CHICAGO — The woman who was found guilty of killing her landlord and storing body parts in a freezer maintained her innocence as Judge Ursula Walowski sentenced her Wednesday to 58 years in prison.

“I understand a jury found me legally liable for murder. But I did not commit this crime. With God as my witness, I never harmed Fran,” Sandra Kolalou told the court as she learned her fate in the death of 69-year-old Frances Walker.

Kolalou, 39, earlier this year was found guilty of first-degree murder, dismemberment and aggravated identity theft in Walker’s death. Police in the fall of 2022 discovered body parts in a freezer at Westridge Boarding home on the 5900 block of North Washtenaw Avenue while investigating Walker’s disappearance. Walker owned the boarding house and lived there. At the time Walker was reported missing, Kolalou was a tenant at Walker’s boarding house.


Woman convicted of dismembering landlord in Chicago

Frances Walker

At the Leighton Criminal Courts Building, Walker’s family reacted emotionally.

“Sandra asked the judge for mercy, but she did not give my sister any mercy,” said Walker’s sister, Benita Walker.

“”It’s just extra sad that it was like one of the best people that I knew in my life,” Walker’s brother Arnold Walker added. “She had no enemies.”

Kolalou’s attorneys vowed to appeal, alleging the police investigation into the matter was flawed.