Jury convicts woman of killing her landlord, dismembering the body

Sandra Kolalou in a January 2022 mugshot and Frances Walker. (Chicago Police Department, veganula.com)

CHICAGO — A jury on Monday found a Chicago woman guilty of murdering her landlord, dismembering the woman’s body, and stealing her identity. Sandra Kolalou, 37, has maintained her innocence and pressed the state for a quick trial since prosecutors filed charges in October 2022.

Officials said Kolalou’s landlord, 69-year-old Frances Walker, regularly rented rooms in her home in the 5900 block of North Washtenaw, and Kolalou was one of her tenants.

Other tenants heard a scream in the home around 2:30 a.m. on October 10, 2022, and they grew concerned when they did not see Walker the next morning. Some residents checked in on Walker via text, and they received responses—responses that Chicago police accused Kolalou of sending after murdering Walker.

In announcing the charges, police and prosecutors said Walker had recently served Kolalou with eviction papers. They believed Kolalou killed Walker in Walker’s bedroom and then dismembered her, possibly using large butcher knives. Her body parts were later found inside a freezer at her home.

Kolalou’s attorneys said in court filings this month that she planned to present an alibi that she was at a hotel party in Warrenville and, later, asleep in her room at Walker’s home during the hours that prosecutors said Walker was killed. She would claim that she logged in to work remotely from home on the morning after the murder, the lawyers said.

Prosecutors went to trial on four charges: two counts of murder, aggravated identity theft of a person older than 60, and dismembering a human body. Yesterday, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts. Kolalou is expected to be sentenced this summer.

Tim Hecke is CWBChicago's managing partner. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there, he moved on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services that served every one of America's 100 largest radio markets. He became CWBChicago's managing partner in 2019. His email address is tim@cwbchicago.com