Steven Zelich
Steven Mark Zelich is an American convicted murderer and former police officer for West Allis, Wisconsin, who was dubbed the "Wisconsin Suitcase Murderer" by the press. Zelich lured his two victims through sadomasochism websites, committing one murder in Wisconsin and one in Minnesota between 2012 and 2013. He is known for his dumping of the victims' bodies in suitcases on a roadway in Wisconsin. He pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to de facto life in prison in 2017.
Murders
Zelich frequented S&M websites under the alias "mrhandcuffs", where he searched for submissive sex slave partners. He met his two victims, 19-year-old Jenny Gamez and 37-year-old Laura Simonson through the sites. Gamez was killed in Wisconsin in August 2012 and Simonson was killed in Minnesota in November 2013. Zelich claimed both died accidentally during sex. He admitted that after causing their deaths, he put their bodies into suitcases and hid them in his home. The suitcases were later put into the trunk of his vehicle, and then dumped along a Geneva, Wisconsin, roadway in tall grass. On June 5, 2014, a highway worker came upon the pair of discarded suitcases. He moved them to the side of the road and out of the way of the mower, which were later discovered by passers-by who approached to see swarms of flies.According to the subsequent criminal complaint, the more decomposed of the two bodies was partly concealed in black plastic garbage bags and had her hands bound behind her back with rope. The other body "was found with a rope wrapped around her neck, had a sexual ball gag strapped into her mouth with a collar and was naked."
Zelich, who had continued to use S&M dating websites after the recovery of the bodies, was arrested on June 27, 2014.