No Bond For Chicago Tenant Accused Of Killing, Dismembering Landlord

CHICAGO — A judge on Thursday ordered that a 36-year-old Chicago woman held without bond on allegations she killed her landlord and stuffed her remains into a freezer after the woman learned she was going to be evicted.

Sandra Kolalou was charged with first-degree murder, concealing a homicidal death and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the death of 69-year-old Frances Walker on Wednesday.

Police said on Wednesday that Kolalou was a boarding tenant of Walker’s at a home on Chicago’s Northwest side in the West Ridge neighborhood and that she was served as eviction notice by Walker, which could have escalated the situation.

Kolalou appeared in Cook County bond court on Thursday, when the judge agreed with prosecutors who asked that the woman be held without bond. Prosecutors said during Thursday's hearing that the "facts of this case speak for themselves", WTTW reported.

Walker’s head, arms and legs were found by police in a kitchen freezer during a police search, but the 63-year-old’s torso is still missing, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers said during Thursday's hearing.

The assistant public defender assigned to represent Kolalou called the state's case "highly circumstantial" and said that the defendant maintains her innocence.

Officials said Wednesday that tenants had called the police a number of times complaining about Kolalou, but did not provide further details.

According to reports, Walker, who played piano at Evanston ballet school, was killed on Monday, Chicago police said at a news conference. Police officials said at the news conference that Kolalau had been served with an eviction notice from the boarding house in the 5900 block of Washtenaw Ave. in West Ridge.

Police said that after dismembering Walker’s body, Kolalau tried to dispose of evidence at a Rogers Park beach. Chicago Police Det. Brendan Deenihan said at the news conference on Wednesday that other tenants heard screaming coming from the house and called the police. Deenihan credited neighbors for helping lead to the arrest of the woman.

Deenihan said that the assistance from the other tenants led police to find Walker’s body in the freezer and bloody towels at the local beach.

“I truly want to thank those tenants for their tenacity (for) realizing that something is definitely wrong, which led to the arrest,” Deenihan told reporters at the news conference.

Deenihan said that neighbors heard screaming from inside the house at 2:30 a.m. on Monday and immediately called Walker to find out if everything was OK. Deenihan said that the other tenants in the home had argued with Kolalau before and were in fear of the woman, the detective said.

Police were called on Monday evening to do a wellness check at Walker’s residence, and Kolalau declined to speak with police at the time. The detective said at the news conference that Kolalau left in a tow truck instead and asked the driver to take her car to the beach.

He said that she was carrying “a heavy bag” and placed it in her car. Residents also got the contact information for the tow truck driver and told him that Kolalau was dangerous. The tow truck driver told tenants that Kolalau had deposited the bag at the beach, which led them to go to the location, where they found the bloody towels, police said.

Kolalau was charged with misdemeanor aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after police said she threatened the 24-year-old tow truck driver with a knife after he saw her depositing the large bag into a trash can at the beach, police said.

Deenihan said that police did not initially find any evidence of blood or foul play. Still, after learning of the bloody towels at the beach, police did a more extensive search, Deenihan said, and detectives later found bloody knives inside the residence.

“They were able to find some additional blood inside the tenant’s room, at which point they discovered the gruesome remains in a freezer,” Deenihan said.

Prosecutors said on Thursday that based on the complaints of the other tenants, Walker had recently changed the locks at the residence and posted the eviction notice on Kolalou's door.

In Thursday's hearing, prosecutors said that neighbors on Monday morning became alarmed by a series of “extremely unusual” text messages sent from Walker’s phone. One message indicated that Kolalou would be taking care of Walker’s dog and to give Kolalou their keys if they moved out.

Kolalou is due back in court on Oct. 31.