Authorities are investigating the death of a UW-Madison junior at her campus area apartment Wednesday as a homicide, according to the police.
Madison Police Department officers discovered the body of Brittany Sue Zimmermann, 21, of Marshfield, Wis., at her home at 517 W. Doty Street after receiving a call to check on a person around 1 p.m. Dane County Coroner John Stanley could not 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.
""We need to remind ourselves we're a safe city overall. We also need to continue to look out for ourselves and continue to be a strong community,"" Cieslewicz said.
Ald. Mike Verveer, who represents the District 4 area where the killing occurred, said a neighborhood meeting will be held Saturday to answer questions about the incident and area safety. The meeting will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, formerly Meriter Retirement Hospital, at 333 W. Main St.
Verveer said the meeting will create a dialogue between community members and the MPD.
MPD public information officer Joel DeSpain said police cannot rule out the possibility that the killing was a random act. Police are investigating if the incident is related to an attempted break-in on West Washington Avenue early Wednesday morning.
In a separate incident, UW-Madison pharmacy student Ben Heiser said he heard someone yelling expletives outside his home on the 500 block of West Doty Street around 1 a.m. Wednesday. He said the neighborhood is typically safe and did not think twice about the incident until the homicide investigation.
Police are urging students who encountered any suspicious activity in the area anytime after Tuesday afternoon to contact police immediately.
""It is so vitally important that if anyone saw anything, observed anything, heard anything that they would contact the Madison Police Department,"" Wray said.
Residents can report suspicious activity to Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.
