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You are here: Home / Zeigler / No more Zeigler posts?

No more Zeigler posts?

September 20, 2011 By Alice

Tommy & Eunice Zeigler on their wedding day
Tommy & Eunice Zeigler on their wedding day

Some of you have emailed me asking why I have stopped posting about the William Thomas Zeigler case. Am I now convinced that he is guilty? Am I bored with the case? Am I in a clinch with the defense team? No to all the above.

I have tried to show why I believe that Zeigler never had a fair trial and why I believe that the prosecution never proved its charges against him. I think that I made my point.

Suppressed evidence that in that hands of first trial attorney Terry Hadley would have created reasonable doubt, the significance of the Jellison Tape, the crime scene observations of the first officer on the scene, and the crime scene analysis of in particular Eunice Edwards-Zeigler would under normal circumstances have acquitted Zeigler. They are all described in detail on DCC.

I could rewrite some posts just to create more posts to add to Zeigler’s category but repeating myself will not add to the clarity this case needs. If anything else, I’d be re-writing “Fatal Flaw” and Phillip Finch wrote it best. So there you have it.

My series may have come to a halt for now but I stand by my analysis of these murders. I am still convinced that the man we have on death row for these murders is the wrong man. Some of the true killers are described in Finch’s book. Go read it.

Case overview: In Dec 1975, a quadruple murder took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store (Winter Garden, Florida). The victims were Charles Mays, Virginia and Perry Edwards, and their daughter Eunice Edwards-Zeigler. The fifth victim, William Thomas Zeigler, became the sole suspect because he survived. The case is riddled by police misconduct (lying on the stand), prosecutorial misconduct (withheld evidence), and forensic testing disproving the charges. The evidentiary hearing for touch DNA testing was held on March 31, 2016. Judge Whitehead denied the request on July 18, 2016. On November 23, 2016, an appeal was filed in the Supreme Court of Florida. On April 21, 2017 the Florida Supreme Court denied the touch DNA request. On May 8, 2017 a motion for a rehearing with the US Supreme Court was filed. It was denied November 13, 2017.

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Filed Under: Zeigler Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Capital Punishment, Faulty Evidence, Prosecutorial Misconduct, William Thomas Zeigler, Wrongful Convictions

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Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 300 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

Copyright

If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

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William Thomas Zeigler

Category: ALL POSTS

On March 31, 2016, an evidentiary hearing was held to request touch DNA testing. On July 18, 2016, Judge Whitehead denied that request.

On November 23, 2016, an appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court. On April 21, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court denied the request for touch DNA analysis.

On May 8, 2017 a motion for a rehearing with the US Supreme Court was filed. It was denied November 13, 2017.

In the summer of 2019, the appeal for DNA testing to the Florida Conviction Integrity Unit was denied.

Richard Lapointe

Category: ALL POSTS

In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard lapointe. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried for the 1987 rape-murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin. Richard Lapointe died on Aug 4, 2020 of Covid19 complications.

In 1987, someone killed Bernice Martin. I hope that she will not become a forgotten file.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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