WI WI - LAKE GENEVA SUITCASE MURDERS, Laura Simonson & Jenny Gamez - #1

[Alski]

and again it was an anonymous tip that lead to her whereabouts

 

[Alski]

This is interesting too. Unsolved. had a drug problem
http://articles.philly.com/2014-01-15/news/46188783_1_suitcase-police-report-oct-broadway-avenue

 

[Alski]

http://www.wbay.com/story/22105612/2...ported-missing

Quote:
Authorities say Victoria L Prokopovitz, 59, was last seen at about 10 p.m. April 25 at her home at 5118 Kunesh Road.

She was discovered missing the next morning.

Authorities say she suffers from depression and may be harm to herself.

She may be wearing shoes with a wide, stacked heel and a white jacket.

Prokopovitz left behind her purse and its contents, along with her cell phone. She does not have a vehicle.

She's described as about 5'06", 117 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/world/ex-cop-suspected-of-killing-2-women-whose-bodies-were-found-in-suitcases-to-appear-in-court-1.1160386

Steven M. Zelich is scheduled to appear in court in Wisconsin on Friday afternoon on two counts of hiding a corpse. Authorities say Zelich, a 52-year-old security guard from West Allis, Wisconsin, met his victims online, bound and killed them and kept their bodies for months, either in his vehicle or his home, though he has not yet been charged in their deaths.

 

[Roselvr]

http://www.wbay.com/story/22105612/2...ported-missing

Quote:
Authorities say Victoria L Prokopovitz, 59, was last seen at about 10 p.m. April 25 at her home at 5118 Kunesh Road.

She was discovered missing the next morning.

Authorities say she suffers from depression and may be harm to herself.

She may be wearing shoes with a wide, stacked heel and a white jacket.

Prokopovitz left behind her purse and its contents, along with her cell phone. She does not have a vehicle.

She's described as about 5'06", 117 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes

Really wish they would remove the depression part. Highly doubt she killed herself.

According to the description in the article; it's not Vicki.

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/world/ex-cop-suspected-of-killing-2-women-whose-bodies-were-found-in-suitcases-to-appear-in-court-1.1160386

Authorities have not released the identity of the second woman but describe her as a white female with long, dark hair, a pronounced overbite and a small heart tattoo on her lower left abdomen. According to a criminal complaint, Zelich told investigators he killed her in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, in late 2012 or early 2013 and Simonson at a hotel in Rochester, Minnesota, in November.

 

[ClaireNC]

This makes my skin crawl. I live in West Allis (Born & Raised), less than a mile from his house. I don't know any more than you guys do (I actually get most of my info here lately!) But I, for one, am not surprised that WAPD did not press charges for the handcuffed woman back in 2001. They have a history of inneffectiveness. I was discouraged from pressing charges following a Sexual assault which occurred in my home in 2011. I had been drinking (It was my birthday!), and WAPD officers flat out implied that they did not believe me. I can't explain it, but the way I was treated was almost like they thought I had "deserved" this. Probably the same attitude they had for that poor naked woman Zelich was caught with in 2001.

Maybe if they had taken the 2001 incident, this wouldn't have happened to those women.

How can someone hide a body inside an apartment building for 9-12 months? Wouldn't someone notice the smell? Do you think he thought that if he let the bodies decompose enough, his physical (DNA) evidence would deteriorate?

I think he must be a narcissistic serial killer. Why else would he be so bold as to leave those suitcases somewhere he KNEW they would eventually be found?

Welcome Wisconsin_sleuth! So glad you decided to join us.

There are so many questions like the ones you listed. Maybe he left the suitcases near the strip club, because he assumed the murders would be blamed on one of its patrons. I also wonder if he needed to dump the bodies when and where he did because he was planning to strike again. Have there been any disappearances in the last few months?

Do we have any information on when the suitcases were dumped? They were in tall grass, I assume the grass was short in the winter. When did it start getting so long?

This case is haunting me and I have no ties to the area or anybody involved in the case. I can imagine how it is impacting the community where he lived.

 

[Alski]

This has got to be her. Heart tattoo.
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2721/9?current_page=reports

 

[Alski]

No but he could be involved in her disappearance? Right?

 

[Alski]

There's several missing from that area. All small build or "petite"
Read the report here. I think this is the second victim. It states she's white/hispanic and has a heart tattoo lower left abdomen. She went missing in 2005. I'm certain this scum has been dumping bodies all over the place. No doubt he's responsible for more of these missing females from WI.
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/case_report_html/2721

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/27/laura-simonson_n_5535056.html

The arrest of a former police officer this week after the discovery of two women's bodies stuffed into suitcases and dumped in Wisconsin has raised questions about the investigation. Chief among them: Did police do everything they could to locate one of the victims, a mother who vanished in November, before she turned up dead?

<snip>

Jennifer Reitz, spokeswoman for Geneva police, who are leading the investigation into the discovery of the bodies, on Thursday declined to discuss whether authorities had made attempts to contact Zelich prior to his arrest. She also declined to confirm whether authorities were aware of an April 18 classified ad that appeared in Wisconsin Super Ads. The ad, placed anonymously, accused Zelich of holding Simonson captive.

 

[astridxx]

This has got to be her. Heart tattoo.
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2721/9?current_page=reports

I sincerely hope a 15 year old was not on a BDSM site...

 

[Alski]

What 15 year old has tattoos!!?? Maybe he just snatched her up. Maybe he met her online posing as someone younger. Maybe she was actually sold to him?? I don't doubt anything anymore. There are sick hideous people out there.

 

[Cubby]

Why would an ex-cop hold on to bodies for that long? Surely he would know how to dispose of a body without being caught? Looks to me like he wanted to be caught!

That crossed my mind too. I also think it's possible he got some kind of kick out of dumping the suitcases a half mile from the police station. I don't for a second believe that location was coincidental. He had the bodies a long time. He chose that location for a reason.

 

[Alski]

I think they really dropped the ball here. Somebody is going to have a lot of explaining to do. I mean they sent him a letter!!?? Did it include flowers and a box of chocolates!? They should have been all over this guy like a cheap suit. I will bet anything he's been dumping bodies all around Wisconsin.

 

[Lurkey Lou]

That crossed my mind too. I also think it's possible he got some kind of kick out of dumping the suitcases a half mile from the police station. I don't for a second believe that location was coincidental. He had the bodies a long time. He chose that location for a reason.

I totally agree with this.

 

[ClaireNC]

I'm sure the police monitor newspaper comments, but there's at least one woman who has posted that SZ is her "ex."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/suspect-arrested-bodies-found-suitcases-24312956

The ex-girlfriend speaks out and is named in MSM (It is worth watching the video):
http://www.jrn.com/tmj4/news/Ex-gir...s-case-He-was-always-very-kind-264843271.html

I see she is also named as a co-defendant on an eviction case with him in the Wisconsin court system.

 

[Cubby]

oh yes, there is a "boys club" but murder usually gets a current officer special treatment once in custody, not ignoring the murder.

The police in Minnesota (Farmington and/or Rochester) screwed up the most IMHO, as it sounds like Laura's family gave them a lot of info about SZ. It would've been MN police job to prove probable cause to a judge in MN, then it would've been forwarded to WAPD for them to carry out.

I respectfuly disagree. If wesr allis (sp?) PD wouldn't have turned a blind eye and charged him for the prostitute incident, perhaps small rochester pd would have been able to get probable cause.

Welcome to WS :welcome:

 

[steelman]

He's had them for months. Why just now dump the suitcases? And why in such an easily found area? And wow, how many more missing women is he responsible for?


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Because he is lying ?? I'll bet he had them for months alright, but as his sex slaves. That's what this guy is all about isn't it ?? I'm thinking he is a mirror image of that Ariel Castro fellow that held those 3 girls all those years, he was just a newbie to it.

Once the heat got turned up, he had to get rid of them quickly. The cops were sniffing around and asking questions and he knew things were getting dicey. Even if he had killed both of them a month ago, maybe 2, their bodies would have still been badly decomposed due to the summer heat. I doubt those suitcases were there all that long, people are too curious for that.

As far as him confessing so quickly, I'm thinking that is to stop the cops from investigating further. He'll confess to these two murders, no problem. If he pleads not guilty, then they will continue to investigate and probably pin another half dozen killings on him. If he killed someone in the wrong state, then the death penalty is a real possibility. We all know that cowards like this are scared to death of dying themselves, although they don't mind inflicting that penalty on others.

 

[KDub]

According to the Wisconsin court access website, he is due in court today @ 1:15

 

[Alski]

I sincerely hope a 15 year old was not on a BDSM site...

Things aren't always as they appear. Take the case of the Lafave girl this is how she looked at the time of the incident

And this is what her family depicted her as