An experienced Kenosha police officer testified Monday about the blood spatter found both inside and outside the apartment where a Kenosha man was allegedly killed by a Mequon man in May 2020.
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Kenosha Police Officer Jeffery Van Wie, a 20-year-veteran who
has served as a patrol officer, field training officer and forensic
examiner who oversees evidence technicians, testified in the trial
of Zachariah Anderson, 42, on Monday.
Court TV via pool
Officer Jeffrey Van Wie, a veteran of the force who serves as a patrol officer, field training officer and a forensic examiner who oversees evidence technicians, testified in the trial of Zachariah Anderson, 42. Anderson is accused of killing Rosalio Gutierrez Jr., 40, in a jealous rage on May 17, 2020, and then hiding or disposing of the body.
Van Wie said he was dispatched to the apartment on May 19, 2020, to help investigate the matter and assist other law enforcement officials already on the scene.
“I walked inside the hallway and on apartment 1B I saw dried red fluid stains on the door itself and around the door,” Van Wie said. “There appeared to be blood on the exterior door and door frame and the walls around the door.”
The jury was shown a photo of the door of 1B with many droplets of dried blood on the exterior of it.
“All of these darker stains you see on the red door, all of these stains here I suspected were blood stains,” Van Wie told the jury while using a pointer to highlight the impact spatter. “Impact spatter is when there’s some kind of force which impacts on liquid blood. So, force would hit the liquid blood and it would disperse into small blood drops and it would just scatter out onto a surface.”
Van Wie said only blunt force trauma or gun shots could cause the impact spatter he observed.
“Blunt force trauma would be somebody getting struck with some kind of object like a bat or a hammer or some sort,” Van Wie said. “Somebody would have to have blood on them in order to cause this. ... My training would indicate .. at least two I should say, a minimum of two (blows). Normally, when somebody gets struck the first time that’s what causes the bleeding and then the second time is when that blood would actually come off that person and disperse.”
Van Wie continued testifying throughout Monday’s proceedings.
He also testified about “similar” impact spatter found on the interior side of the door, on walls and on other items found throughout the apartment that likely came from different blows.
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Zachariah Anderson is accused of killing Rosalio Gutierrez Jr.,
40, in a jealous rage on May 17, 2020. Gutierrez’s body has never
been recovered. He is being represented by Nicole Muller, who is in
the background at left.
Court TV via pool
Gutierrez’s body has never been recovered. His family and friends were in court again Monday, as they have been since the start of the trial that has sparked headlines across the nation.
Anderson is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, a Class A felony that carries a sentence of life in prison if convicted. Anderson is also charged with felonies of hiding a corpse and stalking.
Anderson allegedly killed Guitierrez inside of his Wood Creek apartment on the city’s north side. Prosecutors allege he did so because he was upset Gutierrez began having a romantic relationship with Sadie Beacham, his ex-girlfriend and mother to his three children.
Gutierrez, a father of two young children, was reported missing May 19, 2020, after Beacham, who had been unable to reach him, went to his first-floor apartment in the 3700 block of 15th Street, found the patio door open and blood splattered on the floor and furniture.
Police focused on Anderson after Beacham reported that Anderson — her former partner — had been stalking and harassing her in the weeks after she began developing a relationship with Gutierrez.
Remains in custody
Last week, Lisa Treffinger, a longtime analyst and crime scene team leader of the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, testified in the trial.
Treffinger said the blood found on numerous items inside Gutierrez’s apartment tested positive for the presence of Gutierrez’s DNA. That DNA was compared with items found in Gutierrez’s apartment, including a toothbrush, a door handle and hair.
Treffinger said she also examined the inside of a vehicle brought to a crime lab and found a “tiny” and “reddish-brown” speck of blood that tested positive for Gutierrez’s DNA.
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Gutierrez
Submitted photo
Prosecutors allege Anderson transported Gutierrez’s dead body from his apartment to another location with a work van. The speck of blood was found on a panel on the rear passenger side.
Inside the van a patch of carpet was removed, along with the seats, and the interior appeared to have been scrubbed with bleach. Treffinger said a tech who examined the van noticed the smell of bleach.
A photo of the empty van was shown to the jury Friday.
The jury was also shown photos of Gutierrez’z apartment taken by investigator that showed a substantial amount of blood on the carpets, a couch and walls.
Nicole Muller, one of Anderson’s defense attorneys, maintains the police investigation was flawed from the start and detectives “failed to look in places that should’ve been looked into” and instead zeroed in Anderson based on Beacham’s claims. On Monday afternoon she also questioned Van Wie’s knowledge and education regarding blood pattern analysis and history of testifying about such things.
District Attorney Michael Graveley said Anderson killed Gutierrez because he was “jealous” and “irrational” and also wanted to feel like he was still in control of Beacham.
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District Attorney Michael Graveley said Anderson killed
Gutierrez because he was “jealous” and “irrational” and also wanted
to feel like he was still in control of Beacham.
Court TV via pool
Anderson is being held on a $750,000 cash bond at the Kenosha County Jail. He has been in custody since shortly after Gutierrez’s disappearance, initially charged with stalking.
The homicide charge was added in December 2020 after an investigation reportedly found evidence that indicated Anderson may have moved Gutierrez’s body in his vehicle.
Authorities also indicated that burn pits were found on property belonging to Anderson or his family, with evidence that the clothing Anderson was wearing at the same time Gutierrez went missing may have been burned.
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Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder is presiding
over the trial that is expected to last at least another week.
Court TV photos via pool
Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder is presiding over the trial that is expected to last at least another week.
The jury of 13 now consists of eight women and five men after both the defense and prosecution agreed to dismiss a female juror because she was not feeling well. There is one alternate.
