Sandra Kolalou: Chicago woman faces murder charges after landlord's dismembered remains found in freezer
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: A dismembered woman's body was found in the freezer of her own residence on October 10, and police took a tenant of the deceased in custody later. Sandra Kolalou, 36, a tenant of 69-year-old Frances Walker, was the prime suspect for the murder, as reported by another of Frances' tenants. Sandra has since been charged with first degree murder and concealment of homicide.
The investigation has revealed some shocking details regarding the crime. Apparently, all the other tenants of the building were afraid of Sandra Kolalou. When the officers arrived at the scene, Sandra was seen talking to the tow truck driver, asking him to drive her to Foster Beach under the pretext that her car had to be towed from there. However, when the officers went to the beach, they found blood-soaked rags in large bags.
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Dismembered Chicago woman's body found in her own freezer after her concerned tenants alert police
On October 10, the tenants and neighbors heard loud screams from the residence of Frances Walker, which immediately raised their concerns. They began calling and texting her. The calls were not answered but their texts received replies which, according to the officers, were sent by Kolalou.
According to Fox 32, Chicago Police Department Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said, "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. 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."
According to Deenihan, Frances had served Sandra with an eviction notice on Saturday, October 8. He believes this could have prompted the murder.
Neighbors were concerned about the tow truck driver's safety after they noticed Kolalou conversing with him. They promptly exchanged numbers with him and informed him of the danger. They then followed the driver to the beach, where they found that the large bags contained bloody rags, and informed the police. It was revealed that the driver was paid from Frances' card. The police later collected the evidence from the beach. Additionally, the tow truck driver also informed the tenants that large bags were dumped in garbage cans.
Cops couldn't initially find evidence for foul play, but once they discovered the rags from the beach, they acquired a search warrant and were able to find some blood in Kolalou's room and on some knives. Later, they also found dismembered body parts in the freezer. While they were inside, Kolalou was threatening the tow truck driver with a knife for talking to the other tenants.
The CPD then responded to the situation and took Sandra under custody for pulling out a knife. However, Sandra, who has a history of misdemeanor offenses, insisted that she knew her rights and remained silent. After examining the scene and collecting evidence, the police came to the conclusion that Frances was killed in her room and was dismembered on the first floor.
As for the tenants not being aware of the dismemberment, the police said, "The way the residence is set up, there's a couple apartments on the top floor – call it the second floor – and then on the floor where the victim lived, that is the same floor that Sandra resided on as well. And then there was a tenant in the basement. And there were deadbolts so people had privacy."