In the wake of the murder of UW-Madison junior Brittany Zimmermann, city and university officials renewed their call for vigilance at a Bassett neighborhood meeting Saturday.
An overflow crowd of community members gathered at the Capitol Lakes Retirement Center to express concerns regarding the safety of the neighborhood after Zimmermann was found dead Wednesday in her West Doty Street apartment.
City Council President Mike Verveer, a resident of the Bassett neighborhood, began the gathering by calling for a moment of silence to remember Zimmermann.
Verveer reassured residents that Madison is still a safe city and that police are working tirelessly to bring Zimmermann's killer to justice.
From my perspective as someone who lives only a stone's throw from where Brittany lived, I want you to know I am absolutely confident that the police are doing everything within their abilities to get to the bottom of this and to help us deal with the fear and anxiety and worry that is a natural reaction that we're all feeling,"" Verveer said.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who lived on the 500 block of West Doty when he was a UW-Madison student, said he takes the Zimmermann homicide personally. Despite the community's interest in the case, he said officials must be cautious as they weigh what information to release to the public.
""One of the most difficult things is to find that balance between giving the community the information that they deserve and need to keep themselves safe but not to put out so much information that it compromises our ability to solve the crime and ultimately bring this person to justice,"" Cieslewicz said.
No new details concerning the homicide were disclosed Saturday because of the ongoing police investigation. Madison Police Department Captain Mary Schauf instead focused on moving forward with the healing process.
""I can see the toll this takes on our community. I see the toll it takes on my staff. It cuts to the core of all of us, it really does,"" Schauf said.
The Dane County coroner determined Zimmermann died from a ""complexity of traumatic injuries"" after an autopsy conducted Thursday but did not disclose further details. Schauf said she understands residents' natural desire to know more about the crime but stressed the need for patience.
""We want to know because we think somehow knowing the details will make us safer,"" Schauf said.
According to Schauf, the MPD employed more than 20 detectives as well as investigative specialists to work on the case. The MPD also beefed up the police presence in the Bassett neighborhood and will be conducting further searches and canvassing the area.
""We want to be very slow, we want to be very methodical,"" Schauf said. ""We don't want to leave anything there that we should have captured.""
Police said the Madison Area Crime Stoppers received over 75 tips within 24 hours, many relating to incidents of strangers knocking on residents' doors or entering houses. Although there are currently no suspects in the homicide investigation, police continue to question neighborhood residents, commuters, business owners and the area's transient population.
During a question and answer session, residents asked whether the police department's heightened presence in the neighborhood would taper off after the homicide investigation. A number of UW-Madison students at the meeting said they feel unsafe and have been accosted by the growing transient and homeless population that congregates at the Badger Bus depot.
Kristy Ludwig, a UW-Madison junior who lives across from the Badger Bus depot and one block from Zimmermann's apartment, said she had grown increasingly uncomfortable in the neighborhood even before Zimmermann's death.
""You see more and more homeless people hanging out there and can't control that,"" Ludwig said. ""It's something that has become normal, but it's not something you want to get used to. Something needs to be done within the block for people living right here.
