US woman charged after mum’s body found in Chicago freezer

Eva Bratcher. Photo / AP

A Chicago woman has been accused of keeping her mother’s dead body in a freezer for nearly two years while living in a nearby apartment.

Eva Bratcher, 69, has appeared in court on charges of concealing her 96-year-old mother’s death and possessing a fraudulent identification card.

Regina Michalski’s body was discovered this week in a freezer in the garage near the apartment they had shared, police said. Investigators believe she died in March 2021. The cause won’t be determined until the body is thawed.

The allegations are “very disturbing,” Judge David Kelly said in setting a $20,000 bond for Bratcher.

Judge Kelly turned down a defence lawyer’s request for a lower bond to get Bratcher out of jail.

She has past convictions for forgery, and investigators said they were trying to determine if Bratcher was collecting her late mother’s social security benefits, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Bratcher’s daughter, Sabrina Watson, who lives in Kentucky, asked police to check the home after losing contact with her grandmother.

“What could go wrong? Apparently, everything,” Watson said.