Sandra Kolalou (L) Frances Walker, landlord (R)
Chicago, Illinois – Sandra Kolalou was charged with first-degree murder for dismembering her elderly landlord, Frances Walker, 69, and putting the body parts in a freezer after getting an eviction notice.
Frances Walker was a beloved member of her church and community and was known to rent rooms to anyone who needed a roof over their head.
According to reports, Francis Walker’s tenants living inside of the building heard screams and loud bangs on Monday afternoon.
The frightened tenants text messaged Frances Walker to let her know about the screams and they got a reply – but according to police, the reply texts were sent by Kolalou.
“The residents were very cooperative. When they heard the scream, when they woke up in the morning, they immediately started texting the victim … started calling the victim,” Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said Wednesday. The victim didn’t answer. There were some texts that were sent back from the victim’s phone. It appears from what we know now that the defendant was sending texts from the victim’s phone and not answering it.”
A few hours after they heard screams, the tenants heard “scratching noises” in the building’s common area.
According to prosecutors, the tenants also received more text messages from Frances Walker’s phone stating that Kolalou would now be dealing with anyone who moves out of the building.
Frances Walker’s phone was eventually found in Kolalou’s bedroom.
“In the first-floor kitchen freezer, police discovered the victim’s severed head, dismembered arms and dismembered legs,” Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers said. “The victim’s torso has not been located at this time.”
Kolalou also pulled out a knife and threatened a tow truck driver.
Sandra Kolalou on Tuesday claimed she was innocent during her first court appearance. She is due back in court on October 31.
NBC Chicago reported:
Prosecutors revealed disturbing new details on what happened in the moments leading up to and after a woman allegedly killed and dismembered her Chicago landlord before putting the human remains in a freezer.
Sandra Kolalou was ordered held without bond in court Thursday, with Judge Kelly Marie McCarthy saying she poses a “real and present threat.”
Kolalou, 36, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of her landlord, Frances Walker. She also faces a felony charge of concealing a homicidal death, and a misdemeanor count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a 24-year-old truck driver, court documents say.
Authorities said they were called around 7 p.m. to the home in the 5900 block of North Washtenaw in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood for a wellbeing check, after a tenant reported that Walker hadn’t been seen and wasn’t responding to texts.
At the time officers arrived, Kolalou was seen carrying garbage bags and allowed police to search her room, prosecutors said. When officers did not find anything, Kolalou was allowed to leave with the tow truck she had called to take her, and the garbage bags, to Foster Avenue Beach, where she said her car had broken down.
Once there, the driver reported Kolalou dumped the garbage bags in a trash can at the beach before needing to take her car to a mechanic, prosecutors said.
After attempting to get her car serviced at multiple locations, prosecutors allege Kolalou paid the driver with Walker’s credit card before growing upset that he wouldn’t take her to another shop. That’s when they say she pulled a knife on the driver, who defended himself with a stick until police arrived.
The driver then told police about the garbage bags he claimed Kolalou dumped near the beach.
“The tow truck driver actually gave us a location and explained the person he was transporting actually pulled a knife, so officers responded to that scene and placed the suspect into custody,” Deenihan said.
Authorities said they later found bloody rags inside that garbage can. According to the Cook County Medical Examiner, the contents of the bag did not contain human remains.