A Chicago tow truck driver named Antonio Coria got way more than he bargained for after a routine service call took a horrifying turn.
Little did he know at the time, the woman he was picking up was a murder suspect.
The suspect, Sandra Kolalou called Coria in order to retrieve her SUV in another part of town. She left her apartment building after talking to police, carrying a black trash bag with her as she entered Coria’s truck, according to KABC-TV.
While Kolalou seemed fine initially, she mentioned she had an argument with her landlord, Frances Walker.
Walker had not been heard from since the fight which witnesses said was around 2:30 a.m. They alerted the police, and Walker was reported missing.
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Fearing for the tow driver’s safety, one of the tenants called the number that was on Coria’s business card.
The tenant warned Coria in Spanish and reportedly said, “I feel like [Kolalou] must have done something to [Walker] because she’s now gone missing…So please be careful.”
Coria had a strong feeling that something was off about the whole situation. He later stated that he “felt an evil presence was in here, in the truck.”
Unbeknownst to Coria, the black bag Kolalou was carrying with her was filled with bloody rags.
Kolalou attacked Coria with a pocket knife after she tried to use Walker’s credit card to pay Coria.
The police were already on the scene, and the assailant was taken into custody.
After not seeing Walker throughout the day, the tenants reported her as a missing person and police arrived to interview any potential witnesses.
Kolalou initially refused to speak to police, citing her “rights,” but eventually she allowed a quick search of her apartment which came up clean.
According to WFLD, the other tenants made it very clear that they were weary of Kolalou. Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan relayed these fears stating “many of the tenants who lived in this house were afraid of this individual.”
After Kolalou was arrested, police searched the suspect’s room and found a large amount of blood. This led them to find Walker’s dismembered remains inside a freezer.
Upon her arrest, Kalalou invoked her right to remain silent.
Police obtained a search warrant to further analyze Walker’s home where they found more blood, including bloody knives.
Kolalou was charged with first-degree murder and concealment of homicide on Wednesday.
Based on the preliminary evidence, police have asserted that Walker was murdered in her bedroom. She was then dismembered on the first floor of the residence.
The motive is thought to be an eviction notice that Walker had handed to Kolalou.
The text messages from Walker’s phone that were actually typed by Kolalou were key clues for the tenants. The “extremely unusual” messages stated that Kolalou would be taking care of Walker’s dog and that if anybody moved out they were to give their keys to her, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
This was after tenants had supposedly heard the two women get into an argument.
Police were quick to commend the tenants for their cooperation and due diligence. “The residents were very cooperative. When they heard the scream, when they woke up in the morning, they immediately started texting the victim … started calling the victim. The victim didn’t answer.
“There were some texts that were sent back from the victim’s phone. It appears from what we know now that the defendant was sending texts from the victim’s phone and not answering it,” Deenihan said, according to WFLD.
