Police Say Woman in Suitcase Death Likely Killed in Hotel

Remains of Laura Simonson and another unidentified woman were found in a pair of suitcases

One of the women whose remains were found in suitcases in Wisconsin this month was likely killed in a Rochester, Minnesota, hotel room, police say.

The remains of Laura Simonson, of Farmington, Minnesota, and another unidentified woman were found in a pair of suitcases in Walworth County, Wisconsin, on June 5.

Rochester police said Thursday Simonson and the man arrested in the case checked into the Microtel Inn and Suites on Nov. 2 and that the man checked out the next day without Simonson. Three weeks later Simonson's family filed a missing persons report.

Highway workers in Walworth County, Wisconsin, discovered two suitcases discarded along a rural road. Authorities discovered the remains of two females inside and identified one as Simonson.

Rochester Capt. John Sherwin says the suspect has confessed to being involved in Simonson's death.

Wisconsin Police are asking for the public's help to identify the second victim, described as a possibly Caucasian woman, between the ages of 15 and 35, standing 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-4 and weighing 120 to 140 pounds.

She has long straight, dark brown or black hair, police said, as well as a pronounced overbite and crooked lower teeth. She also has two piercings in each ear and a quarter-sized heart tattoo on her lower left abdomen/pelvic area.

Anyone with information about the incident or identification of the second woman is asked to contact the Town of Geneva Police Department at 262-248-9926.

Anonymous tips can be emailed here or texted to “CRIMES” (274637) with a message starting with tip4wc. A tip also can be reported to the Walworth County Crime Stoppers at 262-723-2677 (COPS).

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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