Gerard Homer Soules (Aug 3, 1936 – June 4, 1992) was a famous trapeze artist with Ringling Bros. He performed in the center ring for five years. His last performance was for Queen Elizabeth. His signature move was a forward somersault off the trapeze catching the bar again with his heels. Soules never missed until […]
Prosecutorial Misconduct
Hope for William Thomas Zeigler
The Tampa bay Times announced Jan 3, 2019 that the Florida State Attorney’s office is “taking a fresh look” at the 1975 case of William Thomas Zeigler. Whether that fresh look is indeed an official review does not become clear in the article. However, we finally have a Florida state representative who “wants to introduce […]
The lingering case of Tommy Zeigler
Blood and truth: the lingering case of Tommy Zeigler and how Florida fights DNA testing. The Tampa Bay is publishing a new six-series about the case of William Thomas Zeigler. As my readers know, I have been involved in this case since the 90s. There are so many posts about this case on my blog that […]
Zeigler: touch DNA denied
The Florida Supreme Court has denied William Thomas Zeigler’s request for touch DNA testing. I have converted the PDF to images below. On March 31, 2016, an evidentiary hearing was held for William Thomas Zeigler to request touch DNA testing in his case. Judge Whitehead denied that request for touch DNA on July 18, 2016. On November […]
Lapointe’s wrongful conviction
Lapointe’s wrongful conviction brings back Martin’s cold case because if we take Lapointe out of the equation we are left with no answers. Who killed Bernice Martin? The decision The decision to grant a new trial is here (RICHARD LAPOINTE v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION). A few quotes: “On appeal, the petitioner claims that the court improperly rejected his […]
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction
Case of the Month: the Zeigler wrongful conviction has been part of my life since 1993 when I started working for Amnesty International in Switzerland. I am appalled that the injustice endures. In December 1975, a quadruple murder took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store in Wintergarden, Florida. The victims were Charles Mays, Virginia and Perry […]
Petition for a Writ of Certiorari denied for Zeigler
Petition for a Writ of Certiorari denied for Zeigler on May 19, 2014. The only notation is that “Chief Justice [Roberts] took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.” Dennis H. Tracey, III and John Houston Pope filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. In […]
Recap #CrimeChat Dec 6, 2014
Recap #CrimeChat Dec 6, 2014 with Sue Carney about the Alfred Moore case. Sue and I did not follow any chronological order to discuss the case. We went from first impressions to every detail that bothered us. As you can imagine, the hour flew by and … we are left with more questions! Some of […]
Case of the Month: Bernice Martin
Case of the Month: Bernice Martin. On March 8, 1987, fire fighters found Mrs. Bernice Martin inside the Mayfair Gardens Elderly Housing Complex, Manchester, Connecticut. She had been brutally beaten and passed away that same night in the hospital. The fire department found her front door locked but the glass sliding door in the back open. The […]
Death on Hold: Zeigler
Death on Hold: Zeigler. In this documentary you can see the trial and appeals in the case of William Thomas Zeigler. It explains why for the past 37 years, we have been trying to show you that he never had a fair trial. Judge for yourself whether there is room for doubt. https://web.archive.org/web/20130406001457/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQc3J4ocgsM&gl=US&hl=en Mr. Zeigler has […]
Zeigler DNA Appeal denied
From the Orlando Sentinel: “The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday denied an appellate motion by convicted killer Tommy Zeigler, the latest ruling in his three-plus-decade fight to get off death row. Tommy appealed to the state Supreme Court after a circuit judge denied his request to have DNA tests performed on his clothing from the […]
Zeigler: his latest motion denied
Zeigler’s latest motion to vacate judgment was denied. On November 13, 2012. Judge Whitehead denied the motion to vacate judgment of conviction and sentence based on newly discovered evidence in the case of William Thomas Zeigler. Mr. Zeigler has been on death row for the 1975 quadruple murders that took place on Christmas Eve inside […]
New Trial for Richard Lapointe!
The Connecticut Appellate Court ordered a new trial for Richard Lapointe. From the Hartford Courant: “In a stunning decision, the state Appellate Court Monday ordered a new trial for Richard Lapointe, a mentally disabled dishwasher convicted of a murder a quarter century ago, concluding that state prosecutors wrongly withheld a police report that tends to support […]
Recap #cclivechat September 21, 2012
Here is the recap of #cclivechat from September 21, 2012. This #cclivechat was not planned since I expected to be tied up until later in the afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised to be dismissed early so I told you about some favourite true crime books. Books are an important part of my life. They have shaped […]
Zeigler defense asks Judge Whitehead for evidentiary hearing
Zeigler defense asks Judge Whitehead for evidentiary hearing. Last Thursday, the Zeigler defense team was back in court to ask Judge Whitehead for an evidentiary hearing to explore the latest developments in the case of William Thomas Zeigler, who remains on death row in Florida. Of course, at issue were the false arrest report and the […]
Christian Bruyère takes an interest in Zeigler
Christian Bruyère takes an interest in Zeigler. Mr. Bruyère and his company “Mystique Films” are based in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver is the third largest motion picture production center in North America. I could not be happier that Zeigler is getting more media attention. Yesterday was Zeigler’s birthday and a press conference was held outside the Orange County Courthouse. […]
Lapointe: DNA does not match
Who left his DNA behind: Richard A. Lapointe or Frederick Rodney Merrill? We have new developments that could shed a light on the case of Bernice Martin and could once and for all clear up who left his DNA. We already know it wasn’t Lapointe. The Connecticut State Board of Pardons and Paroles decided last week to grant […]
Key evidence lost in Hank Skinner case
Key evidence is lost in the case of Hank Skinner so despite the fact that the state of Texas now backs further DNA testing, we still will not get all the answers we need. There are pictures of the jackets (see here) but the big blood- and sweat-stained tan jacket with snap buttons down the front found near […]
Connecticut Appellate Court to review 1987 Bernice Martin murder
“The Appellate Court is scheduled to hear arguments Friday [today] in the appeal of 66-year-old Richard Lapointe, who was convicted of murdering Bernice Martin and sentenced to life in prison. Lapointe insists that DNA evidence shows he’s innocent and that his former lawyers were ineffective.” On March 8, 1987, fire fighters were called to the […]
Zeigler: evil killer or parent-to-be?
Zeigler: evil killer or parent-to-be? Something has been bothering me immensely in the Zeigler case. I know, many things bother me in this case! But this is something I have not blogged about before. It is about the life term insurance policies and Zeigler’s bank accounts. It has been stated over and over again that […]