Dodge County homicide: Man convicted of killing wife, hiding body

DODGE COUNTY, Wis. - A Dodge County jury on Tuesday found Zachariah Rasch guilty of killing his wife, Crystal Rasch, and hiding her body.

Jury verdict

In court:

The Dodge County District Attorney's Office charged Zachariah Rasch, now 44 years old, with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in 2024.

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The jury convicted Rasch on both counts Tuesday after a seven-day trial, which started on June 1. He is now scheduled to be sentenced on July 21.

Finance investigation

The backstory:

Crystal Rasch, 37, was reported missing from rural Clyman on June 23, 2024. The sheriff's office later arrested Zachariah Rasch – initially for using his wife's financial accounts without her permission. Court filings said the two were going through a divorce.

According to a criminal complaint, the missing person's report for Crystal Rasch came when her stepmother reported that she had not heard from her since a text message on June 11, 2024. All calls went straight to voicemail.

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Court filings said the stepmother told a Dodge County sheriff's deputy that she stopped at Crystal's home and saw her vehicle parked in the garage. She said Crystal's mother told her that she'd gone to Michigan to see her brother and didn't know if she was ever picked up. 

The stepmother called the brother, per the complaint, and he said he had not seen Crystal. The stepmother told authorities she was worried because Zachariah had previously harassed her, and she wanted to make sure he did not do anything to her.

The deputy contacted several other friends and family members of Crystal. Court filings said they all told investigators they had not had in-person contact with Crystal since June 10. However, several said they got Facebook messages allegedly from Crystal, although they believed that those messages were fake based on the tone of the comments and the language used. They also said the person purporting to be Crystal refused to accept any phone calls.

Prosecutors said the deputy made several attempts to contact Crystal and was not able to ever speak to her on the phone. At the same time, the deputy also contacted Zachariah, who said he had not contacted Crystal, and he had not seen her either.

Investigators determined Zachariah made purchases totaling hundreds of dollars with Crystal's debit/credit card. He was alone for all the transactions in question, which included the purchase of stain remover, carpet cleaner, upholstery cleaner and chemical-resistant gloves.

Interview with Zachariah Rasch

What they're saying:

A Dodge County sheriff's deputy met with Zachariah Rasch. Court filings said he told the deputy that he and his wife, Crystal Rasch, each had separate bank accounts. They did not have any shared bank accounts, he said, and they did not allow each other access to their respective accounts. 

Zachariah added that Crystal had filed for divorce, and they were not living together, the complaint said.

Prosecutors said Zachariah denied taking any money from Crystal or using her bank check or credit card to purchase any items. Detectives showed him surveillance photos and transaction records from a purchase made more than a week after he claimed to have last contacted her.

According to the complaint, Zachariah then "sat quiet for a period of time staring at the photo" and eventually said he could not remember. He later admitted he was lying and had been using Crystal's account to make unauthorized purchases without her consent.

When interviewed on June 26, 2024, court filings said Zachariah told detectives: "I don't know where she is."

Search warrants

Dig deeper:

Law enforcement searched Zachariah Rasch's home as part of the identity theft investigation on June 26, 2024. Inside, court filings said they found several receipts from the previously noted purchases that used Crystal Rasch's account.

Investigators also conducted "emergency phone pings" on two cellphones that belonged to Crystal. One of the phones last pinged in Juneau on June 8, 2024. The other phone showed an outgoing call that hit a cell tower in Adams County.

The Adams County Sheriff's Office said Zachariah had connections to two parcels of land in the town of Springville. Due to the size of the area, hundreds of law enforcement officers searched those parcels of land.

Prosecutors said investigators found a 2023 Mitsubishi Eclipse, registered to Zachariah. The vehicle had Crystal's blood inside, according to the Wisconsin State Crime Lab.

Also on June 26, detectives inspected a burn site in the town of Clyman. Court filings said residue at the site had a "very heavy chemical odor." Investigators excavated the area and found numerous bone fragments and a tooth.

The complaint said a forensic dentist determined the tooth was Crystal's, "within a reasonable degree of scientific and clinical reliability." A doctor analyzed the bone fragments and determined they were "conclusively human," but he could not determine who they belonged to based on the available remains.

Investigators also seized and searched Zachariah's cellphone. Court filings said it included searches from April 2024 such as "can police trace ip address" and May 2024 such as "will a gunshot to the head instant death." In early June, his search history included "how long can you get widows benefits" and, days later, "carpet cleaner" and "do raccoons eat bones." After Crystal is believed to have been killed, his search history included "BASIC GUIDE TO FOURTH AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS," "how fast can police get a warrant" and "missing people in Wisconsin."