John Jefferson
Left: Zachariah Rasch. Right: Crystal Rasch (Dodge County Sheriff’s Office).
A Wisconsin man has been charged with his missing estranged wife’s murder after authorities allegedly found her tooth in a burn pit on his property.
Prosecutors on Friday charged Zachariah Rasch, 43, with first-degree intentional homicide with a domestic abuse modifier and hiding a corpse in the death of 37-year-old Crystal Rasch. He was previously charged with eight counts of unauthorized use of an individual’s personal identifying information for allegedly using her credit cards.
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The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office said a relative contacted deputies on June 23 about the disappearance of Crystal Rasch from her rural Clyman home. Sheriff Dale J. Schmidt said Crystal Rasch’s stepmother called police after seeing her car in the driveway of her home but she was nowhere to be found. The stepmother also couldn’t reach her on her phone.
Crystal Rasch hadn’t been seen since June 11 when she and Zachariah Rasch were captured on surveillance video at a Goodwill in Oconomowoc, an amended criminal complaint obtained by Wausau CBS affiliate WSAW reportedly said.
Deputies reportedly executed a search warrant on Zachariah Rasch’s properties on Wood Road off Highway J in Clyman Township and in Springville in nearby Adams County. At the Springville home, deputies allegedly found a Mitsubishi Eclipse with blood splatter inside. The blood reportedly belonged to Crystal Rasch.
At the Clyman home, deputies reportedly found a burn pit with bones and a tooth. A forensic dentist confirmed the tooth belonged to Crystal Rasch. Authorities could not identify the bones because they were too small, the complaint reportedly said.
Detectives also allegedly discovered Zachariah Rasch had made Google searches on his phone including “Will 9mm kill an animal if shot in the head” and “is sulfuric acid flammable,” along with looking for “carpet cleaner.” On the day Crystal Rasch was reported missing, Zachariah Rasch reportedly searched “can police get a search warrant on a Sunday in Wisconsin” and two days later allegedly searched for “wisconsin missing person alert.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, Zachariah Rasch has been in the Dodge County Jail since his arrest for the credit card charge. According to a criminal complaint obtained by Milwaukee ABC affiliate WISN detailing those charges, Zachariah Rasch spent about $6,000 on cleaning supplies including gloves and drain and carpet cleaners. He also reportedly bought car and floor cleaners, air fresheners and a drain opener. He at first denied making the purchases but eventually confessed to detectives once they showed him surveillance images of him buying the items, the affidavit reportedly said. Cops also reportedly found over $3,000 in cash from a dresser and his wallet during a search of his home.
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