The Illinois Appellate Court ruled last week that the Chicago Transit Authority still must pay a nearly $3 million verdict to a woman who was hit by a bus — and who was later convicted of brutally murdering and dismembering her landlord in a separate case.

Sandra Kolalou was convicted in April 2024 on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, for the death of 69-year-old Frances Walker in October 2022 at a home in Chicago's Arcadia Terrace neighborhood. In July 2024, Kolalou was sentenced to 58 years in prison.

Years earlier, on March 1, 2018, Kolalou was hit by a CTA bus while walking in a Chicago crosswalk. She filed a lawsuit against the CTA and bus driver Tyrone Bynum on Feb. 25, 2019, claiming she had suffered orthopedic and neurological injuries, including lower back and leg pain, according to the appellate court.

The lawsuit was amended in 2023 to change her last name from Kolalou to White following a change in marital status, according to the appellate court.

After Kolalou was in jail on charges of Walker's murder, a Cook County Circuit Court judge ruled that her incarceration had no relevance to the lawsuit against the CTA, and allowed her to provide a video evidence deposition in civilian clothing so as not to bias the jury, according to the appellate court.

The judge also barred any references to the Kolalou name, according to the appellate court.

Bynum and the CTA admitted negligence in the civil case, and a jury trial to determine damage followed. A jury awarded White $3 million on Feb. 27, 2023 — including $390,000 for future medical care and $716,300 for future loss of a normal life. This was despite the fact that the CTA argued that Kolalou's incarceration made the medical procedures unavailable and rendered a normal life improbable, according to the appellate court.

A new trial was granted on July 11, 2023, because of some information in her recently reactivated Facebook account. At trial, Kolalou said she experienced fluctuating pain levels and limitations on normal life activities, according to the appellate court.

Attorneys for the CTA questioned Kolalou about her social media activity, and she said she only posted positive moments on social media and did not post when she was in pain, according to the appellate court.

The new trial awarded $2.8 million to Kolalou, with $400,000 for future medical care and $500,000 for future loss of normal life.

All this happened before Kolalou was convicted of Walker's murder.

The CTA asked for yet another new trial, but this motion was denied. The CTA then filed a notice of appeal, claiming among other things that a judge erred by allowing the civil case to proceed when Kolalou's criminal case accusing her of Walker's murder was still pending.

The appellate court sided with Kolalou and upheld the verdict awarding her nearly $3 million.

"But our decision should not be read as an endorsement of White's conduct," the appellate court wrote. "The troubling result here is compelled by the law, and nothing in the opinion excuses or minimizes the nature of White's actions."

In July 2024, Cook County Judge Ursula Walowski sentenced Kolalou to 50 years in prison for her conviction for first-degree murder, six years for dismembering Walker's body, and two years for aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors said Kolalou was upset that she was being evicted by Walker from a rooming house at 5919 N. Washtenaw Ave. The murder happened two days after Walker received complaints from other tenants about Kolalou.

Police at the time said Kolalou conveyed the impression that Walker was still alive in her replies to text messages.

Prosecutors said Kolalou called a tow truck to take her to Foster Avenue Beach, where her broken-down car was parked. At one point, she pulled out a knife on the driver in the area of Western and Estes avenues after they refused to take her elsewhere. 

The tow truck driver watched her dump a black garbage bag into a garbage bin. At the beach, pooled blood and blood-soaked rags were found inside. Investigators also found portions of Walker's body in the home's freezer.