Woman convicted of killing, dismembering landlord at North Side Chicago rooming house
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman was convicted Monday night of killing and dismembering her landlord in a rooming house in the North Side's Arcadia Terrace neighborhood.
Sandra Kolalou was convicted of one felony count of first-degree murder and concealing a homicidal death in the death of 69-year-old Frances Walker.
The murder happened in a rooming house with five tenants at 5919 N. Washtenaw Ave., just north of Thorndale Avenue, in a quiet community of bungalows and two flats. Stephen Tyng Mather High School is just a couple of blocks west, while Green Briar Park, Wolfy's hot dogs, and other popular spots are located on Peterson Avenue about a block to the north.
Prosecutors say in October 2022, Kolalou brutally murdered and dismembered Walker out of anger about being evicted from the rooming house. This was two days after Walker received complaints from other tenants about Kolalou.
Police said Kolalou replied to Walker's text messages, conveying the impression that Walker was still alive.
But the tenants still called the police. They also followed Kolalou as she got in a tow truck and went to Foster Beach – where she dumped some suspicious bags, prosecutors said at her bond hearing in 2022.
Police came to investigate the situation three times and left, but prosecutors said Kolalou was only arrested after a quarrel with the tow truck driver in which she pulled a knife.
A search warrant was then executed on the Washtenaw Avenue house. In the first-floor kitchen freezer, police found Walker's severed head, dismembered arms, and dismembered legs, prosecutors said.
"Society will be a little bit safer without this person out there, and the people wherever she's incarcerated are a little bit less safe," said Frances Walker's brother, Arnold Walker. "My wish for Ms. Kolalou is that she come around, and I hope that at some point, she will say what happened to my sister's remains that we're still looking for, and I hope she turns around and becomes a member, and does everything she can do to the betterment of society – safely, within the walls of an institution – for a very, very long time."
He said Kolalou never expressed any remorse, nor admitted to murdering his sister.
"Justice is served, and it doesn't bring Fran back to us no matter what, but at least we can finally start our healing," added Walker's sister-in-law, Maria Maggie Walker.
Kolalou will be sentenced on June 20.
