A woman whose remains were found in a freezer at a Northwest Side home has been identified, officials said Wednesday afternoon.
The body of Frances Walker was found Monday in a residence in the 5900 block of North Washtenaw Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and Chicago police.
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A Wednesday autopsy on Walker, 69, of the 5900 block of North Washtenaw Avenue, was inconclusive and pending further studies, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Additionally, contents inside a garbage can that were located at 5101 N. Simmonds Dr., at Foster Beach, and that officials said were connected to Walker’s case, have been determined to be “nonhuman,” according to a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office, who added it was not an animal.
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Meanwhile, a 36-year-old woman remains in custody in connection with the case, according to police.
Officers responded to a well-being check in block on Washtenaw around 7 p.m. Monday. The owner of the West Ridge neighborhood house — who rented the rooms out — had been missing for approximately 24 hours, the tenant who called police told them.
The tenant also told police the residents of the home were scared of one of the other people who lived there.
“It’s a lot of information, it’s all happening at the same time, and obviously it’s still an active investigation,” Chicago Police Department Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said at a news conference Tuesday.
The tenant that the others were afraid of, Deenihan said, had recently called a tow truck and carried out a heavy bag. The individual dumped the large bag in a garbage can at Foster Beach, police said.
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Detectives discovered bloody rags and towels inside the can and secured the scene. The can and its contents were transported to the medical examiner’s office Tuesday morning.
Based on that evidence, detectives returned to the West Ridge residence and found Walker’s remains in the freezer, police said. They then obtained a search warrant to search the house.
In the meantime, the tow truck driver called police and said the person he was transporting had pulled a knife on him. In responding to the scene, officers took person into custody for aggravated assault with a knife.
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Once at police headquarters, the individual invoked their right to remain silent in regard to the homicide investigation, Deenihan said Tuesday.
It was not clear Wednesday evening if that person, a 36-year-old woman, had been charged yet.
“We have a long way to go, but obviously, we believe that the missing person is obviously, unfortunately, the individual we discovered,” he said Tuesday.
Area 3 detectives are conducting a homicide investigation.