A convicted murderer displayed his obvious displeasure in a Florida courtroom on Monday, responding to his imminent death sentence by elbowing his attorney in the face.
Joseph Zieler, 61, of North Fort Myers, is facing death for the 1990 rapes and murders of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and her babysitter Lisa Story in Cape Coral — and Monday’s hearing was a chance for Zieler to appeal directly to Judge Robert Branning for a new trial or a reduced sentence after a jury recommended the deal penalty on Saturday.
Just after Zieler entered the courtroom on Monday morning, however, he motioned to his attorney Kevin Shirley as if he wanted to speak privately – but when Shirley leaned in to hear what his client had to say, the still-handcuffed double-murderer threw an elbow and hit his lawyer in the side of his head.
WATCH:
Convicted double-murderer Joseph Zieler elbows his attorney in the face ahead of his sentencing Monday. He was quickly tackled to the ground by bailiffs. pic.twitter.com/vkMmPXZbka
— Gage Goulding – NBC2 (@GageGoulding) June 26, 2023
Judge Branning immediately questioned Shirley, asking whether he’d been hurt, and Shirley, a former boxer, told the judge that he’d “taken a lot better shots than that.”
“It seemed like he didn’t want our conversation to be picked up by the microphones,” Shirley told the local FOX affiliate after the hearing. “So he waved me down and I bent over, and he struck me. The Bailiffs were extremely quick to respond and eliminated any future threat.”
“I had no idea he was going to do something like that,” Shirley told another local outlet. “Obviously he’s been planning on that. But, as he was going down, he said he was sorry he missed.”
Judge Branning ultimately refused to overturn Zieler’s conviction or grant him a new trial — and instead pushed forward with the jury’s recommended death sentence.
“The court concludes that under the laws of the State of Florida, the defendant has forfeited his right to live,” Branning said.