NBC 2 News
Joseph Zieler, who was convicted of murdering an 11-year-old girl and her 32-year-old babysitter in 1990, reportedly had the word "Killer" etched onto his teeth at the volatile sentencing.
A hearing for a 61-year-old man convicted of murder got off to a nasty start on Monday in Florida, when the killer elbowed his own attorney in the court room.
Video from NBC 2 News shows Joseph Zieler entering a hearing in which he was meant to appeal the jury's death sentence recommendation and immediately asked for the cameras in the courtroom to be cut. After spotting one still recording, he motioned toward his attorney, Kevin Shirley, before leaning in to whisper something into Shirley's ear.
As he did that, however, he instead elbowed Shirley directly in the face, before two bailiffs wrestled him to the ground. Shirley, meanwhile, said he was okay, quipping, "I used to box. I've taken a lot better shots than that."
Zieler was then taken out of the courtroom, before returning 10 minutes later. According to The News-Press, he "continued to growl and show his teeth, which appeared to have the word 'killer' scribbled on them," upon his return and maintained his innocence.
A request for a new trial was denied.
Zieler had previously been found guilty of the 1990 murders of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and her babysitter 32-year-old Lisa Story. His DNA wasn't matched to their murders until 2016, when he was jailed on an unrelated assault charge. According to prosecutors, the two victims were sexually assaulted; the girl's mother found the bodies in her Cape Coral apartment the next morning.
Per CBS News, the jury voted 10-2 in favor of the death penalty back in May; a judge Monday agreed with the jury's recommendation and sentenced him to death. Robin's family was seen breaking into applause after the sentencing in video posted by WINK.
"It's just been a dream for so many years, but here we are and to know that he will never be free is enough," said Robin's mother Jan in a press conference after the sentencing.
