Just days before a Logan Square man was set to go on trial for allegedly concealing his girlfriend’s slaying last summer, Chicago police are seeking to upgrade the charge to first-degree murder.

Genesis Silva, 34, was arrested and charged in June with concealment of a homicidal death after detectives investigating the disappearance of Brittany Battaglia discovered her body stuffed into a duffle bag inside his apartment.

Cook County prosecutors have said Battaglia had been stabbed repeatedly, but that the fatal injury was a slash across her neck that nearly decapitated her.

Sources told the Sun-Times that police had sought to charge Silva with her murder at the time of his arrest, but the charge was rejected by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, which told police to keep investigating. Instead Silva was charged with concealment of a homicidal death, a Class 3 felony.

Chicago police

During a hearing Thursday over a defense motion to dismiss the charges, an assistant state’s attorney told Judge Mary Brosnahan that Silva wouldn’t be able to appear in her courtroom because he had been arrested again by Chicago police, who were seeking to charge him with first-degree murder.

The prosecutor said his office was still reviewing the case Thursday afternoon.

A source with knowledge of the case said they expected the state’s attorney’s office to approve the murder charge.

Defense attorneys declined to comment on a possible upgrade to the charges.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday in Silva’s trial on the lesser charge. It wasn’t immediately clear how that case would be handled going forward if Silva is charged with Battaglia’s murder.

Days before her body was found, Battaglia, 33, told her roommate that she was going to the home of Silva, whom she had been dating for more than a year, prosecutors said.

Battaglia was supposed to attend at a party the same night, but never showed up, and she was reported missing after her family could not reach her.

While investigating her disappearance, detectives conducted a traffic stop on Silva.

Silva got out of the car with a backpack and returned to his apartment with detectives, where a large duffel bag was discovered in his bedroom, prosecutors said.

The detectives declared the apartment to be a suspected crime scene and Silva was told to stay outside, according to prosecutors. After he allegedly tried to sneak inside the home through a back stairway, he was taken into custody.

A search warrant was obtained and detectives entered the apartment and found Battaglia’s body, as well as a tarp and garbage bags laid out in the kitchen, cleaning supplies and a paint suit, prosecutors said.

Two cellphones, two small pocketknives and an ice pick were found during a search, prosecutors said. A machete was allegedly found in his backpack and second machete was found in his car.

Prosecutors have also charged Silva with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, arguing that he was not allowed to possess a machete or an ice pick due to a 2009 conviction for sexual abuse.

In that case, Silva pleaded guilty after his charges were reduced from attempted murder and aggravated criminal sexual assault, officials said. Silva was also required to register as a sex offender.

In October, a second man, Peter Mathes, 37, was also charged with concealing Battaglia’s death.

DNA collected from Silva’s apartment allegedly matched to Silva, Mathes, Battaglia and a fourth person.

Prosecutors said that Silva made statements in recorded jail calls indicating that Mathes had assisted in cleaning up the apartment and that cell phone records further indicated his involvement.

Mathes was released on electronic monitoring while his case is pending. He appeared in court Wednesday for a brief hearing before Brosnahan. His next court date was set for Feb. 29.

Earlier this week, prosecutors played portions of jail calls during a hearing in Silva’s case so that Brosnahan could rule on what portions of the audio a jury would be allowed to hear.

In a calls with family and friends, Silva said he felt abandoned by the majority of the people in his life and discussed mental health issues, including references to experiencing symptoms similar to those when he had taken drugs, specifically ketamine and GHB.

In one call, speaking about Battaglia, Silva says she “saved my life” but also “made me go crazy.”