Newly-released: Stripper claims she was assaulted by Zelich when he was a police officer

WALWORTH CO./WEST ALLIS (WITI) -- An update on the case involving former West Allis police officer Steven Zelich -- charged with two counts of hiding a corpse in connection with two bodies found in suitcases in the Town of Geneva: Newly-released documents show West Allis police searched Zelich's apartment in January -- at the request of Minnesota police who were trying to find Laura Simonson.

The bodies of 37-year-old Simonson of Farmington, Minnesota and 21-year-old Jenny Gamez of Oakridge, Oregon were found in suitcases on the side of the road in the Town of Geneva on June 5th.

Newly-released incident reports show that police in Farmington, Minnesota told West Allis police they had reason to believe Simonson was with Zelich.

According to a West Allis police report from January 17th, Farmington police asked West Allis authorities to check Zelich's apartment for Simonson -- whom they described as being in an "S&M/sex slave type relationship."

The responding officer wrote he "did not observe anything that would indicate Simonson had been staying at the residence."

The records show police returned to Zelich's home three more times in late January and early February. They were trying to deliver a letter from the Farmington, Minnesota police -- but Zelich was never home, so they left it after the third attempt.

Nearly 13 years earlier, in the spring of 2001, a woman told West Allis police that Zelich, an officer at the time, had assaulted her.

The woman said she was a stripper, and had agreed to go home with Zelich for a "private show."

When they went into Zelich's bedroom, the woman says Zelich "dropped something into his pants pocket" that "sounded like handcuffs."

When she tried to leave, the woman says Zelich "grabbed her and threw her to the ground."

Zelich was never charged in the incident.

Three months later, he resigned from the West Allis Police Department.

Steven Zelich has not been charged with murder in the deaths of Simonson and Gamez at this time.

Zelich will appear in court in Walworth County on Thursday, July 3rd for his preliminary hearing.

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