TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Attorney General James Usmeyer announced that the Florida Department of Capital Appeals has sentenced Joseph Zierer to death in connection with the 1990 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter during a home invasion.
Zieler evaded arrest for decades until investigators identified him through a complex DNA index system years after the incident, state officials said.
In a statement, Mr. Usmayer praised the role of prosecutors and legal staff involved in the case, including Assistant Attorney General Cristina Pacheco and the Attorney General’s Office, in securing and upholding the sentence.
The Florida Supreme Court’s decision confirmed Ziller’s conviction and death sentence. This case was one of the first death sentences upheld under Florida’s changes to the death penalty law after the passage of Senate Bill 450.
SB 450, signed by Ron DeSantis in April 2023, revised the state’s sentencing standards by allowing a supermajority of at least eight jurors to recommend the death penalty, rather than requiring a unanimous verdict.
Mr. Zieler is currently in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections and will remain on death row until his execution.
