MANKATO, Minn — "I’m not supposed to hit you anymore and that went way too far yesterday.”
Those are the words of a man calling to apologize for allegedly beating his ex-girlfriend – and leaving her for dead.
“You were pushing my buttons, but that doesn’t give me a right,” John Robert Olson said in a recorded phone call.
The brutal assault happened just hours after Olson had been released from jail after an earlier assault. Advocates for domestic assault survivors tell KARE 11 the case is an example of how Minnesota’s criminal justice system can fail to protect victims of domestic assault who report the crime.
The first attack
The first time she called police, Chelsea Zamudio said her ex-boyfriend had waited in the dark outside her apartment and punched her so hard she hit her head on the pavement.
It was July 5th.
Chelsea told officers Olson had strangled her in the past and now she feared he would kill her. A month and a half later, she says he nearly did.
“Everybody could see this coming a mile away,” Chelsea told KARE 11 Investigates.
Several days after punching Chelsea, Olson was arrested and charged with felony harassment and gross misdemeanor domestic abuse.
Because Olson has a criminal record a mile long – including previous domestic abuse-related convictions involving another woman – the new charges could have carried enhanced penalties. He could have faced years in prison.
Olson was held in the Blue Earth County Jail awaiting trial on $40,000 bail. His trial was set to start September 14th.
The plea deal
The trial never happened.
On August 21st, at a pre-trial hearing, the prosecutor in the case discussed the possibility of a plea deal with Chelsea. She says she objected.
“I told him just like I told everyone that is close with me, that if he (Olson) is released on the streets pick a hospital or pick a morgue because it’s going to be one or the other,” she said.
Despite her objections, the next day Chelsea received an email from the office’s victim/witness coordinator telling her the prosecutor had extended an offer to Olson’s attorney and they’d reached a deal. The terms included dropping the felony charge, which carried a harsher sentence. Instead, Olson agreed to plead guilty to the gross misdemeanor and be sentenced to 60 days in jail – most of which he had already served while awaiting trial.
The plea agreement also called for the bail requirement to be dropped. Olson would be released without a requirement for GPS monitoring while he awaited a sentencing hearing.
Last minute notice
Later that afternoon, Chelsea learned in an email the plea would be heard the very next day and Olson would be released afterward.
“No GPS monitor, nothing. They just let him right out,” she said.
State law requires prosecutors to inform the judge if a victim objects to a plea deal. There’s no evidence that happened in Olson's case.
KARE 11 obtained a transcript of the plea hearing. Even though Chelsea says she told the prosecutor she objected, the transcript shows that was never mentioned in court.
Although the court ordered Olson not to have any contact with Chelsea, he’s accused of quickly ignoring that order.
Within hours of being released, Chelsea says Olson showed up at her door. “Then he reminded me that if I testified against him, he was going to kill me,” she said.
Following through on a threat
A nine-count indictment describes what allegedly happened next.
Olson is accused of punching Chelsea in the face, knocking her to the ground, then continuing to beat and kick her – holding her captive for hours. She says she was beaten, choked and raped.
“Hours of kicks and slaps and punches,” she said.
When KARE 11 interviewed Chelsea the bruises and stitches were still visible from the attack. Her arm was in a cast – she said she had 22 broken bones.
Photos show her apartment caked in blood.
Prosecutors in the new case say Olson held her captive until she played dead.
“Nothing about that is keeping her safety in mind.”
Advocates for domestic assault survivors say Chelsea’s case is alarming.
Joe Shannon helps put together Violence Free Minnesota’s annual domestic violence homicide report – focusing on five key risk factors for deadly violence.
“In this case there were four of those. She had left the relationship, there was a history of violence, he had strangled her, and he had threatened to kill her,” Shannon said.
When victims tell authorities they fear their partner will harm them, Shannon says, they need to believe it.
Shannon reviewed court documents in the two cases in which Olson was charged with attacking Chelsea. He says he was surprised by the plea deal – especially lack of GPS – and appalled by the fact that Chelsea was given just one day’s notice.
“Nothing about that is keeping her safety in mind,” he said.
Minnesota law requires victim notice. However, it is silent on exactly how much notice must be given.
Blue Earth County prosecutors declined to comment on this case because they are still prosecuting Olson for the second attack. The next hearing is scheduled for November 28th. Olson has not yet entered a plea but has indicated he plans to represent himself in court.
Limits to what the system can do
Former Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner has long been an advocate for victims of domestic abuse. She still works with many to file orders of protection.
“When domestic violence victims report what has happened to them to the system, they are often disappointed with the limits to what the criminal justice system can do,” Gaertner said.
She says the justice system is primarily designed to punish offenders. She acknowledges it’s not always set up to protect victims.
Prosecuting domestic abuse cases can be complicated, she explained.
Sometimes – like in the first assault Chelsea reported – prosecutors have to make tough choices on how best to protect the public.
“Sometimes that can mean getting a conviction so that the next time around, when the behavior is repeated, there is a more serious consequence,” Gaertner said.
“You were dead for like eight minutes.”
From her hospital bed after the second assault, Chelsea vowed to do all she could to ensure Olson wouldn’t get out again.
Knowing he’d call, she downloaded a recording app on her cell phone.
Olson did call, asking “You’re not going to record this and get me in more trouble are you?”
Chelsea was recording as he apologized again and again.
“I’m so sorry babe. I’m so sorry,” he said.
Olson admitted he believed he’d killed her. “You were dead for like eight minutes – literally,” he sys in the recording.
Chelsea turned the recording over to prosecutors. “I wanted to do everything I possibly could to make sure the state couldn’t say we don’t have enough, we’re not sure,” she said.
Olson is now back in the Blue Earth County Jail facing years in prison on charges that include criminal sexual contact, assault, kidnapping and witness tampering.
Chelsea wishes it wouldn’t have taken another attack - one that nearly killed her - to put him there.
If you or someone you know is experiencing partner abuse there are resources to help.
- Minnesota DayOne Hotline: 866-223-1111
- Violence Free Minnesota: https://www.vfmn.org/get-help
- Chelsea’s GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chelsea-zam-zzarro-recovery-fund
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