A motion was filed today by the William Thomas Zeigler defense team with the approval of the Orange County State Attorney’s office for DNA testing. It still needs a judge’s approval however, these joint motions are seldom denied. But, as we have been asking for DNA testing since 1994, I will not be able to breathe easily until that moment.
From the Tampa Bay: “Ninth Judicial State Attorney Monique H. Worrell will back the effort, which has been denied at least six times over two decades.
An order, signed by one of her assistant state attorneys on May 18, releases all of the evidence in Zeigler’s case to his attorneys for testing at a lab certified by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors.”
For those unfamiliar with the case: In December 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 original charges.
I have written so many posts about this case that I gave William Thomas Zeigler his own category on my website. Check the left margin or click here.