Woman convicted of killing, dismembering Chicago landlord appeals for new trial
By Adam Harrington
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — Attorneys for a woman convicted of killing her 69-year-old landlord in Chicago’s Arcadia Terrace community have filed an appeal.
The attorneys for Sandra Kolalou claim that prosecutors did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Kolalou was convicted in April 2024 on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, for the death of 69-year-old Frances Walker in October 2022 at a home in Chicago’s Arcadia Terrace neighborhood. In July 2024, Kolalou was sentenced to 58 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Kolalou was upset that she was being evicted by Walker from a rooming house at 5919 N. Washtenaw Ave. The murder happened two days after Walker received complaints from other tenants about Kolalou.
Police at the time said Kolalou conveyed the impression that Walker was still alive in her replies to text messages.
Prosecutors said Kolalou called a tow truck to take her to Foster Avenue Beach, where her broken-down car was parked. At one point, she pulled out a knife on the driver in the area of Western and Estes avenues after they refused to take her elsewhere.
The tow truck driver watched her dump a black garbage bag into a garbage bin. At the beach, pooled blood and blood-soaked rags were found inside. Investigators also found portions of Walker’s body in the home’s freezer.
Kolalou’s attorneys are now asking for a new trial, on the grounds that the investigation was flawed and the defense was not allowed to present key evidence.
In an unrelated case, Kolalou won a verdict of nearly $3 million in a lawsuit she filed against the Chicago Transit Authority after she was hit by a bus while walking in a Chicago crosswalk on March 1, 2018. In January, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the CTA must pay the verdict, as it had nothing to do with the murder case.
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