Nov. 29--A Midlothian man faces charges of concealing a death and obstructing justice after he admitted to investigators that fear of losing his apartment led him to hide his roommate's body in a storage unit when she overdosed, police said.
Alexander Acevedo, 23, was arrested after police found a body in a suitcase in a basement storage locker after someone flagged down police about 10 a.m. Thursday and told them about a foul odor coming from the locker, police said in news release. The body was identified as that of Kimberly Putterlik, 25, who police said shared an apartment with Acevedo in the 14500 block of South Keystone Avenue in the southwest suburb.
The medical examiner's office said Putterlik had lived in the 3500 block of North Long Avenue in Chicago.
The results of an autopsy performed Friday were inconclusive, and a determination of Putternik's cause and manner of death is pending further studies, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
On Thursday, the person who flagged down police led them to the basement, and police opened an unlocked storage unit and found a large suitcase containing a decomposing body, according to the release.
Midlothian detectives and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force interviewed Acevedo, who told investigators that Putterlik died of what he believed was a drug overdose around Nov. 13, according to the release. Acevedo said he was afraid of losing the apartment, and so the next day, he put Putterlik's body in the suitcase and put the suitcase in the storage unit.
The Cook County state's attorney's office approved charges Saturday afternoon against Acevedo. He is expected to appear for a bond hearing Sunday.
