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A Chicago woman has been arrested after her landlord’s dismembered remains were found in her home’s freezer.
Frances Walker, 69, was found dead in her white-framed home on North Washtenaw Avenue, where she rented out her spare rooms to female tenants.
Police believe one of those women killed Walker, dismembered her and put her remains in the freezer.
The unnamed tenant, who has been arrested, is not cooperating with the investigation.
Tributes poured in for Walker, who was a pianist for her local church and much loved in her community.
Brendan Deenihan, CPD chief of detectives, said: “When the police arrived, that person told the police that there was another suspect living in the house that the other tenants were afraid of.
“And that suspect had recently called a tow truck and carried a heavy bag to the tow truck.
“Based on that evidence, the detectives were able to break into the home and eventually discovered human remains in a freezer.
Frances Walker, 69, was found dead in the fridge after neighbors worried about her whereabouts. A woman, who was a tenant living in her house, was arrested
“At that point we walked out of the house to get a search warrant.”
Neighbors were concerned when they saw Walker—an avid gardener—not tending her lawn over the weekend. She loved her dog Lukey and was often walked with him.
Chicago police were alerted by one of her other tenants to conduct a welfare check.
Frances’ heartbroken sister-in-law took to social media to pay tribute to the “nicest person you’ll ever meet” after the horrifying news.
Maggie Walker added that the whole family is in shock after the “barbaric act”.
She wrote: ‘The nicest person you will ever meet, gentle, religious, plays at various masses for church services on Sundays… just a great loss to the family.
“She was also the sole caregiver for our older brother Stan, who has mental health issues and lives in an institution. We don’t even know how to explain it to him…
“We are all shocked by this barbaric act of tenants… We, the family, hope this person will be charged.”
The white house where Frances lived. The beloved woman often rented out spare rooms in her house to women. Police believe one of the tenants killed her and then kept her dismembered body in the freezer
Police are investigating on the spot. Residents said they saw the suspect with a heavy bag getting help from a tow truck driver. They found the bag in a garbage can (pictured) and found it with blood-soaked rags
The murder investigation is ongoing and the arrested female suspect is said to be uncooperative
Local Miranda Castillo said, “I know she’s very friendly. She knows everyone else in the area.’
Andy, another neighbor, added: ‘We just assumed she was sick because it’s flu season. And then we started to realize she wasn’t there and we tried to call her. We didn’t get a text or a phone call and then we thought something had happened.’
A third local said: ‘Totally shocked. I mean, she’s such a wonderful woman who cares about others. And I can’t imagine what would have pissed anyone off.’
Cecilia Soto added: “It’s incredibly unbelievable that someone would do such a thing to her. She was too nice. That’s all I can say is she was very nice. She was always sweet. She was very happy. She was always with her dog Lukey.”
Residents said they saw the suspect get help from a tow truck driver with a heavy bag.
Police tracked down the tow truck driver, who told them that the woman he picked up dumped a large bag in a trash can. Police said the woman had pulled a knife on him.
They found the bag and found it with blood-soaked rags. After finding this evidence, they entered the residence where they found the remains in the freezer.
A murder investigation is underway.