Thursday, April 3, 2008 - The Daily Cardinal

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dailycardinal.com

Thursday, April 3, 2008

UW-MADISON STUDENT KILLED Police investigate homicide after body found on Doty St.

Students receive ‘WiscAlert,’ UWPD joins investigation

By Abby Sears

By Amanda Hoffstrom

THE DAILY CARDINAL

THE DAILY CARDINAL

Authorities are investigating the slaying of a UW-Madison junior after her body was found in her campus-area apartment Wednesday. Madison Police Department officers discovered the body of Brittany Sue Zimmermann, 21, of Marshfield, Wis., at her home at 517 W. Doty St. after receiving a call to check on a person at the apartment around 1 p.m. Dane County Coroner John Stanley could not ZIMMERMANN state the exact cause of death, but said forensic medical testing will occur Thursday morning. Madison Police Chief Noble Wray said investigators do not have any suspect information at this stage in the investigation. He urged residents to be “concerned, but not alarmed” about safety threats and said police will increase patrols and visibility in the downtown area. “Officers will begin to canvas the adjacent neighborhood [and] the homes around the incident to share what they can in terms of what took place and to relieve concerns by area residents,” Wray said. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who once lived on the 500 block of West Doty Street during his time as a UW-Madison student, expressed condolences to the victim’s family and friends and told residents to remain strong in the wake of the tragedy.

In the wake of UW-Madison junior Brittany Sue Zimmermann’s death, campus officials are trying to retain a sense of community and stress awareness of personal safety. University of Wisconsin Police Chief Susan Riseling and Dean of Students Lori Berquam joined city officials at a news conference Wednesday to offer university support in the homicide investigation. “Clearly this is a devastating and tragic situation and honestly it’s a shock,” Berquam said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Zimmermann family, with Brittany’s friends.” UW-Madison officials alerted the campus community of the homicide through “WiscAlerts” around 5:45 p.m. after Madison police identified the victim as a student. This is the third time the campus-wide emergency communication system was used this school year. At the request of Chancellor John Wiley, Riseling said UWPD would cooperate with the Madison Police Department to offer assistance. “I spoke with the chancellor,” Riseling said. “He said whatever resources the university has that the city might need, the university will do everything to share those resources.” According to Riseling, UWPD increased the number of university patrols at 4 p.m. Wednesday, and would continually update the campus with any additional information regarding Zimmermann’s death. “We will try to communicate quickly and clearly with the student body as we need to do through all sorts of

AMANDA SALM/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Madison police closed the 500 block of West Doty Street Wednesday afternoon after finding the body of UW-Madison junior Brittany Sue Zimmermann, 21, of Marshfield, Wis., around 1 p.m.

Community coming together University, city officials address tragedy at press conference ISABEL ALVAREZ/THE DAILY CARDINAL

LORI BERQUAM Dean of Students

DAVE CIESLEWICZ Madison Mayor

NOBLE WRAY Madison Police Chief

zimmermann page 4

wiscalert page 4

‘Monstrous’ rapist gets 40 years in prison By Abby Sears THE DAILY CARDINAL

Antonio Pope, the man convicted of kidnapping and raping two female UWMadison students in 2006, will spend 40 years in prison for the attacks, a judge ruled Wednesday. Dane County Circuit Court Judge John Markson sentenced Pope to an additional 20 years of extended supervision after his prison term, provided he register as a sex offender and have no contact with the victims. According to a criminal complaint, Pope abducted the young women near campus on Nov. 29 and Dec. 9, 2006, before driving 10 to 15 minutes off campus and raping them. He blindfolded, bound and threatened both victims with knives.

In November 2007, Markson found Pope guilty on two counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping after Pope pleaded no contest to the charges. Pope initially said he was high on ecstasy and did not have any recollection of the attacks. Defense Attorney Karie Cattanach said Pope’s lengthy criminal record and inability to be responsible for his actions warranted a severe sentence. “I’m at a loss for words to describe how monstrous your conduct was,” Markson said before announcing Pope’s sentence. “These women were scared to death.” One of the victims’ mothers testified at the sentencing hearing and said the abduction and rape left her daughter “just a shadow of who she once was.”

She said her daughter stopped attending school and quit her job due to the stress resulting from the crime. The victim can no longer be alone and panics when male strangers approach her, according to her mother. “These are the actions of a maniac,” the mother said of Pope’s crimes, asking the judge for a lengthy prison sentence. Pope did not speak at the hearing, but made a statement through a letter read by his attorney John Fiske. In the statement, Pope apologized to the victims, his children, the UW-Madison campus and the Madison community. “He knows that the victims in this crime may not be in a position to forgive him now, but he hopes that in the future they will find themselves able to do that,” Fiske said.

JACOB ELA/THE DAILY CARDINAL

Antonio Pope will spend 40 years in prison for abducting and raping two women in 2006.

“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”


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