By Kellen Olshefski
Staff Writer
Steven Zelich pleaded not guilty to two charges of hiding a corpse during an arraignment hearing in Walworth County Circuit Court Thursday.
The 52-year-old West Allis man, who was bound over for trial on July 3, appeared via video from jail. A $1 million bail was set for Zelich during a June 27 hearing.
Following the brief hearing, Walworth County District Attorney Daniel Necci said again that he has regularly been in contact with officials in both Kenosha County and Olmsted County, Minn., but has no knowledge of where they are at in their investigations or when they may or may not file homicide charges.
Zelich is a suspect in the deaths of both women whose bodies were found in suitcases along North Como Road June 5. The victims are Laura Simonson, 37, of Farmington, Minn., and Jenny Gamez, 19, of Cottage Grove, Ore.
Zelich told a Walworth County investigator that both women died accidently during consensual sexual encounters involving bondage and sadomasochism. He said the woman died in hotel rooms in Minnesota and Kenosha, respectively.
Necci said the not-guilty plea was expected and that from here, prosecution will continue through the discovery process to see how the case develops.
Zelich’s court-appointed attorney Travis Schwantes said a not-guilty plea is fairly standard during an arraignment hearing. He entered the plea on behalf of Zelich.
“I can’t think of too many times where anything other than a not-guilty plea is entered,” he said. “I think the reasoning behind it is early on in a case, there’s a lot of work to do, there’s a lot of reports to read.
“I explain to clients, we enter a not guilty plea to do our jobs, to make sure that the process is fair, to make sure we review everything, to make sure that our questions are answered to enable us to make educated decisions about where to take the case going forward.”
Schwantes said the question in this case is whether Zelich intentionally hid the corpses of two women in Walworth County, something he argued at the July 3 preliminary hearing that the evidence did not establish. Schwantes said still maintains that is the case.
Schwantes said he wouldn’t comment on Zelich’s demeanor throughout the case so far, though he said Zelich has been cooperative and has engaged in extensive communication with law enforcement since his arrest.
Additionally, Schwantes said he and Zelich have a good relationship and are working well together on this case.
At this point there has been no request for a court-ordered mental health evaluation, according to Schwantes.
A Sept. 23 status hearing has been set for Zelich.
