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Police focus on transients for homicide clues
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Madison police are aggressively pursuing the transient population in the downtown area for information about the killing of a 21-year-old University of Wisconsin junior, found dead in her West Doty Street apartment Wednesday afternoon.
Madison Police Department Lt. Joe Balles said the investigation is “proceeding as if the perpetrator or perpetrators of this violent senseless act are still somewhere in the downtown area.”
“We are certainly going to be concentrating in the next several days in the downtown area trying to dig up as much information as we can from people who frequent and reside in the neighborhoods in the student housing areas down there,” Balles said.
Joel DeSpain, MPD public information officer, said based on the facts in the investigation, Brittany Zimmermann’s boyfriend, UW student Jordan Gonnering, is not being considered as a suspect in the murder investigation.
“He has been very helpful in the investigation,” DeSpain added.
Police found Zimmermann’s body in her first floor apartment at 517 W. Doty St. after receiving a 911 call around 1 p.m. Wednesday.
City Council President, Mike Verveer, District 4, said it is “prudent and wise” for police to aggressively look and talk to the homeless population downtown. “They could have seen any evidence like the rest of us,” he said.
According to Verveer, there were also reports of other break-ins and attempted burglaries in the Bassett neighborhood Wednesday.
“Many of the break-ins that occur downtown are committed by people in the transient population, folks who are looking to get their next fix to feed their addictions,” Verveer said.
Verveer also said MPD officers will pair with UW Police Department officers to patrol in a first of its kind sweep of the area in the coming days.
UW senior Rachel Krueger said her neighbors near the corner of South Blair Street and East Washington Avenue opened their front door around 1 a.m. on Thursday morning to find a male asking for $40 to fix his flat tire. Krueger’s roommates told her they also heard a knock on their door around 1 a.m. Thursday morning but did not open the door.
Krueger said she connected the incident with her neighbors to a news broadcast reporting an intruder walking into a West Washington Avenue house, up the stairs and asking the only woman in the house for $40 to fix a flat tire on his car parked on East Washington Avenue.
Krueger said a police officer came to her house around 7:30 p.m. Thursday asking whether or not Krueger and her roommate heard anyone knock on their door between midnight and 2 a.m. Thursday.
“When talking to me and my roommate, he had pretty much stated that they were concerned because it was very similar to what happened, and then my roommate asked ‘on Doty Street?’ and the officer said ‘yes,’” Krueger said.
WISC-TV reported Thursday police have a sketch of the man who walked into the West Washington Avenue house.
Krueger said the officer’s mannerisms made it clear he thought there was a “pretty probable” connection between what happened on West Washington Avenue — two blocks away from the murder — and her neighbor.
Krueger added her friend who lives on the odd side of the 500 block of West Doty Street told her she came to the door after hearing the doorbell ringing excessively at noon on Wednesday — one hour before Zimmermann’s body was found — and saw a older white male with gray hair walking away from the door by the time she got there.
The Dane County coroner, John Stanley, confirmed homicide was the cause of Zimmermann’s death Thursday.
“Initial physical observations indicate that her death was due to a complexity of traumatic injuries,” according to the Coroner’s statement.
Because the case remains under investigation, specific details about the injuries will not be released at this time, the statement said.
A source close to the investigation said Zimmermann was stabbed to death.
When asked if there were any indications a burglary was involved in Zimmermann’s murder, DeSpain said police “cannot speak as to what happened inside the house to protect the investigation.”
“We are still at the point where we cannot rule out that this might have been a random act, and that’s why we’ve asked people to be vigilant,” DeSpain said.
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IP hash: 386117ba
I love all the different words you all are finding to describe homeless bums.
And could someone ask the police why they are convinced ones of the bums did this? Was there anything stolen from the apartment? Could they confirm if Zimmermann was stabbed? Do they have the weapon?
And how helpful could the boyfriend possibly be, that he’s no longer a suspect? He wasn’t a witness, all he supposedly did was call the cops when he found the body.
IP hash: 60a6dfdf
I am a female student living across from James Madison park. The man described with the same story came to my door at approximately 2:30am Wednesday. So scary. I feel quite remorseful that I didn’t call the police about what was definitely suspicious behavior.
IP hash: 49eb9fda
Now can we shut down that shelter and get rid of the bums?
IP hash: e725cc59
While this is certainly a tragedy, and people are rightly concerned and scared, and doing what they need to stay safe. It’s a little disheartening to see people on the news and hear students talking about how they don’t think the police are doing their jobs. Anyone who thinks they are not is quite honestly being unfair. This is not an episode of CSI and real crimes take time to solve. DNA is not processed in seconds and crime scenes take hours to collect evidence from so to expect more information than what is available is unrealistic.
IP hash: 97454428
to 7:53AM
So then I hope you have already talked to the police about this!?
IP hash: 12b8ddc5
The second commenter should definitely make sure to tell the police! You might be able to help with the description.
IP hash: 373d519e
perhaps the guy was homeless. but keep in mind he/she is one of many individuals who are homeless. don’t overgeneralize. many homeless individuals are not “looking to get their next fix”. they are not “bums” and do not deserve to be stereotyped in these ways.
IP hash: 6551804f
To Anon@7:53AM:
Please tell the police what happened, if you haven’t already done so.
IP hash: 5dc79266
The “homeless” should be rounded up and work camps should be established for them, so that they can be taught to take care of themselves and make a contribution to society.
IP hash: 537ac4c8
Can’t we get a bus, put speakers on it and lure the homeless to California with a song like they did on South Park? It worked for them.
IP hash: 59c07590
I hope the Madison police have a good reason to be accusing homeless people of knowing what went on or being involved. Can you imagine the outcry if the article read like this instead:
“Madison police are aggressively pursuing the black population in the downtown area for information about the killing of a 21-year-old University of Wisconsin junior…”
“Many of the break-ins that occur downtown are committed by people in the black population, folks who are looking to get their next fix to feed their addictions…”
Just interesting, that’s all. I’m done.
IP hash: 233438a0
First murder on or near campus in, what, twelve years? Yeah, I’d that they police are doing a bang-up job. The very fact that we can afford to be freaked out by one murder proves that we have the luxury of some pretty great safety around here most of the time. I gather from various forms of hearsay and rumor that a lot of people in the area got this forty dollars/flat tire story on Tuesday, and if any of them have not called the police or Crimestoppers (608-266-6014) they should really do so immediately.
Also, friend, if you want to make the homeless community less senseless and violent, taking away their last source of food and shelter? Probably not a good first step.
IP hash: 1c3b43d1
lol, i love how people turn a girl being brutally murdered in her own home while doing absolutely nothing wrong or foolish into yet another chance to bitch about someone being politically incorrect. an innocent girl, who was a student at our school, DIED. target the homeless people..there are people who saw the likely-murderer. they can catch him if they are realistic and look in the right places without having to worry about generalizations and stereotypes. the killer wasnt a student, and he was probably not part of the population that goes to work at 1pm in the afternoon, so lets please check out the homeless and check them out hard. i want this guy CAUGHT. this cant happen again. this is not the time to worry about hurting the homeless peoples feelings.
IP hash: a8adef08
Yeah. The average homeless person in Madison is a hardworking, industrious, friendly sort who would love to sell you a watch he is keeping in his coat while you’re eating at Five Guys.
IP hash: db3364c3
First murder in 12 years? how about Kelly Nolan last summer… and the guy who got stabbed near Brittingham Park a couple months ago? Madison is a great city and by far one of the safest per capita, but shady things DO happen, clearly. To criticize the MPD and UWPD isnt fair because they’ve done an amazing job in the past and will continue to do so.
IP hash: 6ff38378
I am one of the residents of the South Blair incident with the suspect. I am pleased to read that there are other people stepping forward with information about other run-ins with this guy. I heard a knock on my door at one in the morning and for some reason, I ignored it. If anyone anywhere thinks they know ANYTHING, call the police. It is crucial in a crime of this kind that the city works together (transient, student, employed, unemployed…EVERYONE) to find this man. Three unsolved murders in the past year is scary, but some cities see three unsolved murders in one day. Let’s try not to point fingers at the wrong groups of people, and, instead, let’s concentrate on supporting each other.
IP hash: 60a6dfdf
As commenter #2, the cops were obviously my top priority to provide this info to. Thanks for the advice though.
IP hash: 9a257490
Whoever said this was the first homicide in 12 years is an idiot…. there has been 3 in the last year
IP hash: 7f68b091
that man was in our house on west washon monday evening- same story about the flat tire, same physical description. luckily there were several of us in the house and a male answered the door. please everyone, be very cautious!
IP hash: 373d519e
we’re not saying that we are worried about hurting the feelings of individuals who are homeless. we are trying to get across that one homeless person does not equal the entire downtown population of homeless persons. yes, if it was a homeless person then i hope he/she is caught, if he/she saw what happened then i hope they come forward, but questioning every single homeless person in downtown madison is not going to help. this IS about the young girl, it is about finding the person using the EVIDENCE they have, and not blaming the entire downtown population of individuals who are homeless.
we need to be looking at the bigger picture. this should not be happening in our society,
my thoughts and prayers go out to those who were given the chance to have Brittany in their lives. hopefully we can all cooperate and work to find whoever did this, and work to prevent such things from happening in the future.
IP hash: e3ce82a3
I girl was murdered. An individual made the choice do that to this girl. An entire population of people did not make the choice to do this to another human being.
How dare any of you turn this into an excuse to promote violence through your words
IP hash: 6f28acb7
Most of the homeless people ARE BLACK, it ain’t a stereotype or racism if it’s TRUE.
I live on Doty Street and I know for a fact that 95% of the homeless are black, so don’t go bitching about racist cops.
And how do we know it wasn’t a student that killed her? Students are not all that innocent…remember the guy that jumped off the parking ramp this past year or the girl that hung herself from her bunkbed?
A student could’ve murdered this girl Zimmerman, and they could be getting away with it since the cops are ignoring the student population.
IP hash: 4bf6bbb9
My girlfriend’s apartment got robbed earlier this year while they were in it. They saw the man who did it before he fled, they all but handed him to the police who then did absolutely nothing. MPD is a complete joke. It doesn’t matter if the 7:25 post would have called, I highly doubt the police would have done a thing about it. Disgusting.
IP hash: 5dc79266
“Students are not all that innocent…remember the guy that jumped off the parking ramp this past year or the girl that hung herself from her bunkbed?”
WTF? Somehow those two don’t sound like they would be looking to murder someone else.
IP hash: be1eab6f
the truth is…madison is very beautiful and slightly disneyland-esque. quick take is NEVER let your girlfriends — whoever they may be — walk home along after midnight.
2) always lock you doors no matter what.
3) be vigilant and look after your neighbors as well.
4) madison needs to double, triple, or more, its homeless intake (and otherwise homeless) resources.
5) awareness. madison is too easy for anyone with a nefarious agenda. situational awareness at all times, and protect each other when this is not possible.
6) this is a huge opportunity to actually BE a community, as opposed to wishing you were in one. be alert, be aware, be careful, and simply care abut one another — whether they are your neighbor or not.
peace and awareness all-
IP hash: 5dc79266
Very sad, but at least we have more diversity now, eh?
Maybe shall issue concealed carry laws and pistol target shooting courses are the answer?
IP hash: 5dc79266
“madison needs to double, triple, or more, its homeless intake (and otherwise homeless) resources. “
That will double, triple or more the number of homeless people in Madison.
Or don’t you think that providing lots of goodies for homeless people will make Madison an attractive destination for homeless people from far and wide?
IP hash: 1c3b43d1
i think the last guy has a point. we are all targets here…that girl didnt nothing out of the ordinary…she could have been any one of us. why are we fighting and arguing? kudos to the mpd for picking up the “flat tire” guy already, let’s hope thats the killer. in the mean time, there is a simple solution to things like this happening: stop being so naive! many madison students may come from small towns but madison isnt that small town…and those of us who come from bigger cities need to take madison a little more seriously as a dangerous place. LOCK YOUR FRONT DOORS. is that really so hard? didnt we have to be a little intelligent to be here in the 1st place? lets hope this occurence stops our naivete once and for all…it is appalling to hear that students let a stranger into their home days after a girl was murdered in her home. c’mon guys. lets be a little smarter. this won’t happen again if we don’t let it. we have to watch out for each other and ourselves, and be a little bit more savvy. you cant trust everyone.
IP hash: 119db9cb
I’m not promoting recklessness, but don’t you all see that this case has sent the city into a paranoid frenzy? We’ve all let irrational fear take control.
Regardless of the baseless fear epidemic, shouldn’t the police inform the media of the very basics of the crime? Whether or not it’s considered a burglary would not jeopardize the investigation, but it WOULD answer the question of whether or not this is a random crime; thus either allaying peoples panic, or at least partially justifying it. Other signs; happening within the house, probable knife as weapon, suggest a more personal crime. I realize the security of the case is crucial but it’s socially irresponsible to mislead the public into paranoia and endless speculation.
I for one, while aware of my surroundings, am not fearful to walk around alone at night. Lock your doors, etc., yes, but don’t go about your life fearing shadows.
IP hash: 05a96a81
I can’t believe that this can happen and someone is still free walking the streets.