On March 21, 2025, the defense team for William Thomas Zeigler filed a motion to set aside his first-degree murder convictions based on newly discovered evidence. Those convictions resulted from four murders that took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store on Christmas Eve 1975, Winter Garden, Florida. That newly discovered evidence consists of DNA results. […]
DNA
Motion to Vacate Zeigler Conviction
The latest update in the case of William Thomas Zeigler (79) is that the defense has filed a motion to vacate his conviction. Zeigler has been on death row since July 2, 1976. “WESH 2 Investigates in January was the first to reveal results of his latest round of DNA testing, authorized by a ninth […]
DNA shows Zeigler is innocent
The latest DNA testing of all the evidence in the case of William Thomas Zeigler confirms what he said all along, he did not kill his wife, his parents-in-law, and he did not kill Charles Mays on Christmas Eve, 1975. The article in the Tampa Bay does an excellent job summarizing what happened. Plus, it […]
Brief update on the Zeigler Case
DNA testing on all the evidence pieces in the case of William Thomas Zeigler is still ongoing. Tommy had a health scare earlier in the year. However, he is recovering and in his messages, sounds upbeat and positive. The last bit of news is that a new judge will be handing the case, Circuit Judge […]
Laura Kempton: Solved by DNA
Thanks to DNA, we now know who killed Laura Kempton in September 1981. Ronney James Lee, then 21, lived and worked in Portsmouth at that time. “There is no indication that he knew or was acquainted with Laura Kempton,” said Assistant Attorney General Rachel Harrington. In this article you can learn more about Lee. In […]
Methodology on Trial
The methodology of Investigative Genetic Genealogy will go on trial in Canada. The hearing is set for the week of June 19-23. The case is brought by the defense for double-murder suspect Leonard Cochrane. Cochrane is on trial for two counts of first-degree murder in the July 11, 1994 shooting deaths of Barry Buchart and […]
Sharron Prior: DNA confirmed
As posted earlier, the Canadian authorities have been able to match DNA found at the Sharron Prior crime scene to the West Virginia Romine Family. Two brothers voluntarily gave their DNA. Their profiles showed a close but partial match to that what was found at Sharron Prior’s crime scene. These two brothers were never suspects. […]
Sharron Prior: DNA and exhumation
We are getting answers in the 1975 rape-murder of Sharron Prior (Feb 9, 1959 – March 29, 1975) from Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. Sharron was sixteen years old when she left home to meet friends at a nearby pizzeria. She never arrived. She was abducted, raped, beaten, and murdered. Her body was found three days later. […]
Appeal Denied in 1979 Martinko Murder
On March 31, 2023 The Iowa Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Jerry Lynn Burns in the 1979 murder of Michelle Martinko. The PDF of the opinion is here. “In a 5-2 decision, the majority found police followed the law in obtaining Burns’ DNA from an abandoned drinking straw, and did not violate his rights […]
Sonia Carmen Herok-Stone: update
The trial against Michael Scott Glazebrook started on January 30, 2023 and ended February 7 with a guilty verdict for the 1981 murder of Sonia Carmen Herok-Stone. The jury deliberated for almost six hours. “In 2023, after an eight-day jury trial before the Honorable Pamela L. Butler, the jury convicted Glazebrook of first-degree murder. The […]