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Homicide

The Latest: Deal in bodies-in-suitcases case delayed

Associated Press
Published | Updated

MILWAUKEE – The Latest on attempts to reach a plea deal for a former suburban Milwaukee police officer accused of leaving the bodies of two women he's accused of killing in suitcases along a Wisconsin highway (all times local):

6 p.m.

A proposed plea deal has been delayed for a former suburban Milwaukee police officer charged with ditching the bodies of two women he's accused of killing in suitcases along a rural Wisconsin highway.

The Wisconsin case against Steven Zelich was expected to wrap up Wednesday when he was to enter a plea and be sentenced on two counts of hiding a corpse in Walworth County.

But Judge David Reddy said he was concerned that things were happening too quickly after the initial plea agreement was changed just before the hearing.

The Janesville Gazette (http://bit.ly/1OdObTf ) reports Zelich's attorney agreed to set the case for trial to have more time to talk to his client. The jury trial is set for Oct. 3.

The 54-year-old Zelich has already been sentenced to 35 years in prison in the 2012 death of 19-year-old Jenny Gamez, of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Authorities are hoping to extradite him to Minnesota, where he's charged in the death of the other victim.

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9:40 a.m.

A former suburban Milwaukee police officer accused of killing two women and ditching their bodies in suitcases along a rural Wisconsin highway is facing extradition to Minnesota where he's charged in the death of one of the victims.

The Wisconsin case against Steven Zelich is expected to wrap up Wednesday when he enters a plea and is sentenced on two counts of hiding a corpse in Walworth County. The 54-year-old Zelich has already been sentenced to 35 years in prison in the 2012 death of 19-year-old Jenny Gamez, of Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Details of the Wisconsin case are similar to accusations Zelich faces in the death of Laura Simonson, who was killed in Rochester, Minnesota, in 2013. Authorities say he met both women online, choked them at hotels during sexual encounters and hid their bodies in suitcases.