New clues unfold in 1990 Cape Coral double-murder

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — New information has emerged in connection to a former 26-year-old case.

Joseph Zieler has been accused of raping, then killing 11-year-old Robin Cornell and 32-year-old Lisa Story in 1990.

However, discovery documents now reveal someone may have stalked the two before murdering them.

Janice Cornell, Robin’s mother, as well as several neighbors, were concerned about a “peeping Tom” lurking in the neighborhood in the days leading up to the murder.

Cornell told investigators she hadn’t slept much in the three days before the murder due to noises keeping her awake.

On May 9, the day before the murder, she looked outside her upstairs bedroom window and noticed a man staring at her.

She said he stared for several minutes, smiled, then left.

When Cornell arrived home the next morning from her boyfriend’s house, she told investigators the front door was deadbolted. When she knocked, she heard someone coming down the stairs, but nobody came to the door.

Once she was able to enter, Cornell discovered the bodies of Story and Cornell.

Zieler was arrested on Sept. 28 after a DNA test linked him to the crime. He entered a “Not Guilty” plea at his Oct. 5 court appearance.

If convicted, he faces two counts of sexual battery, two counts of murder and a charge for burglary with assault.

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