Justice for Julia

Miami Beach cops are investigating the death of the former UW-La Crosse student, Julia Sumnicht, who died in her sleep while on a trip to Miami Beach, Fl. in March 2010 for modeling. According to the Miami-Dade County Investigations Report, Sumnicht attended a Heat basketball game and then went clubbing on South Beach. She returned to the apartment in which she was staying at approximately 6:30 a.m. on March 15 and went to sleep. Her friend awoke shortly after she arrived and left the apartment. He returned several times during the day and observed her still sleeping. At approximately 5 p.m. he returned and found her unresponsive in the bed.

Toxicology testing revealed no alcohol, but high levels of gammahydroxybutyric acid (GHB). The concentration of GHB in her blood was within the range of reported fatalities, according to the report.

With questions left unanswered, the Sumnicht family hired a private investigator. Chris Catania of the C3 Detective Agency in Oshkosh, Wis. said that the investigation is still open. In the beginning the investigators narrowed it down to three suspects, but as the investigation progressed, they eliminated one suspect; the man Sumnicht was staying with.  "It's been challenging, but Miami police have been more than cooperative," said Catania, "We have surveillance, we have text messages and even photos from the last 18 to 24 hours of Julia's life. It was obvious through the toxicology testing that Julia was protecting or taking care of herself that night at the club."

According to Catania, Sumnicht met Zoltan Prepszent, a Hungarian photographer, a year before during her first visit to the city for modeling. Text messages from Sumnicht's phone provide evidence that lead investigators to believe Prepszent and Sumnicht spent time together at the club, returned to the Flamingo Towers apartment where he lived with Jason Itzler, also known as "King of All Pimps." Text messages between Itzler and Sumnicht were found that prove Sumnicht had not known Itzler prior to the trip. "The texts prove that Itzler did have contact with Julia," said Catania. Itzler and Prepszent are the two suspects, according to investigators.

According to Catania Itzler is currently incarcerated in a Manhattan jail on unrelated charges of promoting prostitution and drug sales. "This kind of behavior isn't unusual for Itzler," said Catania, "We've been digging into his background. He used to run an escort agency in New York known as NY Confidential. He was connected to the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal in 2008. Itzler is an important part of this equation. He's an interesting subject."

According to The New York Post during a jailhouse interview Itzler admitted to taking GHB himself that night after Sumnicht came to his apartment with Prepzsent. "I almost died that night," said Itzler, "Zoltan [later] changed all the decorating of the apartment. He knew I threw up all over the apartment. I vomited GHB residue all over."

Catania emphasized that he cares a lot for Sumnicht's family. "It's been an ordeal, a prolonged investigation, but we all have a lot of faith."

Catania plans to continue to move toward the next steps in the investigation.