Bond set at $1M for ex-cop in suitcase deaths

ELKHORN, Wis. (AP) — Bond has been set at $1 million for a former police officer suspected of killing two women and hiding their bodies in suitcases dumped in rural Wisconsin.

A judge set the cash bond during a hearing today for 52-year-old Steven Zelich, agreeing with prosecutors that it was needed to protect the public.

Zelich, who lives in West Allis, Wisconsin, was charged Thursday with two counts of hiding a corpse in Walworth County. He appeared on video for the hearing but didn’t speak.

Zelich’s lawyer, Travis Schwantes, asked for a far lower bond, noting his client hasn’t been charged with homicide.

But District Attorney Daniel Necci says he expects homicide charges to be filed where the women were killed. Investigators allege the women were killed elsewhere in Wisconsin and in Minnesota.