KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — Zachariah Anderson was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of stalking and killing his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, Court TV reports.
In March, a jury found Anderson, 42, guilty of all four counts against him, including first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse, and stalking. The body of Rosalio Gutierrez Jr. has never been found.
In 2020, Anderson was accused of murdering Gutierrez who disappeared in May 2020.
Kenosha police responded to a welfare check at Gutierrez's home after he had not been seen and missed two days of work. When police arrived at his home, officers "observed large amounts of blood in Rosalio's apartment" that appeared to be fairly fresh, according to a criminal complaint.
The complaint says Gutierrez's blood was also found in Anderson's vehicle, which was missing a large section of carpet and smelled of bleach. Authorities found a smoldering burn pit at his home and found a second burn pit at a tree farm owned by Anderson's family. Pieces of clothing and a charred bleach bottle were found in the pits, Court TV reports.
Anderson's ex-girlfriend told police she had been dating Gutierrez for a few months, but Anderson didn't approve. Anderson and his ex-girlfriend share three kids together.
Gutierrez is yet to be found. However, police had enough evidence to charge Anderson with both homicide and stalking.
Anderson's ex-girlfriend said he had given their daughter a cellphone so she could record her mom when she was upset. The complaint said the phone was placed underneath the daughter's car seat so Anderson could track his ex-girlfriend's location.
The trial, which began Tuesday, Feb. 28, lasted four weeks. The jury heard closing arguments before deliberating for nearly 10 hours, according to Court TV.
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