911 call botched, authorities say

A former emergency dispatcher will be suspended three days without pay for mishandling a call from a college student who dialed 911 as she was being stabbed to death, officials said.

Brittany Zimmermann, 21, a University of Wisconsin-Madison senior, was killed after someone broke into her apartment on April 2. Police said Zimmermann managed to call 911 on her cellphone during the attack.

The call included a scream and sounds of a struggle, police said, but dispatcher Rita Gahagan said she heard nothing unusual. She hung up after asking if there was an emergency and receiving no answer.

Zimmermann’s fiance found her body and called 911. The crime remains unsolved.