ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County man on death row maintains his innocence despite being convicted of killing his wife, her parents and another man 40 years ago.
A group of Northwestern University journalism students are reviewing Tommy Zeigler's case in hopes of providing new insight.
Zeigler's family and a customer at his Winter Garden furniture store were killed on Christmas Eve in 1975. Investigators found Zeigler's blood on the scene and said he shot himself to throw off police.
Zeigler, 70, has been on death row for 40 years for two death sentences and will try to convince a judge this month to order more DNA testing.
He told Channel 9 20 years ago that his handyman was behind the slayings.
The Medill Justice Project at Northwestern, led by Professor Alec Klein, said it's after the truth.
"The jury recommended that he get life and the judge gave him death, relevant with the death penalty debate in Florida," Klein said.
Klein said the ongoing battle over DNA testing is intriguing, but there are questions over the accusation that Zeigler shot himself to appear as a victim. He would have had to of shot himself with his non-dominant hand, given the angle of the bullet wound, and would have possibly had to pull the trigger with his thumb.
Zeigler's previous attempts for further DNA testing failed because the courts ruled new tests would provide no new conclusive evidence.
The project said it could wrap up its investigation in a few months, but will work for as long as it takes.
Cox Media Group
