A Chicago Heights mother says her Marine veteran daughter was found dead in her apartment in March, and by the time the family was finally allowed inside, almost everything the young woman owned was gone. Lynette Walton says the unit was cleared out within days and that building management has not explained what happened to her daughter’s belongings. The loss has left Walton with almost no keepsakes and a growing demand for answers.
Alexis Maya Walker, 25, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at 19 and was later honorably discharged after an injury. She was discovered inside her fourth-floor unit at Otto Veterans Square during a March 20 building check, and Chicago Heights police told Walton her daughter may have been deceased for as long as three weeks, according to FOX 32 Chicago.
Family says belongings were cleared within days
Walton says she drove from Arkansas and, after repeatedly calling management, was finally allowed into the unit on April 10. Inside, she says, there was nothing left. "The apartment was empty. Not a paper clip, not a piece of paper, nothing," Walton told FOX 32 Chicago. She believes building workers removed or discarded nearly all of Walker’s possessions less than 48 hours after her body was taken from the apartment. Walton says she has sent a formal demand letter seeking an accounting of her daughter’s property and has not received a meaningful reply.
Otto Veterans Square: what the building is
Otto Veterans Square is an 82-unit supportive housing development created to serve veterans, developed and managed by the Housing Authority of Cook County. HACC materials describe the site as part of a downtown Chicago Heights revitalization effort and highlight supportive partners that assist residents. Public information about the project describes it as permanent supportive housing intended to connect veterans with services and resources, according to the Housing Authority of Cook County.
What comes next
The family is awaiting the Cook County Medical Examiner’s results and says it will continue to press for answers from building management and local officials. Otto Veterans Square was built as part of a broader plan to turn a former hospital site into veteran-focused housing, and developers and partners emphasize the building’s supportive-services model in public materials, details that family members say make the disappearance of keepsakes all the more painful and perplexing, according to public project information from local partners. Walton says she does not want another family to face the same questions and is considering next steps to recover her daughter’s belongings and learn what happened.
