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.
In general, DNA points to what was and was not there. DNA cannot tell you whether someone is guilty or innocent in any type of case. It can tell you if someone was in contact with someone else.
DNA can tell you if blood found on the floor belonged to the one accused of having been at that location. In this case, if Zeigler had been involved in a bloody fist fight that killed a victim, some of that victim’s blood should be found on Zeigler’s clothes and his glasses.
The State of Florida responded to the above-mentioned motion on July 14, 2025.
The court’s hearing then took place on August 7, 2025. We now have the judge’s decision: an evidentiary hearing is required and is scheduled for December 1, 2025, at 9am.
An evidentiary hearing is not the same as a ruling on the merits of the case.
On December 1, the court will hear why the defense thinks Zeigler’s convictions should be set aside in light of these DNA test results. The State of Florida will give their opinion. Then, the judge will decide.
In this post, I explain why I believe that William Thomas Zeigler is indeed innocent
To read up on the whole case, follow this link.