FORT MYERS, Fla. – A judge in southwest Florida handed down a death sentence Monday for a man convicted of killing an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter more than 30 years ago.
Lee Circuit Judge Robert Branning was following last month’s 10-2 jury recommendation in favor of death for Joseph Zieler, according to court records. The same panel had found Zieler, 61, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.
Ziegler was attending his death sentence on Monday, when he was caught on camera elbowing his attorney in the face.
The assault happened before bailiffs took Zieler out.
Florida law had previously required a unanimous jury recommendation for a convicted murderer to face the death penalty. But a new law signed in April by Gov. Ron DeSantis requires only an 8-4 vote in favor of execution.
Zieler was jailed on an unrelated assault charge in 2016 when his DNA matched to the cold-case murders of Robin Cornell, 11, and Lisa Story, 32, authorities said.
The girl and the woman were found in a Cape Coral apartment in May 1990, officials said. Robin’s mother had been out for the night and discovered the suffocated bodies when she returned the next morning. Investigators said both victims were sexually assaulted.
Cape Coral is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tampa.