With the one-year anniversary of the death of University of Wisconsin junior Brittany Zimmermann coming Thursday, the Madison Police Department wants to reassure the public the investigation of her death remains in full-swing.
Facts of the case
Police said Zimmermann was stabbed in her apartment at 517 W. Doty St. on April 2, 2008, after a call to the Dane County 911 Center’s emergency line was placed from her cell phone at 12:20 p.m. According to search warrants released in December, the call was disconnected after “the sound of a woman screaming and … background sounds of a struggle for a short period of time.”
Zimmermann’s fiance, Jordan Gonnering, later found the 21-year-old dead in her apartment and called 911 around 1:08 p.m. Police arrived within seven minutes and found Gonnering crying and trembling in shock with Zimmermann lying on the ground.
One search warrant states Zimmermann died from “complex homicidal violence including multiple stab wounds and strangulation.” The stab wounds were determined to be caused by a weapon with a blade between two and five inches with a width of 1.5 to two centimeters. No weapon was left at the scene.
At the scene of the crime, investigators found DNA on Zimmermann that was not hers, according to a warrant. They took a total of 23 swabs of DNA, 10 fingerprints, nine partial footwear prints, 18 blood samples, a pair of bloody women’s slippers and computer paper with apparent blood spots.
Investigation so far
Now, almost a year later, MPD said they are still working hard to find the killer, who is suspected to have no relationship with Zimmermann.
Currently, MPD’s investigative team consists of a supervising lieutenant, two full-time detectives, a full-time intelligence assessment officer and a part-time crime analyst, along with other staff members who are brought in as necessary. In total, 143 different MPD officers have spent time on the case in the past year, MPD Capt. Mary Schauf said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.
MPD has also partnered with other professionals for additional expertise and assistance, including the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Department of Criminal Investigation, Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, Federal Bureau of Investigation and UW Police.
MPD has received 200 tips, generated 2,900 pages of reports and have contacted more than 700 of the 830 names of individuals “worth checking out.”
“I know full well that there are still detectives that are working the case on a daily basis and doing pretty much nothing else. They continue to work hard and track down leads,” said Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4 — the district where Zimmermann lived. “The police are still taking it extremely seriously, and it is by no means close to being considered a cold case. They continue to spend considerable resources on this investigation.”
MPD would not reveal further details about any leads they are following because the investigation is still open.
Lawsuit to date
On Jan. 13, Kevin and Jean Zimmermann, Brittany’s parents, and Gonnering filed a lawsuit against Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and 911 Center dispatcher Rita Gahagan for negligence concerning the death of Zimmermann.
The lawsuit accuses Falk of failing to update the equipment in the 911 Center and Gahagan, who answered the call placed from Zimmermann’s cell phone, of mishandling the call by inadequately following proper rules and procedures.
Currently, there are a number of motions before the court that must be ruled upon before Judge Maryann Sumi can rule on the entire case. Two of the major motions are a motion for protective order for Falk and a motion to dismiss filed by the defendants.
The first motion for protective order for Falk was filed by her attorneys and bars her from deposition until after the upcoming April 7 election, citing a change in counsel as one of the main reasons.
While Falk said in a letter to her counsel she sees “no legitimate connection between the election and this lawsuit,” the plaintiffs thought differently.
In their brief, the plaintiffs accused Falk of trying to “avoid having to give testimony which may and probably is damaging to her political reputation prior to her scheduled election on April 7, 2009.”
The response of her counsel in the responding brief said, “Plaintiffs’ accusations against Ms. Falk, while completely unfounded, are serious. Ms. Falk does not seek to avoid being deposed. She seeks the time necessary to allow her new counsel to properly defend her.”
The second motion was also filed by the defendants to dismiss the case entirely for a number of reasons, most notably because Falk and Dane County are entitled to immunity for discretionary acts regarding funding and staffing the 911 Center. The claims against Falk and Gahagan in the complaint are only within the scope of their employment, according to the defendants’ brief.
All motions are to be decided no earlier than May, according to Dane County Corporation Council Marcia MacKenzie, who is aiding in the case on the side of the defendants. After the motions, decisions on the rest of the case will follow.
