GUILTY WI - LAKE GENEVA SUITCASE MURDERS, Laura Simonson & Jenny Gamez - #2

[FBEye]

http://www.kenoshanews.com/news/trial_of_suitcase_killer_gets_more_difficult_483473608.html

"Trial of suitcase killer gets more difficult
Judge won’t allow any info about second woman’s death

Steven Zelich is accused of dumping the bodies of two women on a Walworth County roadside, but prosecutors in Kenosha will have to make their case against Zelich using the deaths of just one of the women.......
In April, Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled that prosecutors could not use the death of Simonson as part of their prosecution in the death of Gamez. On Friday, Schroeder stood by that ruling, denying prosecutors motion to reconsider. The judge said he may revisit the issue during the trial if evidence presented dictates it.

District Attorney Robert Zapf said it would be difficult to separate the deaths at trial. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen in my career as a prosecutor a case that was more intertwined,” he said, saying Zelich used online contact to lure the women “into his web.”

The key to prosecuting the case is to convince a jury that Zelich intended to kill Gamez, rather than causing her death “by misadventure.” Schroeder said the introduction of evidence that Zelich had been involved in another woman’s death at a later date “invites the jury to speculate” about intent.

The case is expected to go to trial in November"

 

[mikkismom]

Judge: Jury shouldn't be told about second suspected murder in Wisconsin suitcase slaying case

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-suitcase-bodies-case-20150711-story.html

 

[FBEye]

http://wbay.com/2015/07/11/judge-rules-against-prosecutors-in-suitcase-bodies-case/

Judge Rules against Prosecutors in Suitcase Bodies Case

" A judge has reaffirmed his decision to bar prosecutors from telling jurors in the case of a former police officer accused of killing a woman whose body was found in a suitcase along a Wisconsin highway about another woman he’s also suspected of killing.

Steven Zelich, of West Allis, is charged in Kenosha County in the 2012 killing of Jenny Gamez, a 19-year-old from Cottage Grove, Oregon. He’s also suspected of killing 37-year-old Laura Simonson at a Minnesota hotel in 2013. Court records say he told investigators he killed them accidentally during sex.

Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled in April that prosecutors couldn’t use Simonson’s death in the trial for Gamez’ death. The Kenosha News reports the judge Friday denied a motion to reconsider. The trial is set for November."

 

[Ocean2014]

Now they have moved the court date for Jenny to January 2016! They still have not charged Zelich for Laura's murder in Rochester but we are told they are getting close!

 

[OhThatVictoria]

:::Waving Hello:::: I'm Back . . .took a break. Thanks to those that have continued to post updates. The length of time to go to trial is a bit infuriating, isn't it? (Also infuriating is the judge's ruling that Laura's murder cannot be included in the WI trial. Is this because no charges have been filed in MN? Sure hope they are close and the evidence collected is meaningful.)

 

[FBEye]

Charges Filed Against Alleged 'Suitcase Killer' in 2013 Homicide in Rochester Hotel
http://www.kaaltv.com/article/stories/s3969471.shtml

And, here's the complaint from Olmsted County, MN:

NEWS RELEASE
FIRST DEGREE MURDER COMPLAINT FILED IN DEATH OF MINNESOTA WOMAN
FOUND IN WISCONSIN
(counts of murder in the first degree, intentional murder in the second
degree and unintentional murder in the second degree while committing a felony
offense)
http://www.kaaltv.com/kaalimages/PDF/Zelich Press Release.pdf

 

[reasonableguess]

Just wishing for more info. Guess I'll wait til Jan.

 

[FBEye]

A new article....

http://www.wisn.com/news/jurors-in-...to-hear-of-second-suspected-homicide/37209596

Jurors in Steven Zelich case allowed to hear of second suspected homicide
Bodies found in suitcases in June 2014

UPDATED Dec 31, 2015

 

[FBEye]

Trial starts Jan 25th

Trial set for ex-police officer in suitcase murder
Published On: Jan 05 2016 04:48:33 PM CST

http://www.channel3000.com/news/trial-set-for-expolice-officer-in-suitcase-murder/37279592

 

[Just_Simply_Red]

I just received a call to come and testify at the trial. In his defense. However, everything that I have to say is incriminating. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I'm freaking out.

 

[cuffem]

http://news.yahoo.com/ex-wisconsin-cop-accused-killing-2-women-stand-150349545.html
Saw this on yahoo about trial.

 

[bessie]

Trial begins Monday for Steven Zelich, charged in death of 19-year-old Jenny Gamez
Posted 5:21 pm, January 24, 2016, by Katie DeLong

ENOSHA COUNTY — The trial against a former police officer charged in connection with the death of a 19-year-old woman will begin on Monday, January 25th in Kenosha County.

The trial will begin with jury selection.

54-year-old Steven Zelich faces one count of first degree intentional homicide and one count of hiding a corpse out of Kenosha County.

His trial is expected to last two weeks.

Ex-Wisconsin cop accused of killing 2 women to stand trial
Associated Press By CARRIE ANTLFINGER
16 hours ago

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A former Wisconsin police officer accused of killing an Oregon woman and another from Minnesota and ditching their bodies in suitcases along a highway is set to stand trial this week in the first woman's death. Here's what you need to know:

THE CHARGES
Steven Zelich, 54, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in the August 2012 death of 19-year-old Jenny Gamez, of Cottage Grove, Oregon. He is also charged with murder in the killing of 37-year-old Laura Simonson the following year, but she died in Minnesota, so the charges were filed there. That case is on hold pending the conclusion of the Wisconsin proceedings, which will take place in Kenosha County, about 40 miles south of Milwaukee, and which begins Monday with jury selection. At the trial over Gamez's death, the judge has allowed prosecutors to tell jurors about Simonson's death.

[...]

THE PROSECUTION'S CASE
Prosecutors plan to argue that Zelich intended to kill the women. They will allege that he searched for victims whose disappearances would not be unusual, helped them prepare to disappear with little suspicion, killed them in ways that would be difficult to investigate and then felt compelled to keep their bodies.

Jurors allowed to hear about 2nd death in suitcase body trial
By Associated Press
Dec. 31, 2015

Kenosha — A Wisconsin judge will allow jurors in a homicide case against a former police officer to hear about a Minnesota woman the defendant's also suspected of killing.

[...]

Court records say Zelich told investigators he accidentally choked both women to death during consensual sex, activity he termed "breath play."

Complaint: 2 women in suitcases died during 'breath play'
By Bruce Vielmetti and Sarah Maslin of the Journal Sentinel
Aug. 5, 2014

[...]

While "breath play" may sound benign, its technical name is erotic asphyxiation, or asphyxiophilia, and it is extremely dangerous.

On the last of three days with Gamez, Zelich told investigators, he handcuffed her behind her back, blindfolded her, and put a ball gag in her mouth and a rope around her neck to restrict her breathing — until he lost control and she choked to death.

[...]

Zelich said he knew Gamez had died because she defecated on herself. He then put her body in her own suitcase and drove back to his West Allis apartment. He stored the body in a refrigerator until November 2013, more than a year later.

That's when he came home with another body, in another suitcase. It was that of Laura Simonson, 34. She also had met Zelich via online sites for people interested in sexual bondage, according to Zelich's statements to investigators.

He met her in person at a hotel in Rochester and she also died during "breath play," the Kenosha County complaint says.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Trial starts for ex-cop in case of women found in suitcases

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/01/24/suitcase-killings-trial/79282792/

 

[OhThatVictoria]

I just received a call to come and testify at the trial. In his defense. However, everything that I have to say is incriminating. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I'm freaking out.

I'd be freaking out too.

 

[PastTense]

Former West Allis police officer Steven Zelich pleaded guilty today to killing an Oregon woman during a sexual encounter in 2012 and ditching her body in a suitcase along a highway in Walworth County, where it was discovered in June 2014...

In a plea deal that had been extended early in the Wisconsin case, Zelich agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree reckless homicide with use of a dangerous weapon (a rope used to choke the victim for erotic purposes), and prosecutors agreed to dismiss the original charge of first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a mandatory life sentence upon conviction.

Zelich now will face a maximum prison sentence of 45 years, plus up to five more years for hiding a corpse, to which he also pleaded guilty today before Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder. Zelich's sentencing is set for March 30, and he'll be committed to a Department of Corrections facility in Wisconsin.

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/lo...cle_6cded7ae-c37e-11e5-ae66-0f20acfd826c.html

 

[OhThatVictoria]

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/lo...cle_6cded7ae-c37e-11e5-ae66-0f20acfd826c.html

wow. who expected this? he saved the victim's family a lot of misery and tax payers a few bucks. with another trial pending, he should never walk as a free again. ever.

 

[bessie]

Thank goodness. Not only are the parents spared a grueling trial, but other victims who might have been called to testify, as well. Now we wait to see if Minnesota will proceed with its case. He has more charges to answer to in Wisconsin, also.


Zelich is also charged with two counts of hiding a corpse out of Walworth County, where the suitcases were found. He has a status conference in that case scheduled for February 12th.

Zelich is scheduled to be sentenced in the Gamez case on March 30th.

Once that case is wrapped up, Zelich will face charges in Minnesota for the death of Laura Simonson.

http://fox6now.com/2016/01/25/lates...rges-in-connection-with-death-of-jenny-gamez/

 

[PastTense]

I disagree. Putting him away for the rest of his life is a higher priority than saving a few bucks or sparing the parents some discomfort from the trial.

 

[bessie]

Absolutely! But if the same result is achieved less the added anguish to suffering parents, isn't that preferable?

 

[OhThatVictoria]

I disagree. Putting him away for the rest of his life is a higher priority than saving a few bucks or sparing the parents some discomfort from the trial.

he has another trial pending. how do sentences coincide when there are two crimes / jurisdictions? Are the sentences concurrent?

for ex. if he's sentenced to 40 years in WI and 60 in MN (without parole), do the first 40 years of his imprisonment count for both jurisdictions? Or would he be sentenced to a total of 100 years?