Jurors see sex video of Zocco and Dwyer
Evidence of other violent pornography introduced
Jurors in the Kris Zocco trial on Wednesday saw video and stills from an earlier sexual encounter between him and Kelly Dwyer, who prosecutors believed died during a similar risky sex act with Zocco three weeks later.
The images were recovered from Zocco’s cellphone and were taken Sept. 22, 2013.
Prosecutors also introduced evidence of other violent, bondage and asphyxia pornography found on a computer hard drive stored in a box in Zocco’s spare bedroom.
It is all meant to suggest that Zocco had an increasing obsession with the dangerous sexual activity that they believe resulted in Dwyer’s suffocation death during sex early on Oct. 11, 2013.
Jurors earlier heard a detective describe how Zocco drove from his east side Milwaukee apartment the next day with Dwyer’s body concealed in a travel golf bag inside his trunk to Monroe, then to rural Sullivan in Jefferson County, where detectives believe he hid the body in a thicket off a dead-end road before driving to Delafield to purchase shoes shortly after noon.
His attorney, Craig Mastantuono, asked why, if his client was trying to hide his whereabouts, as the prosecution has suggested he did by turning off his phone for 17 hours, he would use a credit card and leave a record of being in Delafield.
Assistant District Attorney Sara Hill has implied that many of Zocco’s actions in the days after Dwyer disappeared were intentional, meant to make him look innocent, like sending her texts after the time Hill says Dwyer was already dead.
Mastantuono also asked retired Detective Eric Villarreal if a criminal would generally prefer to ditch a body in broad daylight or under cover of night. Villarreal agreed most criminals would prefer the latter.
But Hill suggested that in the remote location, any lights in the dark night might actually draw more attention from the few neighbors than a quick daytime stop at a spot in the road not easily seen from any residence.
During a day of varied testimony, jurors also heard about DNA testing of more than 100 items from Zocco’s apartment and car. While DNA from both him and Dwyer was found on many things and places in the apartment, witnesses admitted that would not be unusual if she often spent time there and had sex there.
Among the items with Dwyer’s DNA — several men’s neckties, like those seen binding her arms and legs in the Sept. 22, 2013, images.
But Dwyer’s DNA was found on only one thing from Zocco’s car — a black leather glove. Hill suggested it could be because Zocco was gloved when he pushed Dwyer’s corpse down the steep bank of Inlynd Drive into the thicket in Jefferson County.
Dwyer’s remains were discovered there in May 2015, about 19 months after she disappeared. After building a dense and complex case of circumstantial evidence, prosecutors charged Zocco with the homicide last year.
His trial, in its second week, is expected to continue Thursday.