Who is Joseph Zieler and what did he do?

Publish date: 2024-05-05

JOSEPH Zieler is a convicted rapist and murderer who killed an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter in 1990.

During a hearing in June 2023 he elbowed his long-standing attorney Kevin Shirley.

Who is Joseph Zieler?

Zieler has been sentenced to death for killing little Robin Cornell and her babysitter, Lisa Story, 32, who were raped and suffocated.

He was arrested in 2016, some 26 years after the cold case murders.

On June 26, 2023, Zieler was given the death sentence for the double murders.

During his appearance in court he thrust an elbow into the face of his long-standing attorney Kevin Shirley.

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Two bailiffs then quickly tackled him to the ground.

In May 2023, a jury in Lee County, Florida, recommended the death penalty and his appearance in June was to appeal to the judge hours before he gave his sentence.

After the attack, Zieler was taken away from the court and Lee Circuit Judge Robert Branning asked Shirley if he was okay, with the lawyer replying he had taken harder knocks before.

Zieler, having returned to the courtroom, is then said to have growled at the judge, revealing the word “killer” on his teeth.

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Despite the word written on his teeth, Zieler has claimed he is innocent of the crimes.

He said: “I have nothing to do with this. I maintain my innocence.”

Judge Branning ultimately denied a motion Zieler had filed for a new trial and decided not to overturn his conviction.

He was sentenced to death by the judge inside the courtroom several hours later. 

What did Joseph Zieler do?

Zieler was responsible for the murders of Robin and Lisa in a Cape Coral apartment in May 1990.

His victims were found beaten, assaulted, and suffocated.

Cops announced in September 2016 that Zieler had been arrested for their killings after police matched his DNA to traces found at the scene. 

Investigators said during his trial: “The semen that was found on the bed sheet where Robin was sleeping matches the defendant to a frequency over 1 and 700 billion.”

Who were Robin Cornell and Lisa Story?

Story was looking after the 11-year-old when they were attacked by Zieler.

Robin’s mum, Jan Cornell, had gone to stay at her boyfriend's house for the night.

Jan returned the following day to find the front door locked and entered the house through the back sliding doors, which had been left open. 

She found her daughter's lifeless body lying face down in a bathroom upstairs.

While Zieler was on trial, Jan told the court that the last thing she told her daughter was “Good night, I'm going to Donnie's, I love you.”

She told the court her daughter was a vibrant fifth-grader who loved to jump rope and play outdoors.

Susan Gibson, Lisa's eldest sister, said in a statement read out in court that she was a cheerleader, an international student, a motorcyclist and a photographer, among others.

What happened to Joseph Zieler?

The double murder case went cold until November 2016 when cops said Zieler had been arrested for their killings after a DNA match had been found.

In May 2023, 10 out of 12 jurors recommended Zieler be sentenced to death having deliberated for five hours, court records show.

The same jury previously found Zieler guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

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Judge Branning announced the sentence in June 2023 after he heard the testimony from six witnesses.

Branning said at the hearing: "The aggravating factors are horrific and every parent’s worst nightmare."

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