WEST ALLIS, Wis. (WSAU) -- A suspect has been arrested in connection with two women found dead and stuffed into two suitcases in Walworth County.
52-year-old private security officer Steven M. Zelich was taken into custody Wednesday. Two Milwaukee area media outlets report Zelich is also a former West Allis police officer.
Zelich’s West Allis apartment has been searched, and investigators have removed several items considered evidence.
One of the victims was 37-year-old Laura Simonson from Farmington, Minnesota, which is a south suburb of the Twin Cities. She was reported missing last fall. Her family claims Simonson has a history of mental illness and had placed escort ads on Craigslist. Her seven children have been in the care of her father.
The other female victim has not been positively identified yet. Police say that woman has long dark hair, a pronounced overbite, and a quarter-size heart tattoo on her lower left abdomen.
Zelich has been offering legal advice through his website. He has also been seeking female companions online, seeking master-and-slave type arrangements.
Minnesota authorities are also involved, as the investigators try to figure out if one or both of the women were killed in the Twin Cities area, the Rochester Minnesota area, or in Wisconsin.