Roommate Hid Midlothian Woman's Body in Suitcase: Cops

A man has been charged with packing his roommate’s body into a suitcase and leaving it in a storage unit of an apartment building after the woman died of a suspected drug overdose, Midlothian police said.

Alexander Acevedo, 23, was charged with concealing a death and obstructing justice.

• Also on Patch: Woman Found Dead Inside Midlothian Condominium: Cops

Around 10 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, a resident flagged down a Midlothian police officer to report a foul odor coming from the basement area of an apartment building in the 14500 block of South Keystone Avenue.

Midlothian police were escorted to the basement and detected an odor emanating from an unlocked store unit.

Inside the storage unit was a suitcase containing a decomposing body.

The deceased was identified as Kimberly Putterlik, who resided in one of the building’s units. The cause of death is pending upon return of a toxicology report.

Midlothian police and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force were able to obtain information from Acevedo. The 23-year-old man allegedly told investigations Putterlik died of an apparent drug overdose around Nov. 13.

Acevedo said he was afraid of calling police when it happened for fear he’d be kicked out of the apartment. The next day he placed Putterlik’s body into a suitcase and hid in the basement storage unit of the apartment complex, police said in a news release.

Felony charges were approved by the Cook County State’s Attorney on Saturday. He is being held pending a bond hearing.