Episode 356

Sword and Scale - Sword and Scale

The podcast recounts the 2008 murder of Brittany Zimmerman, a 21-year-old microbiology student, and the decade-long fight for justice by her parents. Despite a flawed investigation and lack of progress, her family persisted, leading to a breakthrough 14 years later when the killer confessed. The case prompted legal reforms in Wisconsin to improve evidence handling and DNA collection.

Key takeaways

• Parents' relentless advocacy kept the case alive
• Missteps in investigation delayed justice for years
• Confession came 14.5 years after murder

Transcript preview

Sword and scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. listener discretion is advised. This is season 13, episode 356 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real. It's an overcast day in March 2018. The winter snow is finally giving way as the weather warms. Kevin and Jean Zimmerman sit in their living room with lights, a camera and a local reporter staring back at them. Does time sort of stop for you on that day on April 2nd? Absolutely. Two in 2008. Like do you feel like you can, you know, that it is 10 years later? No. No. It's quite unbelievable. That is 10 years already. You know? Completely unbelievable. They've done countless interviews over the years and are willing to do thousands more. Anything to keep their daughter's case alive. How often do you think about that day? Every day. Every single day. We thought it was going to be solved right away. We didn't even consider that this that we'd be here. later. Three days after this interview would mark 10 years since their daughter Brittany was killed. In that decade, the case had passed through three police chiefs and four lead detectives. Years of work with little to show for it. Only once did they think they were close. Why do you think there hasn't been an arrest or even seemingly like a person of interest or... major break in the case. I mean, we thought there was. You know, it was two and a half years ago, Chief Colval came to our door on my husband's birthday and said, we believe we have the person responsible for killing your daughter, December 9th. That moment came in 2016, but two years later, there was still no arrest. All the Zimmerman's could do was hold on to hope. That's all we have is hope. We can hope. Yeah. But, but... Realistically, I'm not real sure that they're ever going to solve this, at least not the way it's being handled right now. I just don't believe it. When parents lose a child, they're powerless to do anything but wait. Justice moves on its own timeline. And in the Zimmerman's case, that timeline stretched endlessly. These interviews, these small acts of advocacy, were all they had control over. If speaking publicly could help or speed up catching Brittany's killer, they do it every day for the rest of their lives to make that happen. What would you really tell people about why they should rack their brains? Because of it was your child, you'd want everybody in the world to rack their brains for you. Put yourself in our shoes. Just for a second. Put yourself in our shoes. girl meant everything to us and you know she was never there to hurt anybody she was always there to help people photos of Brittany still lined every wall of their home a family scarred by tragedy frozen in time clinging to whatever hope remained and wondering whether the case would ever be solved meanwhile the police department continued to work on their decade old investigation this is not what I would consider been relegated to a old case. This still has active leads that are worthy. The Zimmerman's knew little about the leads detectives were chasing. They only knew that two years earlier the police chief had told them they had the guy. But there had been no arrests. They were completely in the dark. If I had the probable cause, based on the totality of the evidence I had, arrest. It turned out that the chief had spoken too soon. It was one of many missteps in an investigation that had been plagued by setbacks from the start. One of the biggest was losing the long time lead investigator. The emotional toll of the case eventually became too heavy to bear. He was convulsing at one point. And then I was convulsing. We can't continue to sign cases this way. The chief swore that moving forward a team of investigators would carry the case. He was confident they would solve it eventually. The old school cop in me still hopes now that loops, slips will sink ships. Someone's going to say something to somebody about this case in a bar or overheard. But even if they did, even if the killer was finally behind. bars, the Zimmerman's knew it would bring them little comfort. What they wanted most was the one thing that no investigation could return. She would be a doctor right now that she wanted to be, and we would be proud of her, and we could go visit her on our animal farm and everything she wanted because she loved animals. That's what we wish, you know, that she could live her life the way she wanted to do. And we could go visit her on our animal farm and everything she wanted because she loved animals. That's what we wish, you know that she could live her. She could live her. She could live her They had thought the case would be solved quickly. By 2018, they simply hoped it would be solved at all. Their nightmares started on April 2, 2008, when their daughter was attacked inside her apartment in the middle of the day. The mistake started almost immediately. And to understand how this case remained open for a decade, you have to go back to the start. It's been five years since Britney Zimmerman was killed here on Adodi Street. Friday will mark the two-year anniversary of the Madison murder of Brittany Zimmerman. It's April 2, 2008. Jordan Gonering hops on his moped and heads towards the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. His fiance, Brittany, is already in class. She had a big test that morning. He rides the short distance to campus from their apartment enjoying the sun. It wouldn't feel so cold if it weren't for the wind, he thinks to himself. He gets back to campus at around 1130. He goes out on one of the balconies of the Van Hise building and scans the quad for Brittany. She turns her phone off in class, but he knows she'll be coming out of the bacteriology building. Then he spots her. She stands out with her golden hair and the collar of her lime-green pecote pulled up around her neck. He calls her name. She looks around for a moment before looking up to the balcony. A smile spreads across her face when she sees Jordan. He points to his phone and she remembers her phone is off. She turns it on and it rings instantly. Jordan asks her how her parasitology test went. She sighs, but says it went fine. They have a quick conversation, just touching base before their dinner plans that night. They finish their phone call and Jordan starts heading to his Russian literature class, which starts at 1205. After class ends at 1255, Jordan walks back to his moped and hops on. He weaves through the campus and onto his street. He gets home, parks his bike on the side of the house, and walks to the front door like he always does. Then he stops. The lock on the outside security door is busted. It looks like somebody kicked it in. He can't remember if it was always like this. He stares at it for a moment, thinking, but dismisses it and starts to go inside. He reaches to open the closed door and notices it's unlocked. He thinks, that's weird. But he also knows their landlord was supposed to show the apartment that day, so he assumes that's why. He walks. He walks in. and his backpack, jacket and his shoes. Usually there are three cats would greet him at the door, but today they were nowhere to be found. Jordan takes a few steps towards the back of the small apartment and freezes. On the floor in the bedroom is Brittany. Just for a second he thinks she's pranking him, but as soon as he inches close, he sees blood. Jordan would call 911 at 108 p.m. 911 what's the address of the emergency? 911 what the address of the emergency? Hello? This is 911, what's the address of the emergency? His phone barely holds a connection. He manages to give the address on West Doty Street before the call cuts out. Hello? Okay, your phone's cutting out. Did you say upper or lower flat? Yes. The dispatcher tries again. Their voices break in and out, tangled in static. Okay. Ambulance is needed. Okay, what is your name? Jordan Garring. Okay, tell me exactly what happened. I just came home. The door was busted in and my girlfriend's been shot. Okay. Yep. Are you with her right now? Yes, I am. How old is she? She is, no, she's 21. 21? Is she conscious? No, she's not. Is she breathing? No, she's not. Up to this point in his life, the most serious thing Jordan has faced was final exams. Now he's kneeling beside the woman he planned to marry, trying to save her life. all while relaying information to officers already in route. The caller has no idea. He just walked in and found his girlfriend like this. caller has no idea who would have done this. Is there any serious bleeding? Okay. There is serious bleeding. Yes. Okay. I'm sending an ambulance to help you. I want you to stay on the line with me so I can tell you what to do next, okay? Okay. Did you say she is or she is not breathing? She's not breathing. She's not breathing. She's not breathing. She's not breathing. Okay, stand for me so I can tell you how to help her, okay? Are you right by her now? Yes. All right, I want you to lay her flat on her back on the ground. Yep. Remove any pillows. Okay. You need you to kneel next to her in her mouth and look in her mouth for any food or vomit. Is there anything? Just blood. Just blood. Just blood. Just blood. Just blood. Just blood. Just blood. The dispatcher talks Jordan through CPR, but she knows it might already be too late. And when Jordan rolls Brittany onto her back, he notices something he cannot make sense up. Did you think she did this herself? No, she couldn't have. She couldn't have done it herself, and there's no weapon nearby. No, no, it's a gunshot wound. You're inside with her? Yes, I am. It might be a stam wound. Yes, I am. I'm not sure. They're piercing. They're small piercing. The dispatcher stays with him, guiding him, reassuring him, while also coordinating the incoming police units. She switches between comforting Jordan and delivering updates to officers racing towards the scene. The address is 517 West Doty Street. It's apartment number one, the lower flat. The female is T&B and he's now saying that it could be. be a stabbing wound rather than a gunshot. Then she has to jump right back into the fray with Jordan. Okay, no idea who might have done this at all, right? I have no idea. I have no idea. I have no idea. Okay, can you feel or hear any breathing at all? No, I can't. I've checked for a pulse and I can't feel anything. Okay, okay. Okay, just so you know, there's an ambulance on the way and the officers are on the way as well, okay? is coming. But in moments like this, seconds stretch into hours. Finally, officers arrive and usher Jordan inside. making sure the attacker isn't still inside. Only then do they move toward Brittany. It was too late to help her. The officers informed dispatch that the victim was deceased and the call became a homicide investigation. When detectives arrived at the scene, they were confused. There was forced entry, but nothing was stolen. Brittany most likely was working on her computer, filing out federal grant forms. when someone interrupted her. Her desk was messy with tax documents. From the doorway of their bedroom, detectives saw blood on the bed and the floor. Further checking revealed her cell phone. The battery was missing, and it looked like someone had deliberately damaged it. They found it hidden under other garbage in the trash can. Who would want a 21-year-old microbiology student dead? And why? It was a broad daylight murder with no clear motive and it would take 12 years for Madison police to uncover the truth. The midday murder of their only daughter had a devastating effect on the Zimmerman's. They wouldn't see her graduate or get married. She would never have a career, a family, or a life. The date of her death would replace her birthday for her parents. She would never have a career, a family, or a life. The date of her death would replace her birthday for her parents. years fighting for justice, for Brittany. Her fiance Jordan found her lifeless body on their bedroom floor and called 911. The police made a mad dash to the crime scene. When it was determined that Brittany was deceased, the investigation started. The entire street from intersection to intersection was cordoned off. Officers secured the scene. They started to make contact with the neighbors and left dashcams running to capture anyone walking. in the area. Jordan had just seen her at 1130. What could have happened in the last hour and a half? They hoped whoever killed her was still in the area so they started canvassing. Quickly, dispatch uncovered some investigation that might have been related. Police and Fire. I was just calling to report a suspicious incident that this happened at my house. someone just opened our door and came in and was asking me for money. What was the incident? Some guy walked into my house and was just opened our door and came in and was asking me for money and he came up our stairs. Okay and one how long ago was this? About maybe 10 minute top. The caller lived on West Washington Avenue two blocks away and a straight shot down an alley from Brittany's apartment at Dody Street. Okay and you don't know who this person was? No I have no idea he said that him and his wife had a flat tire on East Washington Ave and that