Arrest made in murder of local attorney
The El Centro Police Department said an arrest has been made in the murder of El Centro Attorney Ann Marie Zimmermann.
According to ECPD, the U.S. Marshal Services arrested 49-year-old Ioan Laurint of Imperial on Sunday after he was released from USCD Medical Center.
He was booked at the San Diego Men’s Central Jail. The criminal charges were as a result of the investigation conducted by the El Centro Police Department Investigation Division.
Zimmermann was found dead at the Golden West Motel a little before noon. News 11 spoke with the motel owner, who said the incident happened in room #9.
Officers said there was a man who was found injured in the room.
According to Zimmermann’s biography posted on her website, she had been practicing law in the Imperial Valley since 1992. After 12 years of working with a larger firm, she opened her solo practice in 2004.
Zimmermann grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, and graduated from Punahou High School. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, graduating cum laude from its honors English program. As an undergraduate, she was active in a number of extra-curricular activities and was awarded a grant to assist professors at the British Library in London, England.
The website lists her as married with one daughter. Zimmermann was 53 years old.
