Eunice Zeigler
Perry and Virginia Edwards
Summary of Offense:
On July 2, 1976, William Thomas Zeigler, Jr. was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. The following account of the circumstances of the offense is that which is found in the Florida Supreme Court opinion published on June 11, 1981: On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1975, Eunice Zeigler, wife of the defendant, and Perry and Virginia Edwards, parents-in-law of the defendant, were shot to death in the W.T. Zeigler Furniture Store in Winter Garden, Florida. In addition, Charles Mays, Jr. was shot and subsequently beaten to death at the same location. The medical examiner estimated times of death as within one hour of 8:00 p.m. that evening. The defendant was also found shot through the abdomen. The state theorized that Zeigler murdered the four people in an apparent insurance fraud scheme.
Just months before the murders, Zeigler had purchased a large amount of life insurance on his wife and had purchased two RG revolvers indirectly through Edward Williams, a long time family acquaintance. Williams testified that Zeigler had inquired of him about obtaining a “hot gun.” Williams then arranged for another man, Frank Smith, to purchase the guns and deliver them to Zeigler. On the day of the murders, Zeigler had made arrangements to meet Mays and Williams, at separate times, at the furniture store. Mays left his home around 6:30 p.m. and went to an Oakland beer joint where he encountered his friend, Felton Thomas. Thomas then accompanied Mays to meet Zeigler at the furniture store. Upon meeting, Zeigler took the two men to an orange grove to shoot a set of guns he had with him in his vehicle. The state theorized that the purpose of this trip was to get the two men to handle and fire the weapons Zeigler had procured.
When they returned to the store, Zeigler could not persuade Thomas to enter the store. Thomas became uncomfortable and left the premises. This was the last time Mays was seen alive by Thomas. Around 8:00 p.m., Zeigler returned to his home to keep an earlier appointment he had made with Edward Williams. Williams was to meet him at Zeigler’s home in order to help Zeigler move Christmas presents from the furniture store. The two men used Williams’ truck to return to the store. When they arrived, Zeigler entered through the front door and instructed Williams to pull his truck around to the back and then enter from the rear entrance. When Williams entered the back hallway, Zeigler put a gun to Williams’ chest and pulled the trigger three times. However, the gun did not fire and Williams fled the store. At some point after this, Zeigler himself was shot in the stomach. The state theorized that Zeigler became desperate and conceived the idea that he would appear uninvolved if he were also injured. Zeigler telephoned a judge’s residence, where he knew police officers would be gathering for a Christmas party, and reported a robbery. At trial, Zeigler maintained that his wife and parents-in-law were killed during the course of a robbery and that Mays was involved but was killed by his confederates.
Zeigler was resentenced to death in Duval County on August 17, 1989.
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