A 36-year-old woman has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bail after she allegedly killed and dismembered her landlord at a North Side boarding house.
Sandra Kolalou is accused of killing 63-year-old Frances Walker in the incident, which occurred in the 5900 block of North Washtenaw on Monday morning.
Kolalou is accused of murdering her landlord after she was served an eviction notice, according to prosecutors, who laid out a detailed timeline of the incident in a proffer during Wednesday’s bond hearing.
Here is the timeline provided by authorities in the case.
Oct. 7:
Walker, having received multiple complaints from other tenants about Kolalou, who moved into the boarding house in July, changed locks on two doors in the residence to prevent the suspect from going into the basement.
Sunday:
Local
Prosecutors say that Walker posted an eviction notice on Kolalou’s door due to the ongoing conflict between tenants.
11 p.m.:
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Prosecutors say that Kolalou and Walker were seen arguing about the eviction notice.
Monday:
2:30 a.m.:
Prosecutors say that other tenants heard a series of loud bangs, as well as Kolalou and Walker once again arguing on the first floor.
A tenant in the basement said that they heard Walker trying to calm Kolalou down, and then heard a dish hitting the floor.
Meanwhile, the upstairs tenant heard the argument, and texted Walker to see if she was okay. No response was given.
3:30-5:30 a.m.:
At this time, the upstairs tenant heard what sounded like furniture being moved on the first floor. The downstairs tenant heard scratching noises in the common area, and what sounded like pacing.
6 a.m.:
Both tenants began to receive text messages from Walker’s phone, apparently telling them to allow Kolalou to take care of her dog and to give Kolalou their keys if they moved out.
12 p.m.:
The basement tenant of the building contacted police due to the bizarre nature of the text messages. Police responded to the scene, spoke to Kolalou and the basement tenant, and left the area.
5:40 p.m.:
Another tenant in the building files a missing person’s report for Walker. Police ask Kolalou to come outside, but are unable to contact her.
5:44 p.m.:
Kolalou contacts a tow truck driver, and asks them to take her to Foster Beach, where she says her vehicle is parked.
6:28 p.m.:
The tow truck arrives at the boarding house. Kolalou is seen exiting the residence with a large black plastic garbage bag, and she is stopped by officers.
Officers ask to search her bedroom, and she consents. While she is inside the residence, a witness looks in the black bag and sees paper, greeting cards, and several individual white garbage bags. They also purportedly feel “something heavy inside, like sand.”
Officers find nothing amiss in the bedroom, and release her.
At this time, the tow truck driver is informed of the situation by witnesses on the scene, and gives a business card to a witness. Kolalou then entered the tow truck, and was driven to Foster Beach.
During that drive, a witness calls the tow truck operator and tells him to “be careful.”
Once Kolalou arrives at the beach, she exits and discards the large black garbage bag into a trash can. The tow truck driver sees this, and tells the witness what has occurred.
He then leaves the scene with the suspect and takes her to a mechanic shop.
After they leave Foster Beach, three witnesses drive to the beach and open the trash can, where they find the white garbage bags.
Police search the bags, and find paper, greeting cards, pooled blood and blood-soaked rags.
At the same time, another witness at the residence finds blood in Walker’s room and in the common area.
The tow truck driver, now at the mechanic’s shop with the suspect, is told by witnesses that blood was found, and he begins to distract and delay Kolalou until police arrive.
Police arrive at the mechanic’s shop, question the suspect, but once again release her.
Because of the police conversation, the mechanic refuses to work on the car, and the tow truck operator is then told to take it to the area of Western and Estes.
At this time, Kolalou allegedly pays the tow truck operator with Walker’s credit card, and during the transaction, the driver notices that Kolalou is holding an object in her hand.
After she insisted the driver take her elsewhere, he refused, and she then pulled a knife out and threatened him. The driver yells to police, and uses a stick to keep her at bay. She is then taken into custody.
Finally, a search warrant is executed at the residence, where police discover Walker’s severed head, dismembered arms and dismembered legs in a freezer.
Police also found blood in several locations, including in the common area between Walker and Kolalou’s rooms, the threshold leading to Kolalou’s room, the first-floor bathroom sink and closet, and on two large butcher knives found in the kitchen.
Finally, Walker’s phone was found next to Kolalou’s bed.
