LIVE UPDATES: Obsessive Ex-boyfriend Zachariah Anderson Trial

17 Mar 2023
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The Wisconsin trial of obsessed ex-boyfriend Zachariah Anderson — who is accused of murdering his ex’s new lover — continues as the jury hears the twelfth day of testimony from witnesses.

Investigators claim Anderson stalked his ex-girlfriend, Sadie Beacham, for weeks — putting a burner phone in her car and using a GPS tracker to watch and listen to the new couple. Detectives found Rosalio Gutierrez Jr.’s blood in Anderson’s van, and cadaver dogs found pieces of clothing and a bleach bottle in a burn pit on his property, authorities said. Gutierrez’s body has never been found.

12:30 p.m. – Searches, Movement & Cash

After a brief morning break, jurors heard testimony from one of the state’s witnesses, Detective Vicente Correa. Detective Correa was involved in investigating Anderson’s alleged involvement in Gutierrez’s murder.

Detective Correa confirmed several text messages were sent between Anderson and Beachum in the week before the victim’s death — and showed jurors the movements Anderson made before the murder by using his cell-phone history.

This is an exhibit jurors were presented showing phone activity from Zachariah Anderson’s cell phone on May 13, 2020.

Jurors also saw images of a bag of cash that was found in Anderson’s ottoman — totaling about $48,000.

This is an exhibit jurors were presented showing a bag of cash detectives found in Zachariah Anderson’s ottoman when they searched his home.

The detective also confirmed Anderson searched for the store hours of a few general home improvement stores the day after he allegedly killed Gutierrez.

A Wisconsin detective pointed out Thursday that obsessive ex-boyfriend #ZachariahAnderson searched for store hours of general home improvement stores in the early hours of May 18, a day after he allegedly murdered his ex-girlfriend's new lover Rosalio Gutierrez, Jr. on May 17. pic.twitter.com/fpUqR8CZyy

— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) March 16, 2023

2:30 p.m. – Blood, A Footprint & Pizza Box

Following Thursday’s lunch break, Detective Correa told jurors about what he and other officers found when they began investigating at Gutierrez’s apartment. Inside, Detective Correa said they found a pizza box and a receipt with his name and address on it. Officers hoped to use the receipt to determine a timeline up to his disappearance.

The detective also confirmed there was blood “in many areas of the home” and a neighbor had told officers on scene that they heard “something happening” the evening of May 17, 2020.

The state also asked the detective about a footprint recorded as evidence at the scene — the detective said officers could not determine who that footprint belonged to or whether or not it was involved in Gutierrez’s disappearance.

3:00 p.m. – Search Warrant Discoveries

Before taking a quick break, jurors heard from Detective Correa about what investigators found when they served a search warrant at Anderson’s home.

Detectives searched Anderson’s van and found carpet had recently been ripped up, the van smelled like bleach and it appeared there were some blood stains in a few areas.

According to a detective, investigators found that obsessive ex-boyfriend #ZachariahAnderson's van smelled like bleach, the carpet was ripped out, and apparent blood during a search warrant. Anderson is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend's new lover Rosalio Gutierrez, Jr. pic.twitter.com/PF2clI8zxK

— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) March 16, 2023

Officers also noted a fire pit in Anderson’s yard that was active and smoldering. In published court documents, detectives have previously said a bleach bottle and burned pieces of clothes were found charred inside a fire pit on Anderson’s property.

3:45 p.m. – Clothes In The Fire Pit

The state asked Detective Correa about what officers found in the fire pit on Anderson’s yard.

The detective said investigators recovered buttons from Levi jeans Anderson had owned in the fire pit, along with similar underwear and socks he was wearing at the time of his arrest.

This photo is an exhibit presented to the jury showing buttons from a pair of Levi jeans Zachariah Anderson owned.

A camera that had been wrapped in a sock and shoelaces were also recovered.

4:45 p.m. – Defense Questions Detective

The defense began their turn at questioning Detective Correa by asking about Anderson’s cell phone data he had just testified to — working to poke holes at whether or not cell towers really show an accurate picture of where a person is located at any given time.

Anderson’s defense attorney also brought up the fact that just because Anderson may have searched about when home improvement stores open, doesn’t mean that detectives know why he was searching for that information.

This exhibit presented to jurors shows a photo taken of Zachariah Anderson the day he was arrested.

Before taking a quick afternoon break, the defense showed the jurors several images of Anderson the day he was arrested, noting how clean his clothes were, along with how there were little to no injuries on his body, besides a small scratch on the defendant’s finger.

This exhibit presented to jurors shows a small scratch on Zachariah Anderson’s right pointer finger on the day he was arrested.

6:00 p.m. – Crime Scene Investigation

Anderson’s defense attorney questioned Detective Correa about certain things at Gutierrez’s apartment that were never checked or collected for evidence, including a kitchen and refrigerator.

The detective also confirmed again that Gutierrez’s remains have never been found. Following that confirmation from the detective, the state objected several times when the defense started asking the detective about Gutierrez’s father.

The judge originally allowed the defense to continue with their questioning, but when the defense attorney asked about whether or not the detective knew about Gutierrez’s father, who also randomly disappeared and is “MIA,” the state immediately objected and said, “come on, judge.” The judge agreed with the state saying that Gutierrez’s father doesn’t have anything to do with this case, despite the defense arguing that it is related to the detective’s investigation.

Court adjourned for the day just before 6 p.m.

This week’s testimony has included some highlights from Anderson’s daughter and ex-girlfriend.

Anderson’s daughter testified her father allegedly had a marijuana grow operation set up in his Wisconsin home. The 15-year-old stated she also observed what appeared to be a jar of mushrooms where the butter was normally put inside his refrigerator.

A friend of Beacham said obsessive ex-boyfriend Anderson showed up at the home of Anderson’s former lover while she was on vacation on March 5, 2020. “The defendant was standing at the end of the couch just smiling at me,” she said.

Beachum also testified in a Wisconsin court that she was harassed at two in the morning while her new love interest was sleeping over. Beachum said her home was ding dong ditched and her guest, Gutierrez, believed that his car was broken into. The next day, Beachum said she spoke with Anderson, who knew facts about the sleepover that no one would know unless they were there.

Last week, jurors heard testimony from Anderson’s former cellmate. The cellmate, Marquan Washington, said Anderson admitted to the murder. “He told me they called him Houdini because of his case, and he basically made a body disappear,” Washington said.

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