Preliminary timeline, linked to sources. Additions and/or corrections are always welcome!
Oct 29, 1961: Zelich was born
1976?: Laura was born
1979: Zelich graduated from St Thomas More High School in Milwaukee
Jan 30, 1984: Zelich was
hired by the Mequon Police Department
Feb 25, 1989: Zelich
resigned from the Mequon Police Depart
Feb 1989: Zelich was
hired as a patrol officer with the
West Allis Police Department
Apr 9, 1993: Jenny was
born
About 1998: Jenny began living in
foster care with a series of families
May 13, 2001: LE was called to Zelich's apartment in the 11200 block of W National Ave in West Allis due to an
altercation with a woman he brought home from a bar; the case was
never referred to the Milwaukee County district attorney's office for possible prosecution
Aug 2001: Zelich
resigned from the West Allis Police Department
Oct 27, 2002: Zelich's father
passed away
Jan 13, 2004: Zelich created a profile on Bondage.com, expressing his desire for a
permanent "24/7 slave, for absolute ownership/slavery" (link NSFW)
2006: A former girlfriend and her children
moved to Milwaukee to live with Zelich
Jun 28, 2007: Zelich began
working for Securitas Security Services USA
Jul 2, 2007: Zelich was
issued a Wisconsin private security license
Aug 2007: The former girlfriend and her children secretly
moved out while Zelich was at work
2007: A former business partner cut all ties with Zelich, accusing him of
embezzlement from Comprehensive Title LLC
Jun 24, 2008: Household Finance
filed suit against Zelich in civil court and was awarded $16,345.26
June 28, 2008: Jenny
gave birth to a child
May 4, 2009: Livingston Financial filed suit against Zelich in civil court and was awarded $11,360.21 plus $3,979.70 interest
Nov 4, 2009: Zelich created a profile on ThailandSexy.com, expressing his desire for a
permanent "24/7 slave, for absolute ownership/slavery" (link NSFW)
2010: The father of Jenny's child gained
sole custody of him
2010: Laura's seven children were placed in
foster care with her father
Apr 6, 2010: Midland Funding
filed suit against Zelich in small claims court and was awarded a judgment of $2,170.85
Jun 4, 2010: First American Title Insurance, underwriter for policies written by Comprehensive Title,
sued Zelich for unpaid premiums and was awarded $53,797.75 plus $3,598.65 interest
Jun 2011: Jenny
graduated with honors from Al Kennedy Alternative High School in Cottage Grove, OR, earning a two-year scholarship to Lane Community College in Eugene, OR
2011-2012: Jenny
attended Lane Community College for one year
Dec 19, 2011: Zelich's landlord filed an
eviction suit against him in small claims court and was awarded a judgment of $6,569
Jan 19, 2012: Zelich placed a
message on MasterB Slave Club seeking an owner for "no limit no release enslavement"
May 13, 2012: Jenny's foster mother
last saw her on Mother's Day when Jenny stopped by to
bring her a plant
Mid-2012: According to her foster mother, Jenny abruptly decided to
move to California to live with friends and fell out of touch with everyone close to her
Late 2012-Early 2013: Zelich
claimed he spent days with Jenny before killing her in
Kenosha County, WI
Apr 23, 2013: Household Finance
filed a Garnishment-Large Claims suit against Zelich in civil court
Jun 20, 2013: One of Laura's children
died suddenly
Nov 1, 2013: Laura was
last seen by family members
Nov 2, 2013: Laura
parked her van at her mother's house
Nov 2, 2013: Laura was
picked up from the parking lot of the Akin Road Elementary School in Farmington
Nov 2, 2013: Laura was
last seen alive when she and Zelich
checked in to the
Microtel Inn in Rochester, MN
Nov 3, 2013: Zelich
checked out of the Microtel Inn alone
Nov 22, 2013: Laura was
reported missing by her mother
Jan 2014: A friend of Laura's
posted on her Facebook page that Laura was taken from her mother's house on November 2, 2013 by Steven Zelich
Mid-Jan 2014: Farmington LE
accessed Laura's online chats and located two e-mails accounts registered to Zelich
Jan 17, 2014: At the
request of Farmington LE, West Allis LE went to Zelich's apartment but found no sign of Laura
Early 2014: After Zelich
failed to respond to a letter from Farmington LE, FBI and Wisconsin DCI agents spoke to him
Apr 18, 2014: A
classified ad was placed in Wisconsin Super Ads, accusing Zelich of holding Laura captive
May 15, 2014: Zelich created a profile on Alt.com, expressing his desire for a
permanent "24/7 slave, for absolute ownership/slavery" (link NSFW)
May 25, 2014: Zelich
posted a Legal Shield ad on CraigsList
First week of June 2014: Zelich
said he took both bodies to the Town of Geneva and dumped them in tall grass on the side of a road
Jun 5, 2014: A
Town of Geneva highway worker cutting grass discovered
two suitcases in a ditch along
North Como Road just east of County Road H in the
Town of Geneva, WI
Jun 5, 2014: Farmington LE was
notified that a body matching Laura's description had been found
Jun 6, 2014: Autopsies were
conducted on the unidentified remains
Jun 9, 2014: The Waukesha County ME's office revealed that the remains belonged to
two females
Jun 10, 2014: Rochester LE first became aware of the connection between the suitcases and Laura's disappearance when they were
contacted by Wisconsin LE
Jun 12, 2014: Investigators
processed the room Laura and Zelich
occupied at the Microtel Inn in Rochester for traces of evidence
Jun 24, 2014: LE discovered
physical evidence that connected Zelich to the bodies of Laura and Jenny
Jun 25, 2014: Steven Zelich was
taken into custody for questioning related to the two bodies
Jun 25, 2014: Zelich's apartment at
8011 W Lincoln Ave was
searched and potential evidence seized
Jun 25, 2014: Zelich was
arrested on two counts of hiding a corpse and booked into the Walworth County Jail
Jun 25, 2014: One of the bodies was
identified as Laura Simonson, 37, of Farmington, MN; a description of the other body was released
Jun 26, 2014: A former girlfriend of Zelich's said he
claimed he'd once had a girl for seven years and kept her caged 90% of the time
Jun 27, 2014: Zelich
appeared via video for his initial hearing on two felony charges of hiding a corpse; his bail was set at $1,000,000
Jun 27, 2014: Cottage Grove LE
said they were working with Wisconsin LE to obtain Jenny's dental records
Jun 30, 2014: The second body was
officially identified as Jenny
Jul 3, 2014: The woman involved in the 2001 altercation with Zelich
spoke to a reporter about the events of that night
Jul 3, 2014: Zelich was bound over for trial at his
preliminary hearing
Jul 17, 2014: Zelich is
scheduled to enter a plea