DUPAGE COUNTY, lll. — The trial for a mother accused of helping her son dispose of a body in 2018 has begun in DuPage County.

Candice Jones, 43, has been charged in the murder of Michael Armendariz.

Armendariz, 20, was reported missing on Jan. 18, 2018. Prosecutors allege Armendariz left his Naperville apartment shortly after 9 p.m. on Jan. 14, 2018, after receiving a Snapchat from 21-year-old Cassandra Green. Armendariz got into Green’s SUV.

A few minutes later, prosecutors said, Green’s boyfriend — 22-year-old Ernest Collins, who was hiding in the back of her SUV — fatally shot Armendariz twice in the back of his head.

The pair then allegedly drove Armendariz’s body to Chicago to Jones’ residence and the three stuffed Armendariz’s body into a garbage can, prosecutors alleged.

The trio is accused of later moving the garbage can to a vacant home next door to Green’s house.

In September, Collins was found guilty of Armendariz’s murder. He was denied bond. He is due in court in November.

Green pleaded guilty in March 2022. The Daily Herald reports the murder and kidnapping charges were dropped as a part of the deal. Green was sentenced to 21 years in prison and is set to testify against Jones.

The Daily Herald also reports that in opening statements, Jones’s attorney told the jury she “did some bad things, but it didn’t amount to aiding or abetting in a murder or an armed robbery.”

DuPage County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Paup said Jones was essential to the plan that resulted in Armendariz’s death.