County Settles Lawsuit, No Suspects in Murder Case

Several Wisconsin media outlets have reached a financial settlement in a lawsuit filed against Dane County to force the release of information about the 2008 murder of university student Brittany Zimmermann. The county has agreed to pay the $118,000 legal fees the media spent on the lawsuit, which asked a judge to release documents and 911 call tapes related to the case. Those documents revealed that a 911 call from Zimmermann’s apartment—probably made during her murder—did not generate a police response and was forgotten by the county dispatcher who answered the call. Hours later Zimmermann was found murdered in her apartment by her boyfriend. County officials later admitted that the dispatcher who answered the 911 call failed to call the number back when it disconnected because she was distracted by another 911 call. She also didn’t send officers, despite the sounds of screaming and a struggle, as later heard on the logging tape of the call. Police say there are no suspects in the case, but that the investigation is on-going.