Authorities discovered that a landlord in Chicago’s North Side had been killed, dismembered and stuffed in the freezer by a tenant, the Chicago Police Department said Tuesday.
A woman who lives in the residential house notified the police at around 7 p.m. that her landlord, Frances Walker, was missing, Brendan Deenihan, CPD Chief of Detectives, said at a Tuesday press conference. Police identified a suspect resident whom fellow tenants were afraid of.
Police then found a tow truck driver, who said he dropped a large bag in a garbage can on Foster Avenue Beach on the suspect’s behalf, Deenhihan said. After retrieving the bag, investigators found bloody towels in a garbage can and called a tow truck to remove the evidence from the location, police said. When the medical examiner and detectives arrived on the property, they discovered the victim’s remains in the freezer and immediately retrieved all evidence there.
“Based upon that evidence the detectives were able to go into the residence, and they eventually discovered human remains in a freezer. At that point we backed out of the residence to secure a search warrant,” Deenihan said. (RELATED: REPORT: 22-Year-Old’s Dismembered Body Found Stuffed In Suitcase)
The tenant had stabbed and dismembered the victim and has since been taken into custody, Deenihan said. The suspect is being questioned at Area Three police headquarters and invoked her fifth amendment right to remain silent.
“Right now, detectives are still executing the search warrant, working with the medical examiner’s office, and we have a long way to go but obviously, you know, we believe that the missing person is obviously unfortunately, the individual we discovered,” Deenihan said.
Neighbors told Fox 32 Chicago that Walker commonly walked in the garden in West Rogers Park and played the organ for several churches in the community.
“Completely shocked. I mean she’s such a wonderful woman who cares about others. And I can’t imagine what would have angered somebody,” one neighbor said.