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BREAKING: Jury finds Kris Zocco guilty on all counts including first degree reckless homicide

By: CBS58 Staff
Posted: Oct 5, 2018 2:30 PM CST
BREAKING: Jury finds Kris Zocco guilty on all counts including first degree reckless homicide
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Updated: 2:30 p.m. October 5, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Kris Zocoo found guilty on all counts including first degree reckless homicide, hiding a corpse, strangulation/suffocation. 

Zocco faces up to 76 years in prison at a sentencing hearing to happen at a later date.

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Day 10 of Kris Zocco Trial

Updated: 12:00 p.m. October 5, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Kris Zocco's fate is now in a jury's hands. Closing arguments wrapped up just after 11:00 a.m. Friday. 

The jury is made up of two men and ten women. Closing arguments lasted for nearly two hours, going over almost every piece of evidence presented over the last two weeks. 

Jurors heard from the prosecution twice as Assistant District Attorney Sara Hill spoke first and got the final word. She said there's no other way to look at the evidence, that jurors should infer if Kelly Dwyer went to Kris Zocco's apartment and was never seen leaving, something happened that night, listing other puzzle pieces that fit together, like the last time Kelly Dwyer's phone was on and that she was never seen or heard from again. 

The defense argued that prosecution was unreliable, the police officers never saved or wrote in their reports about watching every single camera at the Park Layfayette apartment building, but testimony on teh stand recalled something different. Zocco's attorney says the case relied on emotion and the state wanted to make the jurors dislike Kris Zocco. 

"Justice is to find him not guilty. It's not about bending or presenting evidence unfairly. It's in your hands. I believe you should and will hesitate. Your questions will not be answered," Zocco's attorney Craig Mastantuono said. 

"He killed Kelly Dwyer during a reckless homicidal act, he carried her body to that bathroom, put her body into a golf travel bag, cleaned the bathroom with bleach, he thought he did the perfect crime," Assistant District Attorney for Milwaukee County Sara Hill said. 

All 12 jurors must agree for a verdict. Stay with CBS 58 for updates when a verdict comes down. 

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Day 9 of Kris Zocco Trial

Updated: 6:00 p.m. October 4, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The defense called in its witnesses Thursday during Kris Zocco's trial.

After Kelly Dwyer went missing, police say many people called in sightings of her but none of them panned out. However, the defense believes that one account is important.

Zocco's attorneys brought in Forthune Hasan. A little more than 48 hours after she was last seen, Hasan believes he saw Kelly Dwyer in the passenger seat of a car in Clintonville.

He says she looked like the missing woman on the news at the time and that the driver was wearing a santa hat and white beard.

He followed the car and got the license plate, but the defense says no one followed up on that lead until last week, 5 years after Dwyer went missing.

"I looked straight at her, her eyes were open, it looked like she was either scared or she was gone. She might have been dead. I don't know," said Hasan.

With the state dropping the witness intimidation charge, the case could be in the hands of the jury on Friday. Closing arguments are also expected to begin Friday morning.

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Day 8 of Kris Zocco Trial

Updated: 6:00 p.m. October 3, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- An ex-girlfriend testified in the trial for Kris Zocco on Wednesday. Medical experts testified throughout the week that they couldn't determine how Kelly Dwyer died, but the prosecution says evidence collected from Kris Zocco's apartment and one witness proves what they believe.

A woman who had a relationship with Kris Zocco in 2011 took the stand. She is only being identified as Ms. C and per the judge's order, CBS 58 is not showing her face and disguising her voice.

The prosecution believes Kelly Dwyer died from strangulation or impeded breathing during a sex act.

Ms. C says she and Zocco met on Craigslist to pursue a BDSM sexual relationship. She says regularly he would impede her breathing and didn't stop when she asked, “He didn't put my safety first before his own pleasure, and that is the rule of anyone who takes this lifestyle seriously."

The prosecution says they will call their last witness on Thursday.

Some of the people on the witness list that are still expected to take the stand include Kris Zocco's mom, and inmates from Waupun correctional facility.

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Day 7 of Kris Zocco Trial

Updated 6:00 p.m. October 2, 2018

UPDATE: MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The handler of a cadaver dog that detected human remains in Kris Zocco's apartment took the stand Tuesday in Zocco's murder trial.

The cadaver dog, K9 Molly, is right 99.5% of the time. Her handler says there are cases in her experience where a dog correctly detects human remains but there's no evidence like DNA that can be collected.

The defense called their own expert witness, Falco Jimenez, he was a police K9 trainer and handler and now runs a company that consults and trains k9's for scent detection.

He says there are many problems with molly's training because the k9 looked at her trainer before alerting.

"Somebody has not given her info for her to be successful. As a trainer, glad she indicated that, and it should be something she fixes so the dog does not do that," said Jimenez.

"Working as a cadaver dog is a gift and a burdern. I don't want to go in with any preconceived ideas because it doesn't mean anything to the dog," said Officer Carren Corcoran, a Madison Police K9 Handler.

After the defenses' witness testified, a K9 expert for the prosecution took the stand. 

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Day 6 of Kris Zocco Trial

Updated 6:00 p.m. October 1, 2018

UPDATE: MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- We're now in the second week of the trial for Kris Zocco.

On Monday, testimony was heard about the discovery of Kelly Dwyer's remains.

Because of the extensive decomposition, Medical Examiners say they couldn't figure out how Dwyer died.

Her body was mostly bones and muscle tissue.

Her remains were even sent to the University of North Texas for anthropological analysis. Their results were all undetermined.

Biologists who specialize in the study of insects were able to give the best idea of how long her body was at the spot she was discovered.

Multiple entomologists took soil samples from where Dwyer's remains were. Based on what they found in the soil, they believe that she was put there shortly after she died.

Evidence suggests that could have been around the time she disappeared in October of 2013.

"All the evidence is consistent with a time of death shortly after the victim disappeared. There's nothing missing that would indicate that's not the right scenario," said Dr. Leon Higley, a University of Nebraska Entomology Professor.

Also taking the stand today was the person who discovered Dwyer's remains.

Stay with CBS 58 News for more information on this developing story.

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Day 5 of Kris Zocco Trial

Updated 5:30 p.m. September 28, 2018

UPDATE: MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The first week of Kris Zocco's trial wrapped up on Friday afternoon.

"As a car is driving by, he sets bag down, then he's fumbling, buying time as a car passes," said Erik Gulbrandson, a MPD Cold Case Detective.

Gulbrandson brought jurors nearly frame by frame through the numerous videos of Zocco going in and out of his garage after spending the night with Kelly Dwyer.

In the criminal complaint, Milwaukee Police state that's likely when he put Dwyer's body in his trunk, saying he put her in a large golf travel bag.

"You'll notice there is a gray object again consistent with the golf bag mentioned by Megan P and a yellow object consistent with that travel bag."

The motion activated cameras don't ever show Zocco putting the golf bag in his car but investigators say you can already see it when he pops the trunk.

About 24 hours after that video was captured, Dwyer's manager noticed she was missing when she didn't show up for work.

"At about 9:25 a.m., I looked at Tamar and said did Kelly text you? She said no, did she text you? No...we thought that was weird because she was punctual and early," said Karen Holton, manager at Lululemon.

Holton said Dwyer's behavior changed in the months before her disappearance.

"She was an exceptional employee and her performance dipped a little bit in the 3-4 months before she went missing. One day sent home, she was glassy eyed, loopy," said Holton.

Her friend, a cab driver, also testified that Dwyer was asking him to find cocaine often.

"I would ask her like what's going on? You're calling for this a lot. I'm worried about you. She was a friend so I asked what was going on and she said, I'm fine. It's with my friends," said Royce Nash, a friend of Dwyer.

The second week of trail will resume 8:30 a.m. on Monday.

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Day 4 of Kris Zocco Trial

Updated 4:30 p.m. September 27, 2018

UPDATE: MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) --It is the fourth day of trial for Kris Zocco, the man accused of killing her. In the afternoon, jurors saw the last glimpse of Kelly Dwyer while she was still alive.

Those last images of Kelly Dwyer were captured on the surveillance system at Kris Zocco's apartment. The two were together, returning from the bar, around 3 a.m. ADA Sara Hill showed the courtroom three different security cameras along the route Kelly Dwyer and Kris Zocco took to his apartment.



First we see them out on the sidewalk, they enter the north tower, they walk through the lobby together, both of them seeming to talk to one another, then they pass through the hallway and turn toward the elevators.


Milwaukee Police Officer Danilo Cardenas from the Sensitive Crimes Division says he viewed all cameras in the building,and he viewed many of them for days after Kelly disappeared, and he never saw her leave.

During opening statements, Zocco's attorney said video surveillance also didn't capture anything supporting the state's theory that Kris Zocco brought Kelly Dwyer’s body out of his apartment and down to his car. Today they explained many other exits she could have taken.

The jury learns also more about who was with Kelly Dwyer before she was killed in 2013.
 
It is also Kelly Dwyer's birthday. She would have turned 32. Her parents are in the gallery, listening to witnesses testify about the bubbly, outgoing person she was, and how her behavior was when she as with Kris Zocco.

Kelly's friend Channell Royston took the stand. She talked about seeing Kelly at Allium Bar on the last night she was seen alive -- saying Kelly only had a few drinks and wanted to have an easygoing night so she could do yoga and laundry the next morning.

On the stand Wednesday, Meagan, Zocco's girlfriend at the time of Kelly's disappearance had a tear-filled testimony. She and Zocco shared the same cleaning lady. Juana Marillo took the stand with the help of a translator. Juana and Meagan both testified Zocco wasn't a person to clean on his own, but in the days after Kelly Dwyer went missing, investigators say his bathroom smelled of bleach and had been recently cleaned.



Marillo said she hadn't cleaned Zocco's apartment around that time, and soon found out what happened.

"What they said on the news that he probably did... I became aware of it because of the news on TV," said Jauna Marillo, Zocco's cleaning lady.

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Day 3 of Kris Zocco Trial

Updated 8:08 p.m. September 26, 2018

UPDATE: MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- On day three of Kris Zocco's trail there was emotional testimony. For the first time, one of Zocco's ex-girlfriend's took the stand.


The ex-girlfriend is only being identified as Meagan, and per the judge's order, CBS 58 was not allowed to show her face. She explained she thought Kris was in an exclusive relationship with her, and they had been dating for more than three years at the time Zocco was arrested.



She met his parents multiple times, and they shared a cleaning lady. She was able to speak to a lot of zocco's day to day habits.

He spent the night at Meagan's house October 11th, less than 24 hours after the prosecution alleges he killed Kelly Dwyer. Meagan remembers he was acting odd, showed up late for dinner, and had night sweats so bad she had to change the sheets. She says he even suggested moving out of state.

Meagan had no idea Zocco was seeing Dwyer, until she saw it on the news. After his arrest, she says Zocco sent her a text message through his mom's phone.

"It was somewhere along the lines of, 'Hey baby, 95% of what you're hearing in the news is false. There's no other woman in my life. All I've been doing is thinking about you, trying to get out of here. I know you're upset. Someday I hope you'll give me a chance to explain to you.' That was the last I heard from him," said Meagan.

Meagan grabbed Kleenexes multiple times when she was asked about her and Kris' relationship.

ADA Sara Hill asked, "Has this been easy on you and your family?"

Through sobs, she answered, "no."

Former Milwaukee Police Detective Vincent Fonte also testified. Fonte says Kris Zocco's hallway bathroom smelled of bleach, was extremely clean, and there was still plastic stuck on shower curtain rungs, as if the curtain had been pulled off.

Through much of the day law enforcement testified. Many of them had interactions with Zocco in the days following Dwyer's disappearance. Jurors also heard from Jamal Bell, a man that dated Kelly Dwyer, and Bell's fiancee.



Thursday is Kelly Dwyer's birthday. She would have turned 32.

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Day 2 of Kris Zocco Trial

Updated 5:55 p.m. September 25, 2018

UPDATE: MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Day two of Kris Zocco's trial, and the first day he's facing the jury that will decide whether he killed Kelly Dwyer in 2013, started with opening statements.

The state and the defense gave a preview of the evidence to be heard throughout the case.

ADA Sara Hill showed the jury surveillance photos of Kris Zocco and Kelly Dwyer entering his apartment. The snapshot marks the last time she was seens alive. She also shared security cam photos of Zocco back and forth in his garage.

"His activity is unusual, his activity, the state would suggest to you, is suspicious and speaks to his attempt to cover
up the fact he's moving a body," said ADA Sara Hill, State Prosecutor.

The defense says the jury will hear no direct evidence to prove that Kelly Dwyer's death was a homicide and that investigators ignored facts, and had a "clouded, biased lens."

"The government will tell you Kelly Dwyer never left Park Lafayette alive because she was not captured on video, but the
government will also tell you that Kris Zocco somehow got her body out of that building and into his car without being
captured on video," said Rebecca Coffee, Zocco's Attorney.
Kris Zocco's trial left the Milwaukee County Courthouse on Tuesday and took jurors on the road.

The jury traveled to Kris Zocco's apartment which is the last place Kelly Dwyer was seen alive and to Jefferson County where her body was found.

MPD K9 Milly had detected human remains on the 18th floor where Zocco's apartment was. Also, in the garbage shoot and in the garage near Zocco's car.

"Going to those scenes is to enable yourself to better understand the evidence which is introduced in the courtroom and to assist you in weighing and applying that evidence. What you see there is not evidence in the case and should not be considered as evidence," said Judge Jeffrey Wagner. 

After returning from the scenes, the state called their first witness which was the dentist that identified Kelly Dwyer's remains. 

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Day 1 of Kris Zocco Trial

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The trial for Kris Zocco, the man accused of killing Kelly Dwyer in 2013, is now underway.

The entire first day of the trial was spent on jury selection. The day started with 50 potential jurors. At the end, 12 jurors and 2 alternates were selected.

The jury is made up of 12 women and two men.

There were 17 potential jurors dismissed before lunch. To select the final 14, it took hours of back and forth between 33 jury candidates and lawyers for both sides.

Zocco is accused of killing Dwyer during rough sex in 2013. During questioning, the prosecution asked about circumstantial evidence and opinions on pornography.

The defense asked people about their preconceived notions of innocence.

Stay with CBS 58 News for more information on this developing story. 

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