Antonio Coria couldn’t believe he spent 90 minutes with a woman who is now charged in the gruesome murder of her landlord, 69-year-old Frances Walker
Walker's remains were partially found Monday night, stuffed inside the freezer of her West Ridge boarding house.
“When I first picked her up she was sitting right here (in the backseat),” said Coria. “She had placed the black bag right here.”
Coria told NBC 5 the woman identified as Sandra Kolalou called for services Monday evening. When he arrived at the home near the intersection of Washtenaw Avenue and Thorndale Avenue, he saw police and tenants outside.
“She’s acting normal, honestly, she’s not making anything of it,” Coria said. “She’s like, 'Man, this is odd. I don’t know why they’re trying to talk to me.' I’m like, 'Yeah, honestly, I don’t know what’s going on here.'"
Kolalou then told Coria that police and tenants were looking for her "neighbor", and that she was unaware of her whereabouts.
Police questioned her about her landlord’s disappearance, but released her after no evidence emerged at the scene.
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Coria said Kolalou then got into his truck with a black bag. He added that a neighbor had warned him about Kolalou, saying that she may be guilty of something.
Coria then drove her to Foster Beach where he towed her vehicle. That’s when he noticed something suspicious.
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“She continues to walk towards the bin and I’m like, 'Hmm, that’s odd,'” he said. “She throws away the bag and I’m like, 'Okay, I guess she threw away the bag there. That’s kind of weird already.”
While on the way to the mechanic shop, Coria learned from other tenants on the phone after they had previously exchanged contact information that they had discovered bloody rags in a bag left in the garbage can.
“I’m just sensing, she’s just staring at me,” he said. “She knows something’s up.”
Coria said Kolalou sat in the front seat and her demeanor changed.
“This is how you’re supposed to sit right? She’s sitting like this, just looking at me,” he said. “I’m driving, just sensing that she is just staring at me.”
Police arrived to the mechanic shop to question Kolalou once again, but released her. The mechanic shop refused to service her vehicle after noticing police presence, so Coria drove her to the intersection of Western Avenue and Estes Avenue, where he said she paid using the victim’s card.
“I’m writing her information of the card on the receipt and when I see the name, I’m like, 'What the heck,'” he said. “If your name is Sandra, who the heck is Frances Walker?”
Coria got out of his truck, fearing she was going to harm him at this point.
“Everything inside of the truck is feeling like, 'Hey, you’re going to get stabbed,” he said.
Moments later, Coria said she pulled a knife on him when he refused to move her car to a different location.
“I’m just keeping my distance with my stick, 'Hey, back the f--- up because you’re acting weird,'” he told her. Coria then noticed nearby police officers and flagged them down, leading to Kolalou's arrest for pulling a knife on Coria.
Days after Kolalou's arrest, she was charged with the murder and dismemberment of Frances Walker, who neighbors said would do anything for her tenants.
As he looks back on the surreal experience, Coria fears he could have been one of her next victims.