The Suitcase Killer: Steven Zelich

 

Steven Zelich is a convicted murderer and a former police officer for Milwaukee who was dubbed the "Wisconsin Suitcase Murderer" by the press.

Murders

Zelich frequented S&M websites under the alias “mrhandcuffs”, where he searched for submissive sex slave partners. That's where he met his two victims, 19-year-old Jenny Gamez and 37-year-old Laura Simonson. Gamez was killed in Oregon in late 2012 and Simonson was killed in Minnesota mid 2013. Zelich claimed both died accidentally during sex. He admitted that after causing their deaths, he put their bodies into suitcases and hid them in his home. The suitcases were later put into the trunk of his vehicle, and then dumped along a Geneva, Wisconsin roadway in tall grass. On June 5, 2014, a highway worker discovered the pair of discarded suitcases.

According to the subsequent criminal complaint, the more decomposed of the two bodies was partly concealed in black plastic garbage bags and had her hands bound behind her back with rope. The other body “was found with a rope wrapped around her neck, had a sexual ball gag strapped into her mouth with a collar and was naked.”

Zelich, who had continued to use S&M dating websites after the recovery of the bodies, was arrested on June 27, 2014.

Investigation

Laura Simonson was immediately identified from her dental records. Jenny Gamez was initially unable to be identified, and labeled a Jane Doe. Gamez was last seen by her family in Cottage Grove, Oregon in 2012 at which time she said she would be moving, and had not been reported missing. Walworth County released a composite sketch of Gamez, which led friends and family to identify her. The identification of Jenny Gamez was confirmed by dental records on June 28th, 2014. On the 25 of June 2014, Zelich was charged with two counts of hiding a corpse and given a million dollar bail. He was later charged with murder.

Trial and imprisonment

Zelich pleaded guilty to the murder of Jenny Gamez in early 2016. He received 35 years imprisonment. In February 2017, he was sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of Laura Simonson. Zelich received another 10 years for the charges of hiding of corpses in October 2017.

In the media

Crime Watch Daily reported on the case with a focus on the Walworth County police’s identification process of Jenny Gamez through forensic science.