Regina Michaelski, a 96-year-old woman, was found dead inside a freezer. The woman’s granddaughter Sabrina Watson became suspicious and contacted the police to do a wellness check.
Watson, who is from Kentucky, said she had a feeling in her gut on Monday that something was wrong and started looking online for information about her grandmother’s death or burial as reported by WGN-TV.
When she couldn’t find anything, she contacted the Chicago Police. “I couldn’t find her,” Watson explained to the outlet. “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.”
The police search of the building owned by Watson’s estranged mother led to the discovery of her grandmother’s body in the garage’s freezer. News outlets captured footage of the police moving the large freezer into a police van.
Chicago Police spokesperson Tom Ahern confirmed that the body of 96-year-old Regina Michalski was found inside the freezer. She had been an immigrant to the United States from Poland after World War II.
Another tenant, Angela Yanez, said the last time she had seen her was a few years ago. Neighbors reported that Eva Bratcher, the 69-year-old owner of the building and Michalski’s daughter, was arrested soon after the body was discovered.
Bratcher had a criminal history and had previously pleaded guilty to forgery in 2006. She has since been charged with concealing a death and possessing a fraudulent ID card, both felonies.
Watson said she felt like she was in a bad dream, saying, “She was always very sweet to me. I remember growing up; she would visit me in Indiana sometimes.”