Not guilty: Zelich enters plea on two charges of hiding a corpse in "bodies in suitcases" case



WALWORTH COUNTY (WITI) -- Not guilty. That's the plea 52-year-old Steven Zelich entered in Walworth County Court on Thursday, July 17th. Zelich faces two charges of hiding a corpse after suitcases containing the bodies of two women were discovered on the side of the road in the Town of Geneva in early June.

The big question still unanswered: Did Steven Zelich, a former West Allis police officer, kill Laura Simonson of Farmington, Minnesota and Jenny Gamez of Cottage Grove, Oregon during bondage sexual encounters?

So far, the only charges he faces are the two counts of hiding a corpse. Zelich hasn't been charged with homicide. We're told officials in Rochester, Minnesota and Kenosha County are still working on that part of the case.

Meanwhile, Zelich is being described as cooperative -- spending hours with investigators, answering questions they have.

On Thursday, Zelich appeared in court via video monitor from the Walworth County Jail. He is accused of dumping suitcases with the bodies of Simonson and Gamez on the side of the road in the Town of Geneva on June 5th.

"We will enter a plea of not guilty on both counts," Zelich's attorney Travis Schwantes said.

Schwantes says he has received about three feet of paperwork on the Zelich investigation, so he could prepare the case. Schwantes says the charges Zelich is facing might not hold up because prosecutors must show that he tried to conceal a crime.

Schwantes says Zelich claims he killed the women accidentally during sexual encounters.

If and when murder charges are filed against Zelich -- still being considered by officials in Minnesota and Kenosha County.

"What we do know is the deaths being caused by people meeting in a hotel room, something went horribly awry during consensual sexual activity," Schwantes said.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Zelich out of Walworth County, he has admitted to causing the deaths of both Simonson and Gamez.

A Walworth County detective has testified that Zelich told him he caused the deaths of Simonson and Gamez during rough sex -- and then put their bodies in suitcases that he hid for months before dumping them in the Town of Geneva.

Detective Jeffrey Recknagel says Zelich told him he killed the women accidentally after separate sexual encounters that were rough and included bondage.

"The first suitcase had an adult woman. She was naked. She had a gag-ball in her mouth that was attached to a collar," Recknagel said -- speaking of the suitcase in which Simonson's body was found.

The complaint against Zelich says Gamez was found partially concealed in garbage bags. Her hands were found bound with rope behind her back.

According to the criminal complaint, Zelich told police he met both women while chatting online.

Zelich told police he met Jenny Gamez in person in late 2012 or early 2013 in Kenosha County.

Zelich told officials he met Laura Simonson personally in Rochester, Minnesota in November of 2013.

"They spent days at the hotel. He participated in a BDSM session, and during that session, he ultimately took her life," Recknagel said.

In both cases, the complaint against Zelich says he told police he placed the bodies in suitcases -- taking them back to his West Allis apartment -- eventually moving them into his vehicle.

The fact that Zelich is charged with the two counts of hiding a corpse keeps him in jail while officials in Minnesota and Kenosha County continue to investigate.

"Theoretically if someone were to file charges in another county, it would make our charges relatively small potatoes by comparison, so we would do anything we could to help that prosecution along," Prosecutor Daniel Necci said.

Zelich's attorney says he's going to get recordings of the interviews Zelich has done with police and he plans to spend the weekend reading and listening to the evidence.

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