[palo alto] Jennifer Schipsi, woman found dead in house fire
Michael Snyder
Detective: Palo Alto real estate agent Jennifer Schipsi apparently was
strangled
By Will Oremus
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 11/06/2009 06:45:29 PM PST
Updated: 11/06/2009 10:13:24 PM PST
Jennifer Schipsi, the real estate agent found dead in a Palo Alto house
fire Oct. 15, appeared to have been strangled, according to a police
affidavit unsealed Friday.
A medical examiner found that her hyoid bone had been crushed, a
telltale sign of strangulation, said the affidavit from Palo Alto police
detective Aaron Sunseri. That indicates the 29-year-old was dead before
the fire ripped through the Addison Avenue cottage she had shared with
her boyfriend, local coffee shop owner Bulos "Paul" Zumot.
Police tied Zumot, 36, to the crime when a trained dog sniffed
accelerant in the cottage, on Schipsi's burned body, and then on clothes
seized from Zumot the night of the crime, according to the affidavit. He
reportedly told investigators he had quarreled with her the night before
and the day of her death and last saw her lying in bed that afternoon.
The affidavit shed new light on Palo Alto's first homicide of the year.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Douglas Southard unsealed it
after a tense second court appearance by Zumot, charged with murder and
arson in Schipsi's death.
The Palo Alto courtroom was nearly full when Zumot was led in Friday,
with his friends and family on the right side of the gallery and
Schipsi's mostly on the left. As Zumot gestured and mouthed words across
the room to family members, Schipsi's mother spoke up.
"They're laughing and communicating," she complained to a bailiff as the
courtroom around her fell quiet. "I don't appreciate it. This is the
death of my daughter."
Court officers responded by warning the audience not to interact with
the defendant. Zumot was moved to a chair that faced away from the
gallery, toward the back of the courtroom.
The hearing was brief. Prosecutor Chuck Gillingham withdrew a previous
order to seal the affidavit. Southard granted the order at Zumot's
arraignment Oct. 23, on grounds that the information could compromise an
ongoing police investigation. At that time, Palo Alto police had said
they believed Zumot killed Schipsi before setting the fire, but they
didn't say how or suggest a motive.
The couple was seen the night before at Zumot's 36th birthday party in
San Jose, authorities have said. In an interview on Oct. 16, three days
before his arrest, Zumot told The Palo Alto Daily News he had planned to
propose marriage to Schipsi.
Sunseri wrote in his affidavit that Zumot appeared near the scene of the
fire from work shortly after it was reported to the Palo Alto Fire
Department. He volunteered to come down to the Police Department and
provide a statement, and Sunseri seized his clothes as evidence.
The next day, fire task force investigators brought an
accelerant-sniffing dog to the cottage, and it found evidence of fuel at
three locations inside, including on the victim's burned body, according
to the affidavit. On Oct. 19, the dog was presented with Zumot's clothes
and signaled it had found accelerant on his shoes, his socks, his pants
and his sweatshirt.
It was several days before Schipsi was officially identified as the
victim, since police said the fire charred her body beyond recognition.
A medical examiner identified her by a tattoo on her back, according to
the affidavit.
"Based upon all of these facts cited in this affidavit, I believe that
Bulos Zumot killed Jennifer Schipsi by strangling her and then set the
house on fire in order to cover up the homicide," Sunseri wrote.
Defense Attorney Cameron Bowman said at Zumot's arraignment that he
believes a "very different picture" of the case will emerge in the weeks
ahead.
On Friday, he told the judge he had hired a private investigator to look
into the case but would need more information from prosecutors than just
the two-page affidavit before he could prepare a defense. Gillingham
agreed to provide him with full police, autopsy and forensic reports as
soon as possible.
Zumot, who owns Da Coffee Spot and Da Hookah Spot on Palo Alto's
University Avenue and another lounge called Hookah Nites in San Jose, is
scheduled to appear again on Nov. 24 to enter a plea.
Court records show a tumultuous two-year relationship between Zumot and
Schipsi. After she broke up with him in February 2008, she pressed
charges against him for harassment and threats, including vandalizing
her Mercedes and sending 88 text messages in one day.
At one point, she obtained a restraining order against him, but she
later amended it to allow peaceful contact, and the couple moved into
the Palo Alto cottage together earlier this year.
Schipsi's friends and family members wore purple ribbons to Friday's
hearing as a protest against domestic violence. Among those in
attendance was Kathleen Krenek, executive director of the San Jose-based
nonprofit Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, which had reportedly
counseled Schipsi on her relationship with Zumot.
JonesieCat
"Michael Snyder" <msn...@sonic.net> wrote in message
news:4af709a9$0$1971$742e...@news.sonic.net...
Oh dear. That must have been a shocker. Wonder what they gave him to wear
home?
> The next day, fire task force investigators brought an accelerant-sniffing
> dog to the cottage, and it found evidence of fuel at three locations
> inside, including on the victim's burned body, according to the affidavit.
> On Oct. 19, the dog was presented with Zumot's clothes and signaled it had
> found accelerant on his shoes, his socks, his pants and his sweatshirt.
I'd think even humans would have been able to smell it on him.
> It was several days before Schipsi was officially identified as the
> victim, since police said the fire charred her body beyond recognition. A
> medical examiner identified her by a tattoo on her back, according to the
> affidavit.
Body charred but tattoo survived? How's that again?
> "Based upon all of these facts cited in this affidavit, I believe that
> Bulos Zumot killed Jennifer Schipsi by strangling her and then set the
> house on fire in order to cover up the homicide," Sunseri wrote.
>
> Defense Attorney Cameron Bowman said at Zumot's arraignment that he
> believes a "very different picture" of the case will emerge in the weeks
> ahead.
>
> On Friday, he told the judge he had hired a private investigator to look
> into the case but would need more information from prosecutors than just
> the two-page affidavit before he could prepare a defense. Gillingham
> agreed to provide him with full police, autopsy and forensic reports as
> soon as possible.
Exactly when does discovery kick in? Anyone know? I'm surprised the defence
hasn't had it all before now.
jc
Kris Baker
news:k_EJm.53277$ze1....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
If she was lying on her back, her body would be charred but her
back wouldn't be totally burnt. Also, some inks survive being
"roasted" (ie, I remember a turkey from when I was a kid, that
still had a purple "Norbest" imprint on its breast after it came
out of the oven).
Discovery will come soon; after all, he's just been charged.
Kris
JonesieCat
"Kris Baker" <paralle...@ggmail.com> wrote in message
news:7lokvnF...@mid.individual.net...
Yes, she was probably lying on her back. But on the bed, and there was
accelerant all over her and everywhere else. Bet it exactly like the turkey
you describe. (Makin' myself a bit sick here.)
So does discovery kick in as soon as charges are filed? Is that the
trigger?
jc
Kris Baker
"Discovery" is the formal process, but IIRC from other trials, evidence
goes to the defense as it's developed.....unless there's cheating.
Sometimes, it's even delivered during the trial.
American Bar Association:
http://www.abanet.org/publiced/courts/discovery.html
Note especially depositions (a form of discovery), and remember
how Debbie Rowe testified differently during the last Wacko
trial, than her sworn depositions.
Sorry about the sickening thing...but once we're talking "charred
body", it can't get much worse. It reminds me of the film I had to
watch years ago, when I racked up too many driving tickets.
Kris
JonesieCat
Bodies schmodies. Not the charring so much got me as the comparison of
cooked turkey skin that sprang to mind!
After the OJ trial I read every single word from all hearings, trials,
depositions, everything. That's how I came to conclude that Nicole was
having an affair with the other big, handsome, black football player who'd
recently married someone else, forget his name. That didn't really have
anything to do with anything, but made me understand the purpose of
depositions better, and how so much information can be gathered whether it
ever gets used or not.
What did Debbie Rowe lie about? I've forgotten.
jc