QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Was Tommy Zeigler guilty or innocent? We believe that the evidence that we will be presenting and my colleagues will be presenting will show the other way, that Tommy Zeigler was an innocent man and the circumstantial evidence proving his innocence was either overlooked or ignored by the State," Hadley said."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "A short while ago, the defense played a tape recording of the state investigator interviewing a man who was staying at a motel behind the Zeigler furniture store the night of the murders. The motel guest told the investigator he never heard shots until after a police officer arrived behind the store and pulled out his gun. That recording was never presented to the jury back in 1976. This evidentiary hearing is set to last all week, with the judge expected to render a decision a few weeks later."
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STORY: "Florida's longest-serving death row inmate seeks new trial with fresh DNA evidence," by Investigative Reporter Greg Fox, published by MESH 2, on December 1, 2025. (Greg Fox has been a member of the WESH 2 News team since May 1987 as an anchor and reporter. He is currently the Investigative and Political reporter.)
Tommy Zeigler, who has spent more time on Florida's death row than anyone else in history, is back in an Orange County courtroom for an evidentiary hearing that could potentially lead to a new trial or his release, following new DNA testing results.
Zeigler, who turned 80 in July and is in failing health, has consistently denied involvement in the 1975 Christmas Eve murders of four people at his Winter Garden furniture store.
He was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair, with an oxygen bottle attached, appearing very weak after recently being in the Florida State Prison infirmary.
Among those on his legal team is Terry Hadley, who has represented Zeigler since he was arrested and charged with killing his wife, her parents, and a store customer who did occasional work for Zeigler.
Hadley told the judge that new DNA test results will prove Zeigler had no blood from his wife or in-laws on his clothing, and that the state is now telling a story that was never told to the jury that convicted Zeigler.
"Was Tommy Zeigler guilty or innocent? We believe that the evidence that we will be presenting and my colleagues will be presenting will show the other way, that Tommy Zeigler was an innocent man and the circumstantial evidence proving his innocence was either overlooked or ignored by the State," Hadley said.
The victims in this case were Eunice Zeigler, Perry and Virginia Edwards, and the store customer and farm worker, Charlie Mays.
A short while ago, the defense played a tape recording of the state investigator interviewing a man who was staying at a motel behind the Zeigler furniture store the night of the murders. The motel guest told the investigator he never heard shots until after a police officer arrived behind the store and pulled out his gun.
That recording was never presented to the jury back in 1976.
This evidentiary hearing is set to last all week, with the judge expected to render a decision a few weeks later."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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