Murder charges dropped after prosecutor’s affair with criminalist

A man accused of killing his wife in 1989 with the help of his brother won dismissal of murder charges Tuesday because the prosecutor assigned to the cold case had an “an improper and undisclosed relationship with the criminalist” who processed the evidence, the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office said.

Santa Clara County Dist. Atty. Jay Rosen apologized to the family of the victim, Cathy Zimmer.

“We simply cannot proceed without taking the time to re-examine and re-evaluate the case in order to ensure we have not violated the rights of the accused, nor compromised the integrity of the criminal justice system,” Rosen said in a statement released by his office.

The statement said Tuesday’s action did not preclude prosecutors from bringing charges in the future.

On March 10, 1989, the body of Zimmer, 38, the mother of two teenagers, was found in her car. Her husband, David Zimmer, was having an affair at the time and inherited insurance money and the rest of her estate, prosecutors said.

The case went cold until a Santa Clara County criminalist tested DNA on the victim’s pants and linked it to Robert Zimmer, her brother-in-law. Prosecutors said both men were involved in the killing. They were charged earlier this year.

David Zimmer’s trial was supposed to start this month. His brother, who has remained behind bars, will be released immediately, prosecutors said.

Prosecutor Deputy Dist. Atty. Ted Kajani was removed from the case after the affair. The criminalist was also reassigned as a result of the relationship, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Tuesday’s statement also faulted the initial prosecutor on the case for failing to disclose evidence to the defense in a timely manner.

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