A deceased 96-year-old woman was discovered in a freezer during a police wellness check after her granddaughter became suspicious about her absence.
Sabrina Watson of Kentucky said she got a “gut feeling” about her grandmother on Monday and started looking online for any information about her death or burial. When she found none, she called Chicago Police.
“I couldn’t find her,” Watson said to WGN-TV. “No record of her being buried or a memorial online or anything like that, so I knew her body was somewhere, it was somewhere, and it wasn’t in the ground.”
Sabrina claimed that her mother was the owner of the house where her grandmother lived. Police searched and discovered the body in a garage freezer.
News footage showed police moving a large freezer out of a garage and into a van.
Tom Ahern of Chicago’s police spokeswoman confirmed that Regina Michalski (96 years old) was found dead in a freezer. Michalski is an immigrant from Poland, who arrived in the United States in 1946.
WGN spoke to the tenants of the building and confirmed that Michalski was in a nursing home.
Angela Yanez, another tenant stated that she last saw Angela around three to four years ago. She was still there.
Neighbors said that 69-year-old Eva Bratcher, the owner of the building and Michalski’s daughter, had been arrested soon after the discovery of the body.
Watson stated, “I feel almost like I’m living in a bad dream. “She was always so kind to me growing up. I can still recall her visiting me in Indiana sometimes.
WGN said that Bratcher had a criminal history and had pleaded guilty to forgery in 2006. She is charged with concealing a death and possessing a fraudulent ID card, both felonies.
This is a local report on the incident
