Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 48

Thread: Joseph Adam Zieler - Florida Death Row

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875

    Joseph Adam Zieler - Florida Death Row







    DNA links suspect to 1990 Cape Coral double murder

    CAPE CORAL, Fla. — An unsolved double homicide from 1990 was cracked open by a DNA match, ending one of the city’s most notorious cold cases in charges Wednesday.

    Joseph Zieler, 54, is accused of brutally raping and murdering Robin Cornell, 11, and Lisa Story, 32, in their Cape Coral apartment 26 years ago. He is facing two counts of sexually battery, two counts for murder and a charge for burglary with assault, according to an arrest report, in what was the oldest unsolved homicide in Cape Coral history.

    Cape Coral police officers said they were able to link his DNA to the murder case after they tested Zieler’s DNA in a battery arrest from August. The murder of Cornell and Lisa gained national attention when it aired on “America’s Most Wanted” — most recently in 2010.

    But knowing Zieler is behind bars has brought closure to the victims’ families.

    Jan Cornell, Robin’s mother and Story’s roommate, has been a longtime advocate for justice in their case. She spoke Wednesday, thanking officers for their diligence.

    “We all know that miracles exist,” Cornell said. “I thank every one of these men for listening to me.”

    Cornell also expressed her joy in the department’s continued pursuit in this investigation.

    “I can not be more grateful today. I cannot be more happy,” Cornell said. “I want my daughter and my friend to finally rest in peace, because their day for justice is right here.”

    http://www.winknews.com/2016/09/28/c...ws-conference/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Cape cold case murder suspect held without bond

    FORT MYERS, Fla – A 54-year-old man who was connected to a 26-year-old Cape Coral cold case through DNA faced a judge for the first time on Thursday.

    Joseph Zieler, of North Fort Myers, received no bond after being charged with two counts each of murder and sexual assault in the 1990 killings of Robin Cornell, 11, and Lisa Story, 32. Zieler did receive a $500,000 bond for a burglary with assault charge, but even if he posts bond, he will remain in jail due to receiving no bond on the murder and sexual assault charges.

    A DNA match linked Zieler to the crime scene through a forensic database, Cape Coral police said at a Wednesday press conference.

    Zieler’s next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 31.

    http://www.winknews.com/2016/09/29/c...-without-bond/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Zieler enters not guilty plea in 1990 double murder case

    By Michael Braun
    news-press.com

    Joseph Zieler, accused in the brutal double homicide and rape in Cape Coral 26 years ago, plead not guilty to the crimes on Wednesday.

    Zieler, 54, of North Fort Myers, Florida remains jailed on no bond in the 1990 double homicide and rape of Lisa Story, 32, and Robin Cornell, 11.

    His attorney, Kathleen Smith, filed the written plea of not guilty Wednesday morning.

    Zieler was arrested Oct. 27 on murder charges in the brutal slaying of Story and Cornell on May 10, 1990.

    Story was the roommate of Cornell's mother, Jan Cornell, who found the two dead when she returned home from visiting her boyfriend.

    Zieler had been in jail in August on a separate felony charge when his DNA was tested and found to be a match in the double-murder case.

    Zieler is charged with one count of burglary with an assault or a homicide, two counts of sexual battery, and two counts of first degree murder.

    http://www.news-press.com/story/news...case/91612902/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #4
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Grand jury indicts man accused in Cape cold case murder

    LEE COUNTY, FL - A grand jury has indicted the man accused in a 26-year-old cold case murder.

    A Lee County grand jury filed an indictment for Joseph Zieler for two counts of first-degree murder Thursday.

    Zieler is accused of killing 11-year-old Robin Cornell and her mom's roommate, 32-year-old Lisa Story, 26 years ago in their Cape Coral home.

    Detectives said Joseph Zieler, who was 28 at the time of the murders, was arrested on another charge when his DNA brought a hit on CODIS from the DNA found at the scene.

    Zieler is also charged with sexual battery on a child less than 12 years of age, sexual battery with a deadly weapon or great force and first-degree burglary with assault or battery.

    http://www.nbc-2.com/story/33624865/...ld-case-murder
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #5
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Prosecutors to seek death penalty in Cape Coral double murder cold case

    Wink News

    FORT MYERS, Fla. — Florida prosecutors sent a written notice to seek the death penalty for the case involving a man accused of murdering and raping a woman and child in 1990, according to Lee County court documents.

    If convicted, Joseph Zieler, 54, faces two counts of sexual battery, two counts of murder and a charge for burglary with assault, according to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

    Court documents continued that Zieler has less than 20 days to return a written notice of “intent to president testimony of a mental health professional,” who would verify his mental state.

    He entered a “Not Guilty” plea at his Oct. 5 court appearance. Zieler was officially linked to the longest Cape Coral cold case by a DNA test on Sept. 28.

    http://www.winknews.com/2016/11/30/p...der-cold-case/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #6
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    2,740
    April 5, 2019

    Suspect in 1990 murder sentenced to 5 years in separate assault case


    A man was sentenced to 5 years behind bars for assaulting his son, but faces more serious charges as a suspect in a 1990 double-murder case.

    The judge sentenced Joseph Zieler to 5 years Friday for assaulting his son, but he also faces sexual assault and murder charges for the killing of two Cape Coral women, Robin Cornell and Lisa Story.

    He was arrested in 2016 for the homicide after DNA found on the scene linked him to the crimes.

    He returns to court later this month for that case

    https://www.winknews.com/2019/04/05/...-assault-case/

  7. #7
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Cape Coral man jailed in 1990 double homicide asks court for DNA expert to challenge evidence

    By Michael Braun
    news-press.com

    Joseph Zieler, charged in the murder of a woman and a girl she was babysitting in Cape Coral three decades ago, was back in court Thursday for a motion involving DNA and blood testing.

    Zieler, 58, of North Fort Myers, was charged in the May 1990 slayings of Robin Cornell, 11, and Lisa Story, 32, after a grand jury returned an indictment in November 2016 and remains jailed.

    The bodies of victims, who had been sexually assaulted and suffocated, were found by Cornell's mother, Jan Cornell, when she returned home the morning of May 9, 1990.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Zieler's case.

    At Thursday's hearing before Judge Robert J. Branning, attorney Lee Hollander, representing Zieler, said the motion was to approve an expert in DNA and serology — the study of bodily fluids such as blood.

    Hollander said if approved by the court, the expert selected, Chris McKee of Defensive Forensic Strategies of Boulder, Colorado, would be hired at $150 an hour for 10 hours to look into the DNA evidence collected from Zieler in 1990 and matched in 2016.

    "We need an expert to challenge that," Hollander said. McKee would examine multiple items including lab paperwork and the original retaining of samples in 1990.

    Branning said he would reserve ruling on the motion and issue an order "shortly."

    Zieler was in Lee County jail on a felony aggravated battery charge for shooting his son with a pellet gun in August 2016 when a DNA test matched him to evidence found at the scene of the Cape Coral murders.

    He has contested that match in court as well as in a series of letters to Judge Joseph Fuller, claiming he was set up, that none of the fluids checked are his, that fingerprints found were not his and disparaging witnesses for the prosecution. Zieler also asked for a computer tablet while in jail.

    Those letters, considered pro se pleadings by a defendant who has bona fide legal representation, were declared a "nullity" and stricken by the court. The judge also said he could not allow the tablet since electronic devices were not allowed in jail.

    Zieler will next be in court Oct. 27 for a pre-trial hearing.

    https://www.news-press.com/story/new...rt/3584935001/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #8
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Joseph Zieler, suspect in 1990 double Cape Coral homicide, in court to provide prints, DNA

    By Michael Braun
    news-press.com

    Joseph Zieler, 58, a suspect in the 1990 murders of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and Lisa Story in Cape Coral, was back in court Wednesday to address a motion for new fingerprints and a mouth swab for DNA.

    The new prints and swab was requested by the state and discussed before Judge Robert J. Branning.

    The state was seeking the new fingerprints, both sides and tips, palm prints and a new swab of the inside of Zieler's mouth to help compare against what an assistant state attorney said was "new evidence."

    Attorneys for Zieler objected, saying the request was "unreasonably intrusive" and that the state already had enough evidence.

    Judge Branning allowed the motion and an evidence analyst from the Cape Coral Police Department was in the courtroom to collect new prints and a DNA swab.

    Zieler is due in court March 21 with Branning for a pre-trial conference.

    Zieler, of North Fort Myers, was charged in the May 1990 slayings of Cornell and Story, 32, after a grand jury returned an indictment in November 2016. He remains jailed. Story was babysitting Cornell when they were attacked.

    The bodies of the victims, who had been sexually assaulted and suffocated, were found by Cornell's mother, Jan Cornell, when she returned home the morning of May 9, 1990.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Zieler's case.

    Jan Cornell attended the Tuesday hearing but declined to comment.

    https://www.news-press.com/story/new...er/4448990001/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  9. #9
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    After five years, 11-year-old Robin Cornell’s accused killer still awaits trial

    By Brea Hollingsworth and Matthew Seaver
    Wink News

    Five years ago an audience erupted in cheers when the Cape Coral Police Department announced the arrest of Joseph Zieler.

    It was a case that took more than 26 years to solve. Back in 1990, investigators say 32-year-old Lisa Story and 11-year-old Robin Cornell were murdered inside their Cape Coral condo. A DNA match connected Zieler to the crime.

    “This was an old case but never been looked at as a cold case,” says David Newlan, former Cape Coral police chief.

    Five years later, Zieler still sits behind bars awaiting trial. He has written many letters to the judge to show his impatience with the process.

    Kevin Shirley, the attorney representing Joseph Zieler, says, “we’re trying to get it set for trial in early 2022.”

    Shirley told WINK News that COVID-19 is partly to blame for the wait. “Obviously a great deal of the time has been spent waiting for waiting for covid to run its course because Judge Branning and administration did not feel that it was appropriate for us to be gathering 300 or 400 jurors into a confined area in order to do jury selection.”

    Shirley says he has been working on the case for the past five years but says cases like these present a lot of challenges. “The event allegedly occurred in 1990. Many of the witnesses are unavailable, they passed on, they’ve moved, we don’t know where they’re at, they have forgotten what they would have testified to 30 years ago. It just makes it a lot more complicated than when you were litigating one of these cold cases.”

    The ongoing case is not only complicated, but it is also painful for the families of the victims too.

    Zielers’ trial is set to start in March of next year.

    https://www.winknews.com/2021/09/28/...-awaits-trial/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  10. #10
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Joseph Zieler, suspect in 2 brutal 1990 Cape Coral murders, seeking halt to court case

    By Michael Braun
    news-press.com

    Joseph Zieler, a suspect in the 1990 murders of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and Lisa Story in Cape Coral, has filed a dozen formal motions in his case since September.

    Lee County Court Judge Robert J. Branning denied them all. Zieler's case is currently before Branning and scheduled for a motions hearing March 7 and a trial call on March 10.

    Zieler's latest filings are petitions for a writ of habeas corpus and a writ of prohibition, filed Feb. 11 and 18 with the Florida Supreme Court.

    A writ of habeas corpus asks the determining judge to decide whether your imprisonment is lawful.

    A writ of prohibition is a request to have proceedings stopped, in this case by the supreme court for the lower court activity.

    Zieler's legal representative, Punta Gorda attorney Kevin Shirley, said he was not provided a courtesy copy of the filings, likely filed by his client.

    No ruling on the writs have been made by the supreme court.

    Pro se means "in one’s own behalf" and for legal purposes means a participant in a court case acting as their own attorney. Zieler's motions have mostly been pro se.

    A public information official for the supreme court declined to comment on the specific filing but did say the state's Supreme Court has the constitutional authority to issue writs of prohibition, by which a court may prevent a lower tribunal from acting upon matters that are not within its jurisdiction or from exceeding its lawful powers.

    The petition for a write of prohibition comes on the heels of a handful of other hand-written pro se motions Zieler filed with the court since September, including a request for the case to be relocated to Charlotte County Jail, that the case be discharged and that charges in his case to be severed or separated.

    Branning denied all 12 motions citing that Zieler, 59, is represented by an attorney and a December 2021 pleading by Zieler that he did not want to proceed pro se in the case.

    On Zieler's pro se motion for relocation, Branning ruled that no legal authority was cited allowing the court jurisdiction to move a defendant solely for that defendant's convenience. The Charlotte County Jail also objected to the move.

    Zieler, of North Fort Myers, was charged in the May 1990 slayings of Cornell and Story, 32, after a grand jury returned an indictment in November 2016 and he remains jailed. Story was babysitting Cornell when they were attacked.

    The bodies of the victims, who had been sexually assaulted and suffocated, were found by Cornell's mother, Jan Cornell, when she returned home the morning of May 9, 1990.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    https://www.news-press.com/story/new...se/6921618001/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •