Tenant kills landlord and dismembers her body after eviction notice, Illinois cops say
_fitted.png "A tenant killed and dismembered her landlord, hiding her body in a freezer after receiving an eviction notice, Chicago, Illinois, cops say.")
A tenant is facing murder charges after her landlord’s body was found dismembered in a freezer, according to authorities in Illinois.
Sandra Kolalou received an eviction notice from her landlord, Frances Walker, 69, on Saturday, Oct. 8, the Chicago Police Department said during a news conference on Oct. 12.
Walker’s body was later found dismembered in the freezer of the house she owned.
A scream in the middle of the night on Monday, Oct. 10, woke some of Walker’s tenants, who lived in different units of the same northside Chicago residence, police said. The next morning, the tenants texted and called Walker but couldn’t get a hold of her, officers said. By 7 p.m., they called the police to report her as missing.
Officers said they arrived at the house at the same time Kolalou was leaving. She refused to speak with them and got in a tow truck — paid for with Walker’s credit card — directing the driver to take her to a lakefront beach, detectives said at the news conference.
Walker’s tenants told police that they were afraid of Kolalou and, concerned with the tow truck driver’s safety and exchanged cell numbers with the driver.
At the lakefront beach, officers said Kolalou put a large plastic bag in a garbage can. Detectives found bloody rags and linens in the same garbage can.
Officers searched the residence and found more blood in Walker’s room, leading them to find her “gruesome remains” in the freezer, police said at the news conference. Detectives said they also found bloody knives at the home.
At the same time, the tow truck driver contacted Walker’s tenants, saying Kolalou had threatened him with a knife, detectives said. Officers responded and placed Kolalou in custody for pulling a knife on the driver. She invoked her right to remain silent on the investigation into Walker’s death and still has not been interviewed, police said.
Kolalou, 36, is now facing charges of murder and concealment of a homicide, according to the Chicago Tribune, Fox 32, and the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the remains in the freezer belonged to Walker. The office said that the garbage can did not contain human remains.
Walker’s brother told the Chicago Tribune that his sister was a “kind and caring” person who loved music. “She was a pillar of the community. She cared for the young and old,” he said.
The co-founder of Evanston School of Ballet, where Walker played piano, told the Chicago Sun-Times, “Fran was gentle, sweet, generous, kind. I just can’t believe an ending like this.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Tenant kills landlord and dismembers her body after eviction notice, Illinois cops say."
