Zachariah Anderson’s story — His alleged crimes

Zachariah Anderson faces life in prison if found guilty of killing Rosalio Gutierrez Jr. Gutierrez was last seen on 17th May 2020. His girlfriend, Sadie Beacham, Anderson’s ex-partner and mother of his children, went to check up on Gutierrez two days later after failing to contact him. 

Beacham’s concern for Gutierrez grew after finding huge blood stains in his apartment. She contacted the police and informed them that Anderson had been stalking her for months. “There were accusations made by Ms. Beacham that Mr. Anderson was listening in on her conversations – and tracking her as well,” Detective Vincete Correa testified.

In May 2020, authorities charged Anderson with two counts of stalking. In December, they added charges of homicide and hiding a corpse. 

Anderson allegedly involved his daughter in stalking and surveilling Beacham and Gutierrez

Court testimony paints Zachariah Anderson as a jealous and possessive man who couldn’t accept that his former partner had moved on. 

Anderson’s daughter testified that he ‘frequently’ talked about Gutierrez and used racial slurs to describe him. She said Anderson asked her to record Beacham every time she got upset. Investigators added that Anderson placed a GPS tracker and burner phone in Beacham’s car to watch and listen to her and Gutierrez. 

Anderson’s daughter, who we shall not name to protect her privacy, said that in April 2020, he drove her to Beacham’s house to spy on the couple. “He jumps on the porch and looks through my mom’s window with a camera,” the child testified. 

She stated that Anderson took a photo of Gutierrez’s license plate and stole the car’s registration. “He said, ‘I may just watch him or follow him to his house.’ Those were his exact words to me,” she said. Anderson’s daughter added that he rang the doorbell before fleeing. 

“He said something about showing him who the man was, and I didn’t quite understand, but you kind of caught onto things that my dad was referring to or was implying,” the child continued. 

The waring attorneys interrupted the minor’s testimony by claiming that the parents were sending non-verbal signals to her as she testified. Beacham said she had some knowledge of American Sign Language but didn’t use it to communicate with her daughter. 

A viral video shows Anderson clamping his lips with his hands in the direction of his daughter as she testified. Prosecutors alleged that he was trying to stop her from incriminating him. 

The evidence suggests that Anderson used his van to dispose of Gutierrez’s body

Prosecutors allege Anderson killed Gutierrez in a jealous rage and disposed of his body. They believe Gutierrez was murdered due to the large amount of blood spatter found in his apartment. 

Detective Vicente Correa used cell phone data to prove that Anderson made several trips near the victim’s residence days before the alleged murder. Correa added that Anderson browsed the web for information about Gutierrez. 

The detective said authorities searched Anderson’s residence and van in the days after Gutierrez’s murder. They suspected Anderson had used his work van to transport Gutierrez’s body – it smelled of bleach, and the carpet had been ripped up. 

“Within that van they discovered that there were apparent bleach spots, that the vehicle had smelled like bleach, there was carpet ripped out and from what they observed possible apparent blood droplets,” Correa stated. 

Anderson’s daughter testified that he had used the van to drive her and her siblings to the family’s tree farm a day before Gutierrez’s disappearance. She noticed that the vehicle had a full carpet. 

On 18th May 2020, a day after Gutierrez was last seen, Anderson allegedly drove to a Walmart to buy gloves, trash bags, and cleaning wipes. Investigators found Gutierrez’s DNA in the van, suggesting Anderson used the vehicle to transport the body to his residence. 

As authorities searched Anderson’s residence, they found burn pits with what seemed to be Anderson’s clothing. Detective Correa stated that the time working on Anderson’s case surpassed any other he’d investigated during his time with the Kenosha police department. 

Anderson’s fate lies in the hands of the five men and eight women on the jury. At the time of writing, the prosecution appears close to resting its case.