ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 On the third day of a high-profile evidentiary hearing in Orange County, forensic experts took the stand Wednesday as the legal team for 80-year-old Tommy Zeigler sought to use modern DNA testing to challenge a nearly half-century-old murder conviction.<\/p>\n
Zeigler, who has been on death row since his 1975 conviction for the Christmas Eve slayings of his wife, his in-laws and another man at his family\u2019s furniture store in Winter Garden, sat in the courtroom in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank as forensic scientists described tests performed on blood samples and other evidence preserved from the original investigation.<\/p>\n
Independent forensic scientist Richard Eikelenboom, called by Zeigler\u2019s defense, used PowerPoint slides and archived photographs to help explain his analysis and the results of DNA testing on decades-old samples.<\/p>\n
[WATCH: Modern DNA tests challege key evidence in 1976 Zeigler murder conviction]<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Mr. Zeigler had murdered Perry Edwards, would you expect to have found a similar amount of Perry Edwards\u2019 blood spatter on Mr. Zeigler\u2019s clothes? Eikelenboom was asked. \u201cYes, I would,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
When questioned about the durability of biological evidence, Eikelenboom said modern testing techniques can detect and identify DNA even after long periods. \u201cWas DNA testing able to identify Perry\u2019s blood on his own clothing despite the passage of 50 years?\u201d Zeigler\u2019s attorney asked. \u201cYes,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
State prosecutors, however, pressed Eikelenboom on perceived weaknesses and errors in one of his past written reports. During cross-examination, the witness conceded at least one mistake regarding the autopsy details for Eunice Zeigler, one of the victims. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou had indicated in your report that Eunice Zeigler was shot at a close range, right?\u201d a prosecutor asked. \u201cYes, that was a mistake,\u201d Eikelenboom acknowledged. <\/p>\n
[WATCH: State Attorney Worrell seeks fingerprint exams in Tommy Zeigler case]<\/p>\n
When questioned about the location of the wound he had cited, Eikelenboom agreed he had made a mistake: \u201cShe was shot in the back of the head, right?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d he answered.<\/p>\n
Zeigler has long maintained that he did not commit the killings. He says he walked in on an armed robbery at the store and was shot while struggling with the real assailant. <\/p>\n
His defense team argues that the new DNA analysis undermines the state\u2019s case and could point to alternate perpetrators.<\/p>\n
The hearing, which is expected to resume Thursday, will continue to examine forensic evidence. At its conclusion, the judge may grant a new trial if she determines the new DNA findings materially affect Zeigler\u2019s conviction.<\/p>\n
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