Apr 2, 2008 - Madison, WI
Brittany Zimmermann's body was Found at 1:08 p.m. by her fiance, in their first-floor apartment. The killer had broke through a door to get into her apartment before
killing her. Zimmermann was cold and lifeless and had been stabbed in the heart so many times that he thought she had been shot in the chest.
The autopsy report said that Zimmermann died from "complex homicidal violence including multiple stab wounds and strangulation." Reports in other warrants noted she had
also been beaten, and nearly half of the knife wounds that killed Zimmermann were to her heart. Police did not find a weapon at the scene. Valuables were left behind in
her apartment, calling into question whether robbery could be a motive.
Zimmermann had dialed 911 for help from her cell-phone but police were not sent to the scene until Gonnering called again. Officials stated that the employee at the County
911 center heard nothing and then hung up, saying that they receive many calls like this and they can't follow up on all of them. Later it was revealed on a recording that
the call started with the sound of a woman screaming. The line remained active for a short time picking up the background sounds of a struggle.
May 1, 2008
After saying for days there would be no apology, they apologize.
County 911 Center Apologizes "We fumbled the call." The director admitted that his agency made a mistake in fumbling a call from Brittany Zimmermann's cell phone. The
dispatcher who hung up on the call, after saying she heard nothing, remains on the job. The center has a policy to call back when a 911 caller hangs up or is disconnected.
The gaffe at the 911 center prompted a news conference by 911 chief Norwick and by Madison Police Chief Noble Wray. Norwick said the dispatcher got busy with other calls and
forgot to call back to Zimmermann's phone. "Other 911 calls were waiting, but had we called it back and got the same resultm or if we got somebody's voice mailm we probably
wouldn't have sent anybody anyway." Norwick said the 911 center gets many accidental or erroneous phone calls. On the day Zimmermann was killed, 115 hang-up calls were received,
and 83 of them were from cell phones. Police Chief Wray, however, said the 911 center ignored evidence in the call which should have resulted in a Madison police officer being dispatched.
2008 - Madison, WI
Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has written letters of apology to be sent to the family of murder victim Brittany Zimmermann
and her fiance, in response to a disclosure last week that a call to the 911 center was made from her phone around the time she was killed, but was not returned as is normal protocol.
Falk aide Joshua Wescott said Monday that the family and Zimmermann's fiance, Jordan Gonnering, will receive letters of apology.
Someone, presumably Zimmermann, made a call to the 911 center on April 2, the day Gonnering found Zimmermann's body in the Doty Street apartment they shared, and when the caller hung
up, no return call was made. Neither Madison Police nor 911 center officials disclosed the existence of that call until a story in Isthmus last week revealed the call had been made.
Madison Police Chief Noble Wray said that there was information in the call which should have resulted in a dispatcher calling back.
Along with Falk, Dane County Board Chairman Scott McDonell also offered an apology, saying Zimmermann should have gotten a call back from the 911 center.
2009
Zimmermann's parents and Gonnering file lawsuits. July 2010 a state appeals court panel ruled that Gonnering can't sue the county or anyone else, and Zimmermann's parents will
not pursue a wrongful death claim against Dane County but will instead focus on a claim that the county is responsible for emotional distress that Zimmermann may have suffered
before her death.
Jordan Gonnering (22) - Fiance - 517 W. Doty St.
Brittany Sue Zimmermann (21) - UW-Madison junior - 517 W. Doty St. - Marshfield, WI
The
Department of Justice distributed playing cards in 2011 to inmates in to state prisons and
county jails in the hope that an inmate with knowledge of a case would come forward.
Each card featured a photo of a missing person or homicide victim and information about their case.
Two versions of the cards: one of Milwaukee cases and one with cases from other parts of the state.
The Department of Justice distributed playing cards in 2011 to inmates in to state prisons and