Thread: Only police should have guns...

They will save you if you need them. You just have to survive against an armed intruder for 48 minutes, and then you're golden.

Slain student called 911, but no one came in time

By Rupa Mikkilineni
Nancy Grace Producer

NEW YORK (CNN) -- 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.

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.

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.

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.

Other details in the released warrants reveal that Zimmerman was murdered in her bedroom, that her cell phone was found in "parts," and that her bloody slippers and bloody computer paper were recovered.

The murder weapon is described as a knife, two to five inches long. Police are not saying whether they have recovered it.

DNA was collected from Zimmerman's body, as well as hair, blood samples, footprints and fingerprints. So far, no match has been made to a suspect.

Zimmerman's family is offering a $14,000 reward, and Crime Stoppers is offering $1,000 for tips leading to the arrest and/or conviction of anyone responsible for Zimmerman's death.

I'm seriously so fukn queezy right now..

This has been the story in Madison for a while now. The Police completely dropped the ball on it.

sooooo.....can we make the Concealed Handgun Age 18 so ALL college kids, especially women, can have one?

I'll tell you what... I can relate to this exact case. Except the outcome is different.

While taking one of my criminal justice classes we got to listen to 911 calls because my prof is the Asst. Chief of Police here in San Marcos. The actual Chief himself also is a prof at TX State.

But he put on a 911 call that actually took place in the apartments next to mine.

This girl was about 20yo and a student at TX State. Before she went to college her dad had trained her how to use a hand gun and supplied her with her own pistol to keep at college. The guys that lived next door to her were having a big party. One of the guys at the party was really drunk and decided he was going to go have sex with the girl next door.

The guy started banging violently on her front door screaming and shit.. So she goes into her bedroom and locks her door, grabbing her handgun, and called 911. On the tape, you can hear the guy kicking and banging on her bedroom door. You hear her screaming and the operator the whole time is saying cops are on the way and to calm down..etc..

Next thing you hear is the door break down, her scream loudly, then 3 shots.... Then a very load moan and cry.

She popped that fool 3 times and he dropped to the floor moaning and crying. The cops arrived and detained him. He was transferred to the hospital were he was treated and then transferred straight to jail.

God Bless Texas.... Teach your kids how to properly use weapons.

This is the perfect example of why we shouldn't rely on other people to protect us. Whether it takes 2 minutes or two hours for help to arrive, that help isn't going to come fast enough to save your life in the face of a determined attacker.

48 minutes.......48 minutes...........48 minutes........

Seriously, what could the police officers have possibly been doing that it took them 48 minutes to get to the girl. Honestly, if I were her fiance', I'd file some sort of suit against the police office (or someone), because that is ridiculous and unacceptable.

And I bet somwhere someone is still refusing to believe that guns are helpful......makes me so fucking mad