case remained unsolved for 20 years before advances in DNA led to arrest of Zieler in 2016
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the Capital Appeals Division secured a death sentence for Joseph Zieler for the 1990 murder and rape of an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter during a home invasion.
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the Capital Appeals Division secured a death sentence for Joseph Zieler for the 1990 murder and rape of an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter during a home invasion.
“This depraved criminal managed to sleep at night for decades as he evaded justice for the rape and murder of a little girl and her babysitter,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier.
“Due to the tireless work of Assistant Attorney General Christina Pacheco, and with support from the Solicitor General’s Office, we affirmed the ultimate form of punishment, and he will never see the outside of a prison cell again.”
The Florida Supreme Court’s affirmation of Zieler’s conviction is one of the first capital sentences under Florida’s new death penalty law, Senate Bill (SB) 450, which reformed Florida’s death penalty statutes, reducing the number of jurors needed to recommend capital punishment from unanimous to a supermajority of eight jurors out of twelve.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 450 into law on April 20, 2023.
Zieler will await his execution in the Florida Department of Corrections.
Zieler was found guilty in 2023 of two counts of first-degree murder in the 1990 killings of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and her babysitter, 32-year-old Lisa Story.
The case remained unsolved for more than two decades before advances in DNA technology led investigators to identify and arrest Zieler in 2016.
A Lee County jury voted 10-2 to recommend the death penalty, and a judge later sentenced Zieler to death for both murders.
During oral arguments before the state’s high court, Zieler’s defense team argued that errors during the trial warrant overturning the conviction or sentence.
Prosecutors, however, maintained that the evidence against Zieler was overwhelming and that the trial was conducted properly.
Under Florida law, all death penalty cases automatically receive an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
