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MADISON, Wis. — Officials with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office have made an arrest in connection with the death of a 39-year-old woman earlier this year.
Dora Gonzales Zarate was found dead in her home in the Town of York on May 24. At the time, officials said they believed her death was not random. Investigators searched Zarate’s home, canvassed the surrounding area, and interviewed her family, friends and neighbors to learn more about her death.
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According to a criminal complaint filed with the Dane County Circuit Court, an autopsy found that Zarate was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.
On Wednesday, Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said 71-year-old Jose Luis Gonzalez, Sr. of Waterloo was arrested in connection to her death. He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, according to online court records.
The complaint alleges that Gonzalez’s blue Dodge Caravan was seen at Zarate’s house on the day she was killed. A friend of Gonzalez identified him as the owner of the truck. A coworker and neighbor of Zarate also said they saw the vehicle at her house on the day of the murder.
Zarate’s brother reportedly told deputies that she and Gonzalez had been dating for about a year. Using Gonzalez’s phone number, deputies were able to identify him and went to his home in Waterloo.
According to the complaint, deputies surveilled his house on the day of the murder and waited for him to leave in his car, before stopping him on Highway 26 in Johnson Creek. A woman who claimed to be his wife was in the car with him at the time of the traffic stop.
Speaking to police, Gonzalez reportedly said that he and Zarate were just friends and that he never went to her home on May 24 because he was running errands with his wife. He also told detectives that he owned multiple guns, and consented to have his home searched. His clothes and vehicle were taken as evidence.
The complaint alleges that Gonzalez said he never changed clothes on May 24. He was wearing a gray and black collared shirt at the time of the traffic stop, however, video evidence from cameras in Watertown, Waterloo, Madison, and Lake Mills reportedly shows him driving in his Caravan wearing a red short-sleeved shirt. A red polo was later found in the washing machine at his house, still wet.
Cellphone records detailed in the complaint allegedly show that Gonzalez traveled to Zarate’s home on the morning of May 24, and stayed for about 20 minutes. Texts between the pair in the days leading up to Zarate’s death also allegedly show that the two were in a romantic relationship, but that she was trying to leave him. On May 22, Zarate told him “I hope that I don’t get killed” and “You scared me Jose.”
Gonzalez reportedly left Wisconsin in the days following the murder and traveled to Delaware.
Authorities in Delaware recently arrested Gonzalez; Barrett said that arrangements are being made to bring him back to Wisconsin. He is currently being held in Georgetown, Delaware.
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