CHICAGO — A woman in Chicago has been charged after her mother’s body was reportedly found in a freezer.
Eva Bratcher, 69, has been charged with concealing her 96-year-old mother’s death and possessing a fraudulent identification card, according to The Associated Press.
The body of Bratcher’s mother, Regina Michalski, was reportedly discovered earlier this week in a freezer in a garage of an apartment the two had shared, police said according to the AP. Bratcher in recent years had been living in a different apartment near the area of the previous apartment.
[ 96-year-old woman found dead in freezer in Chicago ]
Investigators believe Michalski died in March 2021, according to the AP. Her cause of death has not yet been determined but is expected to be done once the body has thawed out for an autopsy.
Investigators reportedly found a receipt for a freezer that was purchased about a week after Michalski’s death, prosecutors said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Prosecutors also claimed that Bratcher had been collecting her mother’s Social Security checks and other benefits since her death, according to the newspaper.
Bratcher’s daughter, who lives out of state, reportedly called the police to check the apartment after not hearing from her grandmother, according to the AP.
Bratcher is facing concealing her mother’s death and possession of a fraudulent identification card charges, according to the Sun-Times.
Bratcher’s bond has been set at $20,000, according to the AP.
No further information has been released.