INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

New Disturbing Details About Steven Zelich, Former Cop Arrested For Hiding Women’s Bodies

By Dawn Papple
Published on: 04:37 PST, Jun 27, 2014

New disturbing details into the private life of Steven Zelich are emerging since The Inquisitr last reported about the former cop who was arrested for hiding the corpses of two women in suitcases. As previously mentioned, an ad placed on SecondCityClassifieds.com claimed the former police officer had enslaved Laura Jean Simonson, one of two women who were found dead inside suitcases.

“Steven Mark Zelich is a sadist who has enslaved a petite female named Laura Jean Simonson. He keeps her naked, handcuffed, shackled, and caged,” the ad read. The ad also claimed that Zelich was actively seeking out new partners in his real-life sadomasochism activities on the BDSM fetish website Collarme.com using the handle, “Mr. Handcuffs.” The ad asserted that Zelich had no intention of ever releasing Simonson.

It’s now known that Steven Zelich was most recently employed as a security guard with Securitas Security Services USA. Zelich began employment there in 2007, after resigning from the West Allis Police Department in 2001 under what is being called “suspicious circumstances.” Investigators say a prostitute accused Steve Zelich of handcuffing her and doing other disturbing things that made her so upset that she contacted the police. Zelich was not charged in that alleged incident. West Allis police are not answering questions on the matter at this time. MPD told Fox 6 Now that the only incident they have in Steven Zelich’s record is in connection with a robbery he witnessed years ago. Securitas Security Services say that Zelich passed an extensive background check. FOX 6 Now reported that Zelich’s father was also a police officer, a sergeant for Milwaukee PD, who passed away many years ago.

Online, Zelich described himself as a dominant male. According to CBS 58, Zelich had a profile on Collarspace.com where he wrote:

“Seeking a long term 24/7 slave for absolute ownership/slavery… there’s nothing better than a slave tied tight, gagged, blindfolded, hooded, chained, caged… Or being lead by her collar w/ leash wearing wrist and ankle manacles.”

Zelich joined the site in 2007 and, according to CBS 58, last logged into the BDSM site on Wednesday, the same day that he was arrested after police raided Zelich’s home. Zelich was looking for nothing less than total enslavement. Zelich also belonged to a public Yahoo group called “Masterb_slave_club,” and there he expressed his desire to be enslaved, preferring a caged farm situation.

Neighbors say Zelich was a quiet man. Felicia Sopa told FOX 6 Now, “I saw him leave a couple of times while I’ve been living there. A very quiet guy.”

Zelich’s victim, Laura Simonson, struggled with mental illness that made her vulnerable, according to Detective Sgt. Lee Hollatz with the Farmington PD. She had seven children, and went with Zelich willingly. The detective said that as early as January, he suspected Zelich in connection with Simonson’s disappearance, but could not find enough evidence to arrest him. Hollatz reportedly asked the West Allis police, where Zelich was once employed, to visit Zelich’s home to look for evidence of Simonson’s imprisonment, but West Allis police evidently found no sign of her. Zelich was sent a letter requesting contact with Hollatz, but the detective never got a response.

Not long after, the FBI and the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation interviewed Zelich, who remained a person of interest, but their investigations uncovered no sign of the mother-of-seven. A motel worker identified Steve Zelich and Laura Simonson from a photo and indicated that they stayed at the motel on November 2 and 3 last year. Though Zelich had registered the room under an assumed name, Laura Simonson used her real name. The Hamilton Spector reported that employees of the Microtel Inn and Suites in Rochester recognized the victim when they saw a crime alert. They remembered Zelich because he had smoked in his room in violation of the motel’s rules. After being identified through surveillance footage, Steve Zelich had admitted being there, but no evidence of Simonson was found until her body was discovered in the suitcase.

“My goal was to bring home Laura Simonson. Well, it looks like we will be bringing her home, but not the way we wanted to,” Hollatz told Walworth County Today. While the investigators have not released the identity of the second woman whose body was also found in a suitcase, Lt. Casey Moilanen of the Rochester PD said that they do have a tentative identity of Steve Zelich’s other victim.

Share this article: New Disturbing Details About Steven Zelich, Former Cop Arrested For Hiding Women’s Bodies
More from Inquisitr