A West Allis man was arrested Wednesday in connection with the deaths of two women whose bodies were found in suitcases in the Town of Geneva on June 5.
Steven M. Zelich, 52, of 8011 W. Lincoln Ave., West Allis, was taken into custody June 25. He was charged in Walworth County Circuit Court with two counts of hiding a corpse, and is scheduled to appear in court Friday.
One of the victims has been identified as Laura Simonson, 37, of Farmington, Minn., whose mother reported her missing Nov. 22. The second victim has not yet been identified, and police are seeking help from the public.
The second victim is described as possibly Caucasian, between 15 and 35 tears old, 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 4 inches, 120 to 140 pounds with long, straight dark brown or black hair. She has a pronounced overbite and crooked lower teeth, two piercings in each ear, and a quarter-sized heart tattoo on the lower left abdomen or pelvic area.
The West Allis Police Department is assisting in the investigation and assures West Allis citizens no danger exists there. Also involved in the investigation are the Town of Geneva Police Department, Walworth County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, State of Wisconsin Crime Lab, Federal Bureau of Investigation in Milwaukee and Rochester, Minn., the Farmington (Minn.) Police Department, the Rochester (Minn.) Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the West Allis Police Department.
Anyone who might have additional information should contact the Town of Geneva Police Department at (262) 248-9926. People can anonymously email tips
to https://www.tipsubmit.com/webtips.aspx?AgencyID=1192, Text their Tip to “CRIMES” (274637) and begin the message with tip4wc followed by a tip, or report the tip to the Walworth County Crime Stoppers (262) 723-2677 (COPS).
