28 May 2023 :
(MAY 24, 2023) - A Lee County jury voted 10-2 for death sentence for Joseph Zieler
The same panel found Zieler, 61, White, guilty last week of two counts of first-degree murder for killing an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter in 1990. Robin and Story were asphyxiated and sexually assaulted. The case had gone cold before authorities got a DNA match in November 2016, linking Zieler to the crime. He was in custody, charged with assaulting his stepson.
Joseph Zieler killed 11-year-old Robin Cornell and Lisa Story on May 10, 1990.
Judge Robert Branning will make the final decision in whether Zieler will be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison following a June 26 hearing. Florida law had previously required a unanimous jury recommendation for a convicted murderer to face the death penalty, but a new law signed last month by Gov. Ron DeSantis requires only an 8-4 vote in favor of execution.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/joseph-zieler-death-penalty-recommended-1990-murders-girl-babysitter-florida/
https://eu.news-press.com/story/news/crime/2023/05/25/jury-recommends-death-for-joseph-zieler-in-double-1990-cape-coral-homicide-lisa-story-robin-cornell/70249710007/