jury trial, according to a source close to the investigation. 

That means Chacon has decided not to accept any plea deal. 

Sources said attorney Steve Hershberger has also filed several motions, including a motion to quash the murder indictment and a request for the autopsy report. Pantoja’s body was taken to Dallas for an autopsy in late May but her cause of death has not yet been revealed.

A trial date has tentatively been set for December 4, 2023, in the 142nd District courtroom. However, the District Attorney’s Office said, “All of the dates listed can, and very often do, change.”