CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A southwest Florida convicted murderer elbowed his attorney in the face Monday during his sentencing.
Joseph Zieler, who was convicted in the 1990 murders of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and family friend Lisa Story in Cape Coral — is seen standing between two law enforcement officers while being handcuffed.
Moments later, he appears to signal his attorney to his direction to tell him something, but as the attorney leans over to hear what Zieler has to say, that's when he elbows him in the face.
The two law enforcement officers quickly tackled Zieler to the ground after he attacked his lawyer.
A person in the video is heard asking Zieler's attorney if he is OK, to which he responded by saying he was fine.
While Zieler was on the ground and being held by officers, there was a brief exchange between him and the attorney.
"I've taken a lot of better shots than that," the attorney said while Zieler resumed making comments toward him on the ground.
Zieler was in court for his sentencing where he was slated to address the court.
According to WINK-TV, a jury recommended the death penalty for the convicted double-murder back in May. When he took the stand in his defense trial, he had an outburst in the courtroom that his lawyer said did not help his case.
Despite the altercation, a judge in handed down the death sentence Monday for Zieler.
Lee Circuit Judge Robert Branning was following last month's 10-2 jury recommendation in favor of death for Zieler, according to court records. The same panel had found Zieler, 61, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.
Florida law had previously required a unanimous jury recommendation for a convicted murderer to face the death penalty. But a new law signed in April by Gov. Ron DeSantis requires only an 8-4 vote in favor of execution.
Zieler was jailed on an unrelated assault charge in 2016 when his DNA matched to the cold-case murders of Robin Cornell, 11, and Lisa Story, 32, authorities said.
The girl and the woman were found in a Cape Coral apartment in May 1990, officials said. Robin’s mother had been out for the night and discovered the suffocated bodies when she returned the next morning. Investigators said both victims were sexually assaulted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.