Zocco trial in death of Kelly Dwyer opens
The long-awaited murder trial of Kris Zocco, charged in the death of Kelly Dwyer, opened Tuesday with the prosecutor laying out a scenario of rough sex that turned into murder and then a plot to hide the crime.
But Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Sara Hill has no eyewitness or direct physical evidence tying Zocco to the death of Dwyer.
Instead, she asked the 12 women and two men of the jury to use common sense in assessing the evidence she said points to the conclusion that Zocco killed Dwyer.
Rebecca Coffee, one of Zocco’s attorneys, said detectives and prosecutors decided long ago that Zocco must have killed Dwyer and their investigation was shaped by that.
Dwyer, 27, was last seen entering Zocco’s east side Milwaukee apartment building with him on Oct. 11, 2013.
Prosecutors say she died during asphyxia-sex with Zocco, who then sneaked her body out of the building in a travel case for golf clubs and hid the body in bushes in rural Jefferson County, where her remains were discovered 19 months later.
Zocco, 43, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide, hiding a corpse and strangulation and suffocation, as well as witness intimidation, a charge that was added this year. Zocco earlier was convicted of possessing child pornography and is serving 19 years in prison.
Hill noted that Dwyer was last seen alive walking with Zocco into his apartment early on the morning of Oct. 11 but she is not seen leaving. She told the jury how a dog trained to detect human remains hit on several locations in Zocco’s apartment including the bathroom, hallway and a trash chute as well as his car.
The investigators’ theory is that after Zocco killed Dwyer, he pulled down the shower curtain and wrapped the body with it and rolled her body out of his apartment in the golf bag.
Hill also said there would be testimony from another woman with whom Zocco had sex that included bondage and choking. She will testify about how she nearly passed out during such encounters, Hill said.
And Hill described how a fellow prisoner serving with Zocco will testify that Zocco admitted to killing Dwyer.
Coffee countered that none of the state’s evidence meant that Zocco was responsible for Dwyer’s death. She noted that the medical examiner was unable to even determine if Dwyer was killed, based on the state of decay of her body.
Zocco and Dwyer engaged in consensual sex that may be offensive to some, Coffee said, but that lifestyle should not be a reason to convict him of murder.
Coffee also railed against the prisoner who will testify that Zocco admitted murder to him. She said the prisoner’s first question was how much time off his lengthy sentence he could get.
After openings, the jury was taken on a bus to visit the apartment where Zocco lived and then to the area in Jefferson County where the body was found.
Testimony is expected to begin this afternoon.