Woman beaten to death in Archer Heights neighborhood

Police are questioning two people after a woman was found beaten to death Wednesday night in her home in the Archer Heights neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

Maria Sadelski, 54, was found at 8:10 p.m. in the basement of the home in the 4800 block of South Karlov, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. She had apparent “blunt trauma to the head” and was dead at the scene, authorities said.

An autopsy Thursday found she died of multiple blunt-force injuries from an assault and her death was ruled a homicide. According to a police source, she was beaten with a hammer and knife.

Police said Sadelski’s death is thought to be domestic-related. They are also looking into a vehicle that crashed into the home’s garage after the incident. It wasn’t known if anyone was injured.

Esmeralda Flores, who said she lives next door to the victim and her two sons, was coming home from work when she saw one of the sons running.

“We heard a really loud noise, so we came outside and we saw that he was screaming, ‘Help,’ and he was on the floor,” Flores told a reporter at the scene.

She saw someone sitting on top of him swinging, Flores said. Arriving officers then asked Flores and her family to go back home.

Flores said the neighbors were always cordial with her and her family.

“They’re really nice to us. Whenever we’re outside they say, ‘Hi, how are you guys doing?’”

Two people were being questioned as of Thursday afternoon, but police would not confirm whether it was the two sons, police said.