The Florida Supreme Court this week affirmed the convictions and death sentences for a North Fort Myers man arrested 26 years after a double 1990 murder of a girl and her babysitter.
Joseph Zieler, 64, was sentenced to death on June 26, 2023, for the murders of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and 32-year-old Lisa Story.
At Zieler’s trial, Robin Cornell’s mother, Jan Cornell, testified she had planned a sleepover while Story stayed with Robin Cornell.
Jan Cornell testified she left the house about 11 p.m. to spend some time with her now-husband, Donnie Battista. After waking up about 4 a.m. May 10, 1990, at Battista’s house, Jan Cornell rushed home.
When she arrived she found Story’s and Robin’s bodies in adjacent rooms of their shared Cape Coral apartment. Story had moved in the day prior.
The case had languished before authorities got a DNA match in November 2016, linking Zieler to the crime. A jury convicted him May 18, 2023, and then recommended death six days later for brutally raping and killing Robin Cornell and Story.
Zieler’s trial initially started Feb. 27, 2023, with jury selection, after his conviction, the penalty phase concluded with jurors recommending10-2 that Zieler be sentenced to death for each murder.
Hair, DNA argument tossed
Zieler had argued that the absence of evidence in four paper folds contained in a state’s exhibit is evidence of probable tampering that should have prevented the admission of the hair DNA evidence linking him to Story’s murder.
Before his trial, Zieler filed a last-minute motion seeking to exclude hairs and related DNA evidence that linked him to Story’s body, contending that other hairs had been collected but “were either lost or mishandled by the investigating agency and not subject to DNA testing.”
Lee Circuit Judge Robert Branning denied the motion.
According to Florida Supreme Court filings, Zieler “did not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions.”
Zieler’s DNA profile was determined to be a one-in-83 quintillion match to the DNA samples obtained from Robin Cornell’s bedsheet; a one-in-450 million match to the pillowcase that was located under Robin Cornell; a one-in-16 million match to hairs obtained from Story’s body; and a one-in-360,000 match to the swabbing from Robin Cornell.
A quintillion is a “1” followed by 18 zeros; in comparison a billion is a “1” followed by 9 zeroes
Zieler attempted to explain the presence of his DNA at the crime scene by stating that he had visited the condominium the year before, but Jan Cornell denied the claim.
When The News-Press asked Zieler directly about a rumored accomplice via electronic communication, Zieler mentioned blonde hairs recovered from the crime scene, but did not provide a possible perpetrator’s name. Zieler has brown hair.
Zieler claimed someone with “very light blonde” was involved.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@usatodayco.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FL Supreme Court upholds death for Cape Coral cold case killer Zieler
Reporting by Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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