Moment evil child killer Joseph Zeiler elbows his own lawyer in court and flashes word 'killer' scrawled on his teeth | The Sun
THIS is the haunting moment evil child murderer Joseph Zeiler elbowed his own lawyer in court as the word "killer" was seen scrawled on his teeth.
The Florida man unleashed his last attempt at terror after he was sentenced to death on Monday for murdering an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter.
In 1990, the twisted criminal allegedly raped and suffocated Robin Cornell, 11, and her sitter, Lisa Story, 32.
However, the women's murder case went cold for more than two decades before a DNA breakthrough tied Zieler to the crime in 2016.
And as the 61-year-old man finally faced the alleged double-murder charges, he attacked his own attorney in a moment of frenzy.
Footage from the courtroom showed the crazed-looking killer agitated as he bent over to whisper something into his attorney's ear.
Shockingly, the cuffed man then batters lawyer Kevin Shirley's head with his elbow.
Three bailiffs were able to restrain Zeiler and quickly escorted him out of the courtroom within seconds.
Shirley later told Fox4 the attack came as a shock.
Shirley said: "It seemed like he didn't want our conversation to be picked up by the microphones.
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"So he waved me down and I bent over, and he struck me."
The most frightening scene came later, however, when his pearly white teeth appeared to have the word "killer" etched into them.
It comes as a jury in Lee County, Florida, recommended the death penalty for Zeiler in May.
He made the court appearance on Monday to appeal the decision just hours before he was given his sentence.
After Zeiler was dragged back in, the man reportedly growled at the judge when his teeth were exposed to the courtroom.
Speaking in court, Zeiler claimed his innocence.
He said: "I have nothing to do with this.
"I maintain my innocence."
Judge Branning denied the motion Zieler had filed for a new trial and decided not to overturn his conviction.
He was sentenced to death several hours later.
Jan Cornell, Robin's mother, was in the courtroom as the terrifying moment played out but was finally given closure after the judge's decision.
Fronting a press pack outside the court, Jan said: "Justice for Robin and justice for Lisa has happened."
It put an end to the grisly murders that happened in a Cape Coral apartment more than 30 years ago.
At the time of Zeiler's arrest in 2016, cops claimed his DNA traces were found at the scene of the killings.
During the initial trial, investigators said: "The semen that was found on the bed sheet where Robin was sleeping matches the defendant to a frequency over 1 and 700 billion."
Story was babysitting Cornell when they were attacked.
Cornell's mother Jan had stayed at her boyfriend's place for the night and discovered their bodies when she returned the next day.
Jan reportedly found the front door locked and entered the house through the back sliding doors, which were left ajar.
Upstairs, she found her daughter's lifeless body lying face down in the bathroom.
During the trial, Jan told the jury the last thing she told her daughter was "Good night, I'm going to Donnie's, I love you."
Throughout the trial, the defense argued the attack on Cornell and Story was personal and alleged Zieler had it out for Jan.
Attorney Lee Hollander said: "This sounds like someone was really angry at you."
Zeiler was ultimately found guilty of the double-murders in May but was also later charged with harassment of Jan, whom he sent a letter to from prison.
Amira Fox, a state attorney, said she hoped the verdict would bring a sense of peace to the victims' families.
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Fox said: "I hope the verdict and sentence recommendation have finally brought some sense of justice and closure to the families of Lisa Story and Robin Cornell.
"I want to thank them for their incredible patience and understanding as we all worked together to bring this case to closure over the years."
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