A Chicago woman has been charged with murder, accused of killing a landlord who was trying to evict her and hiding the dismembered remains in a freezer, police say.
Sandra Kolalou, 36, was charged with first-degree murder and concealment of a homicide, Chicago police announced Wednesday.
Frances Walker, 69, who owned a boarding home and was renting rooms to several tenants, was killed, authorities said.
“The person who owns the residence has actually served the defendant with a notice to leave, or an eviction notice,” Brendan Deenihan, the Chicago police chief of detectives, told reporters.
“That very well could possibly be what … escalated this into the defendant becoming extremely angry” and committing this “horrific act,” he said.
Kolalou also faces a misdemeanor count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Police said she threatened a tow truck driver.
Kolalou was scheduled to appear at a bond hearing Thursday, NBC Chicago reported. It was unclear Thursday afternoon whether she had retained an attorney. Her relatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
Kolalou was held without bail Thursday. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 31, the Cook County State Attorney's Office said.
Concerned tenants called police to the victim’s home early Monday evening because she had not been seen in about a day, Deenihan said. Tenants told investigators they heard screaming about 2:30 in the morning.
Many of the tenants also told police they were afraid of Kolalou, Deenihan said.
Kolalou declined to speak to police, authorities said. Instead, they said, she left the residence and ordered a tow truck to Foster Beach, where her car was.
Tenants exchanged information with the tow truck driver, Deenihan said. The driver told the tenants that Kolalou placed a large bag in a garbage can at Foster Beach, he said.
“There were some bloody rags in this garbage can,” Deenihan said, which prompted police to send officers to Foster Beach while some remained in Walker's home.
Kolalou is alleged to have threatened the tow driver with a knife at Foster Beach, which led to her arrest.
The investigators at the home then “discovered the gruesome remains in a freezer,” Deenihan said.
Police obtained a warrant and found blood in the landlord's room and bloody knives in the home. The landlord may have been dismembered with large butcher knives, Deenihan said.
Walker appears to have been killed in her first-floor bedroom. The suspect lived on the same floor.
Deenihan praised the tenants who realized “something was wrong, which led to the arrest."
Kolalou has not cooperated with investigators, they said.
Family and friends said Walker was a beloved member of her church community. She was also a piano accompanist at the Evanston School of Ballet, NBC Chicago reported.