"Body parts in the freezer"
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The Cook County medical examiner’s autopsy of the remains found in a North Side boarding house’s freezer this week did not yield an immediate cause or manner of death, according to records released by the office on Wednesday afternoon. But officials publicly identified the woman for the first time as 59-year-old Francis Walker.
No criminal charges have been announced in the case as of Wednesday afternoon.
Chicago police this week said the woman, now identified as Walker, rented rooms in her home to others. One of those residents called 911 on Monday evening after the woman went missing from her residence in the 5900 block of North Washtenaw.
Police initially filed a missing person report, but they returned to the house shortly after another 911 caller reported seeing blood inside the house.
During the second visit, police learned that some residents had grown afraid of a person living in the home, Deenihan said. That person, who is also a woman, had called a tow truck to remove her vehicle from the area and was also seen carrying a heavy bag to the tow truck.
Before the tow truck driver left, a quick-thinking resident exchanged phone numbers with him and gave the number to the police. Cops contacted the driver and located him in West Ridge. The suspect was still with him.
Deenihan said the suspect had threatened the tow truck driver with a knife after he picked her up.
Meanwhile, police discovered that the suspicious woman had thrown a large plastic bag into a trash can near the lakefront in the 5100 block of North Simonds Drive. Officers found bloody towels and other items in the trash can, which was taken to the medical examiner’s office in its entirety, Deenihan said.
The medical examiner initially listed the Simonds Drive address as the location of Walker’s death. In a Tuesday afternoon update, the office said no human remains were found at that location.
Back at the home, however, police found body parts in a freezer, Deenihan said. The officers left the house and secured a search warrant.
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Prosecutors have charged a woman with murdering her landlord, who was found dismembered in their North Side home’s freezer on Monday.
Sandra Kolalou, 36, is charged with first-degree murder, concealing a homicidal death, and misdemeanor aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She is due in bond court on Thursday.
Chicago police said in a media statement that Kolalou “participated in the murder” of Frances Walker.
Police tracked Kolalou down after she left Walker’s home in the 5900 block of North Washtenaw in a hired tow truck, authorities said. Walker, 69, rented rooms in her home to others, and Kolalou was one of her tenants, according to police.
During a Wednesday evening press conference, CPD Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said Walker had recently served Kolalou with eviction papers, and police believe that may have led to the murder.
Other tenants in the home heard a scream around 2:30 a.m. Monday, and that may be when the murder took place, Deenihan continued. Investigators believe Walker was killed in her bedroom, and Kolalou then dismembered her, possibly using large butcher knives, according to Deenihan.
The other residents, increasingly concerned on Monday that something had happened to Walker, tried to reach her by phone. Deenihan said some residents received text message responses from Walker’s phone that Kolalou may have sent.
The aggravated assault charge stems from allegations that she threatened a tow truck driver with a knife before police arrested her on Monday evening.
In January, an 84-year-old woman told police that Kolalou tackled her in the hallway of an Uptown condo building. The woman pinned the older woman to the floor and tried to put an inhaler in her mouth, saying, “I can help you,” according to a CPD report documenting the allegations.
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Call me crazy, but I think the cause of death just may have had something to do with having body parts chopped off and in a refrigerator.
Perhaps an autopsy may not really be necessary?
