Joseph Zieler elbows attorney Kevin Shirley. (Screenshot: WBBH)
As seen on video, a convicted double murderer elbowed his own attorney in the head on the day of the formal sentencing.
It’s just more belligerent behavior from defendant Joseph Zieler, 61. He had previously acted out in court in Lee County, Florida, while on trial for murdering and sexually assaulting Robin Cornell, 11, and her babysitter, Lisa Story, 32. He flipped off a court camera, insulted the child’s mother, and went so off the rails during testimony that the judge had to clear jurors out of the room at one point.
This time, however, he directed his ire toward attorney Kevin Shirley. As seen in a report by local NBC affiliate WBBH, the chained-up Zieler appeared to say something to Shirley, who leaned over as if to listen better. Then out of nowhere, Zieler struck him in the head.
Bailiffs quickly grappled the defendant to the ground. Shirley appeared to take it all in stride. As he took a seat at the table, he said he was fine.
“I used to box,” said the attorney. “I’ve taken a lot better shots than that.”
Shirley maintained that jocular tone when speaking about the attack to Law&Crime by phone.
“I feel cheated. I didn’t get my counterpunch in,” he said, emphasizing that he was joking.
With that said, he told us that he did not believe it necessary to defend himself in that instance.
“The bailiffs did their job, and they took him right down,” he said.
By a 10-2 vote, jurors recommended in May that Zieler be put to death. Judge Robert J. Branning formally followed that recommendation on Monday, sentencing Zieler to death for both counts of murder.
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Shirley, who has been on the case for six years, said he expects that he and co-counsel Lee Hollander will still represent Zieler until they are discharged for the appeal. The defendant would be represented by someone with more experience on appellate law than Shirley himself is, the attorney said. The death sentence will result in an automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court. It was Shirley’s understanding that this would be the first case since the government changed the requirement to sentence someone to death from a unanimous decision to an 8-4 vote.
The May 1990 deaths of Cornell and Story long went unsolved. Their bodies were discovered by the child’s mother, Jan Cornell, who had returned home from a trip.
“During the night, an unknown male broke into the apartment and brutally raped and murdered both Robin and Lisa,” Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore said. “Jan came back home to discover this horrific scene. She has been seeking justice for 33 years.”
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Authorities credit advanced DNA technology with helping solve the case.
Zieler’s DNA landed on law enforcement’s radar when he was charged in 2016 with shooting his adult son with a pellet gun. He was convicted in 2019 of felony battery for that shooting and sentenced to five years in prison.
Regarding the homicide case, prosecutors in Lee County last year dropped a count each of sexual battery upon a child less than 12 years of age, sexual battery with a deadly weapon or great force, and first-degree burglary with assault or battery. They moved forward with two counts of first-degree murder. In a 2016 notice of intent to seek the death penalty, Florida prosecutors said that the killings were “committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner, without any pretense of moral or legal justification.” They also noted that Robin was younger than 12.
Speaking after the jury’s recommendation in May, Robin’s mother said she wanted Zieler to spend the rest of his days in prison.
“It ensures that he will never walk another free day of his life to inflict his torture,” she told local CBS affiliate WINK. “And he’s an evil man. I don’t even like to call him a man. He’s evil to the core. Because you watch this. There was not one shred ever of any remorse.”
Note: We added the result of the sentencing hearing. Shirley responded to a Law&Crime request for comment.
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