Real Names: Eunice Zeigler, Perry and Virginia Edwards, Charlie Mays
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Location: Winter Garden, Florida
Date: December 24, 1975

CaseEdit

Details: On December 24, 1975, thirty year old Tommy Zeigler called the police and said that there had been a robbery at his furniture store, and that he had all been shot through the abdomen. Unknown to Tommy at that time was the fact that his wife, Eunice, her parents, Perry and Virginia Edwards and a store customer, Charlie Mays lay dead on the floor of the darkened store. Tommy was rushed to the hospital where he was arrested and accused of the murders.

He was later, tried and convicted of the four murders, and was sentenced to death by Judge Maurice Paul who had opposed Tommy as a character witness in a trial of Tommy's friend, Andrew James a few months before the murders. Ziegler believes that a key witness lied on the stand to implicate him, and that he was further railroaded by the police and the court system in a hurry to close the case.
Suspects: The police in this case have not yet identified any other suspects in this case other than Tommy Zeigler.
Extra Notes: The case was featured as a part of the January 31, 1997 episode.
Results: Unsolved. In 2002, DNA testing showed that the prosecution was wrong in telling the jury that blood on Tommy's shirt had come from Perry Edwards. In fact, it came from Charlie Mays whom Tommy has always claimed was one of a gang of men who attacked him that night.
Links:

• Free Tommy