911 Call Ignored

[crimenthusiast]

I didn't see this posted anywhere on the site, but apologize if I just overlooked this.

Apparently, a Madison Wisconsin college student called 911 from her cell phone. The dispatcher didn't hear anything on the other line, so they hung up and didn't call back. The women's boyfriend found her dead on April 2nd in her apartment.

Police are investigating why the call was ignored. The dispatcher has also been transferred.

http://www.nbc5.com/news/16139155/detail.html

I found some links with information on the original story.

Greta interviewed someone from the campus newspaper 2 days after the murder.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,347393,00.html

Some of the other stories I was reading, are saying that they think a homeless person had something to do with this slaying.

It makes you wonder just how reliable 911 can be.

[w8ng4msrgt]

An update to the story.

[Lizard]

Forgive me, but I'm too lazy to click and like to have the basics here at D'D:

Over the past two and a half weeks, the 911 Center has refused requests for basic information about the calls. This week, Joe Norwick, director of the Dane County 911 Center since July, declined further opportunities to comment after being provided with a written summary of parts of this story.

In an email, Norwick said he was basing his refusal on a request from the Madison Police Department to withhold all information "pertaining to this matter" because release would "seriously impair" the murder investigation.

Madison police officials vigorously dispute this. While declining to call the 911 Center's action a cover-up, they suggested that Norwick is improperly using the department as an excuse not to own up to his agency's mistakes.

Departmental Pissing Match! Woot!

[ImmortalOne]

This is like that case where the 911 operator ignored the child that called for his mother and his mother died... American Lottery! oops, I mean, Lawsuit.

[Mom of 4]

Update

Significant sounds in 911 call were missed
Madison - Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk today ordered a review of "current training and personnel qualifications" of the county's 911 workers after one of them did not follow policies and failed to follow up on a call from the cell phone of a murdered University of Wisconsin-Madison student.

Investigators trying to solve the April 2 murder of Brittany Zimmerman in her downtown Madison apartment have since discovered "sounds that would have significance" to a trained 911 worker - sounds that were "not heard" by the worker to took the call from Zimmerman's cell phone, Falk told reporters.

Falk again refused to discuss the contents of the call from Zimmerman's cell phone, saying it is part of the ongoing investigation into the students' murder. "I am not allowed" to discuss that call, Falk said.

The 911 worker who took the cell phone call asked to be transferred to a different department in Dane County, and the request was granted. However, the 911 worker, who has not been named, is the subject of a disciplinary investigation, Falk said.

Besides ordering a review of training and qualiications of 911 workers, Falk also ordered Joe Norwick, the director of the center, to "review as soon as possible all three sets of available records" in which several calls come in right after another that require follow-up responses by 911 workers.

Falk released a new chronology of April 2 calls to the center that said a wireless call came in from Zimmerman's cell phone, the 911 worker "made three inquiries" but did not then make a follow-up call, as required by 911 rules. The 911 worker then made a follow-up call after a second caller hung up, but Falk said the second call "had no connection" to the Zimmerman case.

http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch.../2008&id=39304

[RaVen Blackehart]

"Brittany Zimmerman, a 21-year-old college student who wanted to be a doctor, called 911 as she was being attacked by a stranger, police say.
Brittany Zimmerman's screams and struggle for her life were captured by a 911 tape.

Brittany Zimmerman's screams and struggle for her life were captured by a 911 tape.

But the police did not come for 48 minutes. By that time, Zimmerman was dead. Her fiance found her body.

Although the dispatcher claimed later to have heard nothing, the 911 tape captured screams, gasps and what sounds like a struggle, according to the court documents.

Spring was in the air when college student Zimmerman returned April 2 from classes at the University of Wisconsin to the off-campus apartment she shared with her fiance, Jordan Gonnering.

He was out when she arrived home. He discovered her body when he returned.

Zimmerman had been stabbed multiple times in her chest, near her heart. She'd also been beaten and strangled, according to warrants released recently. Video Watch an update on the case »

Zimmerman managed to call 911 at 12:20 p.m. The call was taken by the Dane County 911 center and an internal investigation revealed the dispatcher did not hear any sounds that would signal an emergency.

Because of that, police were not sent to the apartment until 48 minutes after Zimmerman made the call. Her fiance was already there.
Cold Case
Nancy Grace looks at the Brittany Zimmerman case
8 & 10 PM
see full schedule »

Dane County has taken some harsh criticism from the public regarding the delay, and tough questions have been raised about whether a prompt response might have saved Zimmerman's life.

Police are still looking for her killer.

"We are working diligently on this case, have generated significant leads, and are making progress," said Joel De Spain of the Madison Police Department.

The police said they believe Zimmerman was attacked by a stranger. Her apartment door showed signs of forced entry.

After interviews with Zimmerman's family, friends and acquaintances, investigators determined there was no personal motive for the attack.

"In fact, we have not been able to determine any motive yet in this case," De Spain said. He emphasized that police have no reason to believe Zimmerman was the victim of a serial killer.

During the investigation, police have tracked leads pointing to vagrants in Zimmerman's off-campus neighborhood. The vagrants often would knock on doors and beg for money.

"We are still investigating this avenue, but at this time we have not been able to develop any specific suspects," De Spain said.

Zimmerman's family and friends describe her as a loving, warm young woman, who had much to look forward to. She was engaged to the love of her life and had dreams of earning a medical degree, they said. She was idealistic, and her goal was to help people, not to earn a large salary, they said....." CONTINUED

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/16/...man/index.html

[Silvahalo]

That a young life was taken is terrible enough...but one that was full of promise is utterly tragic and just breaks my heart.

Rest in peace sweet Brittany.

[Steph]

Raven - thank you for posting the update, I saw it on CNN this morning. You always post stories that interest me or I was already into - thank you.

This story just pisses me off the more I learn about it.