Former cop still faces charges in Walworth County and Minnesota
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Steven Zelich, 54, has been sentenced to 35 years imprisonment on first degree reckless homicide and hiding a corpse stemming from the death of 19-year-old Jenny Gamez of Oregon state.
The 54-year-old former West Allis police officer initially faced a maximum 75 years, but was reduced, citing cooperation in the investigation since his June 2014 arrest.
Zelich reached a plea bargain in January when Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder granted a prosecutor motion to admit the alleged homicide of 37-year-old Laura Simonson in Rochester, Minnesota.
Instead of face a jury, the 54-year-old Zelich pleaded guilty to the Aug. 28, 2012, death of Gamez of Cottage Grove, Oregon.
Prosecutors contend Zelich, then 49, allegedly met then 16-year-old Gamez through an online sexual bondage website.
After six months of dialogue, Zelich ceased discussions, until she turned 18 years old, when he convinced her to fly to Mitchell International Airport for an August 2012 meeting.
Zelich and Gamez went to the Comfort Inn and Suites on Interstate 94 and Highway 50 in Kenosha, where she died during what Zelich said was “breath play.”
At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Kenosha County Deputy District Attorney Michael Graveley told court officials that Zelich selected Kenosha to minimize the Gamez “footprint.”
However, Zelich’s defense attorney, Jonathan Smith, argued that his client chose the hotel on Interstate 94 and Highway 50, citing familiarity.
Smith added that Zelich was not accustomed to any hotels near Mitchell International Airport.
According to the criminal complaint, Zelich allegedly stated it was an accident that resulted in her strangulation.
In an effort to conceal the homicide, he stored Gamez’s body in a suitcase and put it in a refrigerator of his West Allis home.
After Gamez’s death, Zelich came in contact with 37-year-old Laura Simonson of Farmington, Minn., through a similar online site.
Zelich met Simonson in person November 2013 in Rochester, Minn. He allegedly said she also died accidentally during the sexual encounter, according to the criminal complaint.
He also stored her body in a suitcase and placed it in his West Allis home.
When odor became a problem, Zelich alleged placed both suitcases in the trunk of his car, until his supervisor at Johnson Controls complained about the smell from his car.
Then, Zelich allegedly stashed both suitcases on North Como Road in the Town of Geneva in Walworth County in 2014, where a County Highway worker discovered them while mowing grass June 5.
Gamez was partially covered in a garbage bag with her hands bound with a rope behind her back, according to the earlier reports.
With no missing persons complaint filed in the Gamez disappearance, it took authorities weeks to identify her using dental records.
In Simonson’s case, the Waukesha County medical examiner found her naked with a rope wrapped around her neck and a ball gag in her mouth.
Zelich still faces two felony charges of hiding a corpse in Walworth County Circuit Court, with a status conference scheduled April 15.
Furthermore, it is believed he will face extradition to Minnesota, where Olmsted County prosecutors are pursuing homicide charges in Simonson’s death.