Case moves forward for man charged in Brittany Zimmermann murder

MADISON, Wis. — A Dane County judge says there is enough evidence to move forward in the case of the man accused in the 2008 murder of UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann.

Thursday’s preliminary hearing for David Kahl determined there was probable cause to continue on with the case.

Kahl is being charged with first-degree intentional homicide in Zimmermann’s murder.

Zimmermann’s boyfriend found her inside her apartment on West Doty Street on April 2, 2008. She had just arrived home from class when someone followed her into her apartment.

Police who responded to the scene testified Thursday it looked like she had been shot in the chest with a shotgun. Prosecutors say Kahl’s DNA matches evidence from the crime scene.

Kahl claims he was high on cocaine at the time.

Police say Kahl was known to ask people for money in the area near Zimmermann’s apartment. He was interviewed multiple times by police as a person of interest in the case before he was arrested in March 2020 and formally charged in December 2020, more than 12 years after Zimmermann’s death.

Kahl was already serving a prison sentence at the time for his 7th drunk driving offense and was nearly granted early release before authorities issued the arrest warrant for the Zimmermann murder.

Kahl was previously ruled competent to stand trial in the case last month.

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