Man accused of murdering woman, hiding body in air mattress hit with wrongful death suit; woman's landord, property manager also sued

A man who Cook County prosecutors accused last month of killing a young woman and leaving her body in his Pilsen apartment before fleeing to California two years ago is now facing a civil suit from one of the woman's relatives.

On Monday, Sam Manalansan filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against Faramarz Bakhshi, who in January was ordered held without bond on charges alleging he murdered 29-year-old Michelle Manalansan and concealed her death.

Manalansan's body was found stuffed in an air mattress wrapped up in a blanket in Bakhshi's bedroom of his Pilsen apartment on March 17, 2013, when his former roommate started to clean Bakhshi's smelly room after he left to go live with his mother in California, according to a Chicago Tribune article.

In addition to Bakhashi, the suit names the owners, operators and managers of The Tides, an upscale apartment building located at 360 E. South Water Street just north of Millennium Park, where Michelle lived.

According to the court filing, The Tides defendants-- Tides at Lakeshore East LLC, NNP Residential LLC and Magellan Development Group LLC-- leased an apartment to Ahmad Ghazimoradi for Michelle's use on April 12, 2012 that was set to run through May 2013.

Manalansan lived in that apartment up to and including Feb. 9, 2013, when the suit says The Tides defendants' failure to provide adequate security allowed Bakhshi to enter the premises, forcibly remove her, as well as some of her personal property, and attack her.

Bakhshi without provocation struck Manalansan with his fists in her head and face, according to the complaint that asserts the battery resulted in her death.

It further alleges that the negligence of The Tides defendants to not limit access to the building to residents and registered guests, as well as its failure to respond when Bakhshi repeatedly entered Manalansan's apartment and removed her property following her Feb. 9 disappearance, played a role in her death.

The suit, in the alternative to the wrongful death counts, includes spoliation claims against The Tides defendants, accusing them of losing or destroying surveillance tape that could have served as evidence in the case.

When Manalansan's whereabouts were unknown, Ghazimoradi, the man who leased the apartment for her, allegedly asked The Tides defendants to give him or police tape from surveillance cameras in the lobby and other areas of the building.

The suit does not explain the relationship between Manalansan-- who according to a Chicago Sun-Times article was a Harold Washington College student--and Ghazimoradi or Sam Manalansan, the administrator of her estate.

Sam Manalansan is seeking more than $50,000 in compensatory damages from each of the defendants and is represented by Thomas M. Enright of Parrillo Weiss and O'Halloran in Chicago.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and represents only one side of the story.