Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trial set for ex-Wisconsin police officer in suitcase murder

By: Associated Press//January 5, 2016//

Trial set for ex-Wisconsin police officer in suitcase murder

By: Associated Press//January 5, 2016//

Listen to this article

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A trial has been set for a former Wisconsin police officer accused of killing an Oregon woman whose body was found in a suitcase along a rural highway.

A final pretrial hearing was held Tuesday for 54-year-old Steven Zelich. WITI-TV reports the trial for the former West Allis officer is scheduled to begin Jan. 25 and is expected to last two weeks.

Zelich is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in the 2012 death of 19-year-old Jenny Gamez, from Cottage Grove, Ore. Zelich also is suspected of killing 37-year-old Laura Simonson, of Farmington, Minn., at a Rochester hotel in 2013.

The women’s remains were found in suitcases along a highway near Lake Geneva in June 2014.

Court records say Zelich told investigators he killed them accidentally during sex.

Polls

What kind of stories do you want to read more of?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests