Steven Zelich, charged after bodies of two women found in suitcases to appear in court in Walworth Co.

WALWORTH COUNTY (WITI) -- Facing charges out of Kenosha County and Walworth County in connection with two bodies found in suitcases, 53-year-old Steven Zelich will be in court in Walworth County on Tuesday, May 26th for a status conference.

Zelich faces two counts of hiding a corpse out of Walworth County and one count of hiding a corpse and one count of first degree intentional homicide out of Kenosha County.

Zelich is charged in connection with the death of 19-year-old Jenny Gamez, a college student from Oregon.

He's accused in the death of 37-year-old Laura Simonson of Farmington, Minnesota.

Zelich told investigators he met Gamez online and convinced her to fly to Milwaukee. He says the two then went to the Comfort Suites Inn in Kenosha for two to three days.

It was during that time, Zelich told police, he accidentally killed Gamez in a sexual bondage encounter — similar to the way he admitted killing Simonson a few months after.

Highway workers cutting grass discovered the suitcases containing the bodies of Gamez and Simonson in Walworth County.

A criminal complaint says federal and state agents were investigating Simonson’s disappearance, and questioned Zelich at his West Allis apartment. He initially denied the two had a sexual relationship but later admitted the bodies of both women were in the trunk of his car during the questioning.

A Walworth County detective testified previously that Zelich told investigators he accidentally killed both women, hid their bodies in suitcases kept in his home and car, and dropped them in Walworth County when they began to smell.

Zelich is set to stand trial in connection with the charges filed in Kenosha County.