Current:Home > BackConvicted double murderer Joseph Zieler elbows his attorney in face — then is sentenced to death in Florida-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Convicted double murderer Joseph Zieler elbows his attorney in face — then is sentenced to death in Florida
View Date:2024-12-23 20:55:23
A man convicted of killing an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter more than three decades ago has been sentenced to death by a judge in southwest Florida. The sentencing came not long after Joseph Zieler elbowed his own attorney in the face in the courtroom, CBS affiliate WINK-TV reported.
Last month, 10 out of 12 jurors recommended that Zieler be sentenced to death after about five hours of deliberations, according to court records. The same jury previously found Zieler, 60, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the 1990 murders of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and 32-year-old Lisa Story.
Before the sentence was officially handed down, Zieler appeared in court with his wrists shackled, WINK-TV reported. Video shows him call over attorney Kevin Shirley, who leaned forward to listen to something he assumed Zieler was going to whisper to him. Instead Zieler flung his elbow up and struck the side of Shirley's head, the video shows.
Two bailiffs immediately tackled Zieler to the ground and escorted him out of the courtroom.
Shirley told WINK-TV he was fine after the incident.
"I had no idea he was going to do something like that," he said. "Obviously he's been planning on that. But as he was going down, he said he was sorry he missed."
The outburst and sentencing came after a trial in which Zieler yelled at the jury and made vulgar gestures while he was on the witness stand.
Zieler was jailed on an unrelated assault charge in 2016 when his DNA matched to the cold-case murders of Cornell and Story, authorities said.
The girl and the woman were found in a Cape Coral apartment in May 1990, officials said. Robin's mother had been out for the night and discovered the suffocated bodies when she returned the next morning. Investigators said both victims were sexually assaulted.
Cape Coral is about 100 miles south of Tampa.
WINK-TV previously reported that Zieler stunned the courtroom when he claimed he had slept with Cornell's mother a few months before the murder.
"I thought the only way my DNA could have got there was from me sleeping with Jan Cornell," he said.
WINK-TV also reported that Zieler screamed at the jury and made vulgar gestures while on the stand.
"His conduct on the stand did not help," his other attorney, Lee Hollander, said. "If you're in a hole, stop digging. That's what I wanted to say right then and there."
Hollander continued: "I'm back behind counsel table. And he's up in the in the witness chair. And it was like, sitting down watching a train wreck."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- In:
- Death Penalty
- Murder
- Florida
veryGood! (1647)
Related
- Panel advises Illinois commemorate its role in helping slaves escape the South
- Man who tried to auction a walking stick he said was used by Queen Elizabeth II sentenced for fraud
- Feds charge eBay over employees who sent live spiders and cockroaches to couple; company to pay $3M
- Somali president’s son reportedly testifies in Turkey as he is accused of killing motorcyclist
- Maine elections chief who drew Trump’s ire narrates House tabulations in livestream
- Abercrombie & Fitch’s Activewear Sale Is Fire with 30% off Everything, Plus an Extra 20% off
- AP PHOTOS: In Malaysia, Wangkang procession seeks to banish evil spirits
- 'Change doesn’t happen with the same voices': All-female St. Paul city council makes history
- Best fits for Corbin Burnes: 6 teams that could match up with Cy Young winner
- Natalia Grace GoFundMe asks $20,000 for surgeries, a 'fresh start in life'
Ranking
- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson weighs in on report that he would 'pee in a bottle' on set
- Daniel Day-Lewis breaks from retirement to fete Martin Scorsese at National Board of Review Awards
- The Excerpt podcast: Can abandoned coal mines bring back biodiversity to an area?
- Judy Blume to receive lifetime achievement award for ‘Bravery in Literature’
- Who will save Florida athletics? Gators need fixing, and it doesn't stop at Billy Napier
- Bill Belichick couldn't win without Tom Brady, leaving one glaring blemish on his greatness
- Democratic Sen. Bob Casey says of Austin's initial silence on hospitalization there's no way it's acceptable — The Takeout
- Again! Again! Here's why toddlers love to do things on repeat
Recommendation
-
Lions QB Jared Goff, despite 5 interceptions, dared to become cold-blooded
-
Is eye color surgery the new fad? Interest soars as doctors warn of permanent risks.
-
Daniel Day-Lewis breaks from retirement to fete Martin Scorsese at National Board of Review Awards
-
Search underway for 3 people missing after avalanche hits Idaho back country
-
The state that cleared the way for sports gambling now may ban ‘prop’ bets on college athletes
-
Carmelo Anthony: Nuggets gave Nikola Jokić No. 15 to 'erase what I did' with Denver
-
Pay raises and higher education spending headline Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposed budget in Georgia
-
Ex-manager for West Virginia disaster recovery group sentenced to more than 3 years for theft