FORT MYERS, Fla. — A jury has been seated in a high-profile double murder trial for suspect Joseph Zieler. Opening statements are expected to begin on Tuesday.
Zieler is accused of killing and sexually assaulting Cape Coral babysitter 32-year-old Lisa Story and 11-year-old Robin Cornell on May 10, 1990.
In 2016, police announced the arrest of Joseph Zieler. They say DNA from the scene matched his DNA taken during an unrelated arrest. It was DNA Zieler and his attorneys tried to get thrown out before jury selection started.
Thursday, prosecutors and the defense agreed on 12 jurors and four alternates who will ultimately decide if Zieler is guilty or not. If he's guilty, the same jury will vote on whether or not to recommend the death penalty.
During another round of questioning for a smaller group of jurors, state attorney Abe Thornburgh not only touched on what they need to prove beyond reasonable doubt, but also the fact this case may have evidence that could be hard to look at, some of which he called "gory."
“It’s not easy stuff to see and hear, but I just want to make sure there’s nobody who’s gonna be like, 'I won’t physically be able to look at that stuff. I won’t physically be able to listen to that kind of stuff," he told the potential jurors.
The defense spent their time questioning jurors about if anyone had been accused of something, have they served on a jury before and how the jurors do not need to accept an expert witness's opinion. Later on in the day, defense attorney Kevin Shirley said Zieler may elect to take the stand.
The court anticipates the trial taking around two to three weeks, with it going to at least May 24 as the defense has an expert witness who's only available to testify then. One of the issues brought up in court was sequestration.
If trial wraps up on a Friday, there's a chance the jury will not reach a verdict by the end of the day, which means they either have to be separated over the weekend or come back to court Saturday to potentially finish deliberations. The court decided they're going to see how it goes and wait until that point comes.
Zieler is facing five charges, including two counts of murder, two counts of sexual battery and burglary.
One of the interesting aspects of this case is the new death penalty law.
In April, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law that only requires eight jurors to vote for the death penalty and send it to the judge as a recommendation in the penalty phase, rather than it being unanimous under the old law.
Judge Robert Branning says the trial could take two to three weeks, up to three to four days for deliberation and another three to four days for the penalty phase, if Zieler is found guilty.
