The Lisa Ziegert murder case has always intrigued me and it really bothers me that no one has been convicted of her murder. She was a hard working young woman that did everything right, went to school, graduated and came back to her hometown of Agawam, MA to teach. She also worked evenings at a gift shop. I wonder if the police or FBI are actively trying to solve this case...I certainly hope they are. The police were able to get a few eye witnesses of the evening that Lisa was murdered. The first witness was Lisa's sister visting the gift shop at 6 pm, the second witness was a customer that made a purchase and everything seemed fine with Lisa, the third was at 9 pm where a customer heard a banging sound coming from the back of the store but didn't see Lisa. At 9:15, a lady driving to an intersection witnessed a truck with two men trying to hold down a woman, and this truck drove off the road into the direction where Lisa's body would be found. Too bad no one got a facial description of these men. Anyone heard of any updates of this case?

There is a rumor or just general talk around Agawam that a cops son may have murdered her and that they may have been dating at some point and she broke it off... And he did not take the break up to well

There is a rumor or just general talk around Agawam that a cops son may have murdered her and that they may have been dating at some point and she broke it off... And he did not take the break up to well

Wow, that's interesting. According to the segment, Lisa was stabbed in the chest and neck. That gives me the impression that whoever killed her was enraged about something, or on drugs (like the Dorothy Donovan case).

This case has always bothered me. Just watching her mother and the students in the segment makes my eyes water. I hope that someday her killers will be found.

I heard that rumor by someone who lives in or around Agawam. I was told it was a common thought around town that the police covered up her murder to protect the son of a fellow officer....

This case has always bothered me. Just watching her mother and the students in the segment makes my eyes water. I hope that someday her killers will be found.

Lisa's mother really came across as a sweet lady in the segment. She just looked so emotionally drained and tired that she didn't even have the energy to cry. But the pain in her face and her voice still really came out. Her statement at the end of the segment always got to me...

"I think children always feel that nothing can happen to them. And when they lose someone who was so well known and well loved to them, it really hits home. Life isn't always fair. You have to be extra careful and sometimes even when you're extra careful, it doesn't matter. This CANNOT go unpunished. This can't be one of those situations where the person gets away. And the children have to got to know that. If it's important for us, it's even more important for them."

She remains in my prayers. :(

I too will never forget this case. Especially when one of her students said, while chocking back tears: "I wish there were more people in the world that were like her." That is such a tribute to how wonderful of a person she apparently was. This is an absolutely appalling crime.

Here's a case that doesn't get a whole lot of play on this site. Of course, there isn't all that much to say: she disappeared from the store where she worked, and she was found dead a few days later. A woman saw a Bronco-style truck pulling into the area where her body was found at about 9:15 on the night of her disappearance.

As these things go, I feel like there was more evidence (tire tracks, a general description of the truck in question) on this case than others like it. But I guess nothing has ever come of it.

A real shame.

I remember reading online some years ago that the police believe her killer to be someone local or who knew the area very well as her body was found in an isolated wooded area that is hidden from the public. If thats the case, I'm willing to bet that her killer or killer's probably watched her for a while at the store she worked at before kidnapping and killing her. Such a sad sad case.

I remember reading online some years ago that the police believe her killer to be someone local or who knew the area very well as her body was found in an isolated wooded area that is hidden from the public. If thats the case, I'm willing to bet that her killer or killer's probably watched her for a while at the store she worked at before kidnapping and killing her. Such a sad sad case.




Lisa Ziegert was a teacher right? She tought real young kids?

Lisa Ziegert was a teacher right? She tought real young kids?

Yes, you're correct. She also worked part time at a Hallmark store, which is where she was kidnapped and killed from.

I believe she taught students that were, I want to say in middle school. I would say kids that seemed like they were in 5th or 6th grade. But yeah that case is one, I have always had an eerie feeling about it. Agawam is a suburb of Springfield in southwest Massachusetts not far from the border with Connecticut.

But I think this is a classic case of the motive being sexual assault. It does not appear anything was taken from the store that Lisa Zeigert worked at. Or at least that was not revealed in the segment. It appears at least two people were involved. However it is possible only one was. My guess is she was probably subdued with a weapon and forced to the back room. Either she walked back there with the suspect or she was forcibly dragged back there.

It is interesting that someone would see the SUV going back into the area where the body was found. I do believe that probably was the vehicle of the suspect. Now from what the woman said and again I know eyewitness testimony can be shaky at best. However from what she described, the vehicle appeared to be a Ford Bronco or Chevy Blazer. It appeared that it was a mid to late 80's style of the vehicle, back when the vehicles looked more alike, in terms of the outline of the vehicles, especially at night. She described at least two men being in the vehicle. The driver and one man in the back with a woman whose head kept bobbing up and down.

I believe she taught students that were, I want to say in middle school. I would say kids that seemed like they were in 5th or 6th grade. But yeah that case is one, I have always had an eerie feeling about it. Agawam is a suburb of Springfield in southwest Massachusetts not far from the border with Connecticut.

But I think this is a classic case of the motive being sexual assault. It does not appear anything was taken from the store that Lisa Zeigert worked at. Or at least that was not revealed in the segment. It appears at least two people were involved. However it is possible only one was. My guess is she was probably subdued with a weapon and forced to the back room. Either she walked back there with the suspect or she was forcibly dragged back there.

It is interesting that someone would see the SUV going back into the area where the body was found. I do believe that probably was the vehicle of the suspect. Now from what the woman said and again I know eyewitness testimony can be shaky at best. However from what she described, the vehicle appeared to be a Ford Bronco or Chevy Blazer. It appeared that it was a mid to late 80's style of the vehicle, back when the vehicles looked more alike, in terms of the outline of the vehicles, especially at night. She described at least two men being in the vehicle. The driver and one man in the back with a woman whose head kept bobbing up and down.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but no money was taken, right? I remember that the back of the store was in disarray but I think Stack also said nothing in the front was taken or missing. If that's the case, then yes, sexual assault is the primary motive here. Plus, the local police think that her killer may have been someone who was watching her over a period of time to learn her habits as well as the stores. The rush time, the down time, how many times she took a bathroom break, etc.. to learn her ways while she was working at the store.

I wonder if maybe the killer was someone that was a store regular that she began to know over time and maybe bought things here and there that way he became a "familiar face" to her. When I was in high school, I worked a part time job and used to know some of the customers by name because they came in so often. Lisa may have done the same and thought one of these regulars was a nice guy.

I wonder if it was parent of one of her students.

One of these parents meets her at a school function. He becomes enamored with her. He goes to the store to flirt with her, but she refuses. He gets angry and kills her out of rage.

I wonder if it was parent of one of her students.

One of these parents meets her at a school function. He becomes enamored with her. He goes to the store to flirt with her, but she refuses. He gets angry and kills her out of rage.

Could be. I think it was definitely a local. The police say that the place where her body was found was so isolated and off the main roads that only locals know about it and you couldn't possibly just "stumble on it". Since she lived in a small town, odds are that she knew her killer, so your theory does make sense.

Sad, sad case.

It was quite depressing to see how one of her students reacted to her death. :( It doesn't seem like there are any new leads.

I remember reading online some years ago that the police believe her killer to be someone local or who knew the area very well as her body was found in an isolated wooded area that is hidden from the public. If thats the case, I'm willing to bet that her killer or killer's probably watched her for a while at the store she worked at before kidnapping and killing her. Such a sad sad case.

Definitely local. Transients don't kidnap girls at 9 AM, hold them for hours, and drop off their bodies in a wooded area. And though I don't think there is a lot of truth to the suspect getting away with murder due to being a local cop's son (the victim is somebody who would have struck at an officer's conscience in that chain of command), there is something fishy. If that Bronco vehicle is correct, he can't be that hard to find. I'd bet, however, that the suspect moved soon after the killing.

Definitely local. Transients don't kidnap girls at 9 AM, hold them for hours, and drop off their bodies in a wooded area. And though I don't think there is a lot of truth to the suspect getting away with murder due to being a local cop's son (the victim is somebody who would have struck at an officer's conscience in that chain of command), there is something fishy. If that Bronco vehicle is correct, he can't be that hard to find. I'd bet, however, that the suspect moved soon after the killing.

A bit of a correction between AM and PM. It's believed that Lisa went missing from the store from between 8:20 PM, when a customer was at the shop and everything was normal, and 9:00 PM, when a customer came in and found the shop apparently open for business, but Lisa was not there. By 9:15 PM, there was a witness who saw Lisa in the Bronco struggling with a man. This abduction and murder happened at night. Not at 9:00 in the morning.

By 9:15 PM, there was a witness who saw Lisa in the Bronco struggling with a man.

I don't think it was ever confirmed that it was Lisa in the bronco but the timing and location would make it seem likely since the witness account happened 15 minutes after the card shop was found abandoned and the bronco drove into the very woods that Lisa's body would be found a few days later.

If it was indeed Lisa in that car, I feel that's confirmation that the killer was a local resident. To get into the woods, the Bronco had to turn off the road and onto a private property. A stranger to a small town is not going to turn onto a private property to reach an area where he can rape and then kill a girl. Heck, a stranger wouldn't even have known you could drive into the woods from that property.

A bit of a correction between AM and PM. It's believed that Lisa went missing from the store from between 8:20 PM, when a customer was at the shop and everything was normal, and 9:00 PM, when a customer came in and found the shop apparently open for business, but Lisa was not there. By 9:15 PM, there was a witness who saw Lisa in the Bronco struggling with a man. This abduction and murder happened at night. Not at 9:00 in the morning.

Oh, thanks. The AM/PM thing sounded funny, but I was sure Stack said it was in the morning even if the night made sense, and her coworker came in the shop at 9 AM the next morning IIRC. Who knows. That was reckless of me, however, and I should have hit rewind.

Oh, thanks. The AM/PM thing sounded funny, but I was sure Stack said it was in the morning even if the night made sense, and her coworker came in the shop at 9 AM the next morning IIRC. Who knows. That was reckless of me, however, and I should have hit rewind.

I haven't seen the segment in quite a while. I thought it all happened at night so I went to get the info about the times from the UM wikia. Sometimes lots of detail is left out in their summaries and sometimes there's incorrect info.

Maybe these 3 events happened in the evening, customer around 8:20 saw Lisa in the store, customer around 9:00 found the store empty, witness around 9:15 saw a man and woman struggling in the bronco.

Then was it the next morning at 9:00am (about opening time) that a co-worker came in and found the shop still unlocked,with Lisa's things there, etc? I can't remember that part at all. But maybe that's where the 9:00am/9:00pm mixup happened?

I haven't seen the segment in quite a while. I thought it all happened at night so I went to get the info about the times from the UM wikia. Sometimes lots of detail is left out in their summaries and sometimes there's incorrect info.

Maybe these 3 events happened in the evening, customer around 8:20 saw Lisa in the store, customer around 9:00 found the store empty, witness around 9:15 saw a man and woman struggling in the bronco.

Then was it the next morning at 9:00am (about opening time) that a co-worker came in and found the shop still unlocked,with Lisa's things there, etc? I can't remember that part at all. But maybe that's where the 9:00am/9:00pm mixup happened?

That sounds likely, though it doesn't change the conclusion and thus is inconsequential to the case at hand.

Just to clear up any confusion about the timeline. A customer saw and spoke with Lisa on 8:20PM the night she vanished. Another customer came into the store at roughly 9PM and did not see Lisa or anyone else. This customer did, however, hear a commotion in the back. Police later matched her shoes imprints to the back of the bottom part of the door into the back of the store, theorizing that someone was holding her down on her back and she kicked the door as if to signal someone.

Her co-worker came to the store the following morning and found it unlocked and unattended with Lisa's car parked out front.

Lisa Ziegert did not disappear in the morning. She was abducted and murdered the night before her co-worker found the store unattended.

What's strange to me is that nobody saw the lights on in the card and gift shop? They were on all night! Admittedly, I don't know the area this took place in, but it seems like somebody would have drove by and thought it weird the lights were on in the middle of the night.

The customer at 9 p.m. is also weird. I don't think she was involved of course, but her coming in at that time seems weird. (did she think this small-town card shop was going to be open past 9 p.m.?) Thankfully they didn't kill her as well. Apparently she didn't see anyone, but I wonder if she noticed any vehicles in the parking lot. I wonder if Lisa heard her? Unfortunately she wasn't able to yell out for help.

I guess I forgot Lisa's father posted her several times a few years ago.

Weren't two or three assailants involved? One driving and one or two holding her down if what the eyewitness saw was related and correct?

Some have suggested this might have been a "personal" attack, and I do wonder if there is some truth to that. I wonder if there were any similar attacks/murders in the area during the time. None that we know about. I can't imagine who would do this though, she was seemingly loved by everyone.

Perhaps it was someone (with mental issues obviously) that had a strong infatuation for Lisa Ziegert. She was a pretty and friendly young girl and this person saw that she was working alone at night, threatened her with a gun or knife and made her go to the back room, eventually driving her to the woods where she was raped and killed. This case is very similar to the Tracy Kirkpatrick murder.

It seems like there are at least 2 assailants. That scene with the woman witnessing the car going down that secluded path is really creepy because you just know she isn't coming back...:eek:

What's strange to me is that nobody saw the lights on in the card and gift shop? They were on all night! Admittedly, I don't know the area this took place in, but it seems like somebody would have drove by and thought it weird the lights were on in the middle of the night.

If you go to street view on Google Maps and type 'Walnut Street Extension, Agawam, Massachusetts," you'll be placed right in front of the card shop to get a good look of the area.

The first thing that always struck me was this all went down on a busy street by small town standards. The right side of the building was the card shop, I'm not sure what the left side business was at the time. There's a bowling alley right next door, couldn't be more than 10 feet from the card shop. There's a strip mall with a long line of different businesses across the street to the right. An old article I read online said there was a sandwich shop across the street that always had a perfect view of the card shop. There is nowhere to hide behind the card shop (no parking lot) because the building ends into hill that declines immediately.

Whomever abducted her from the card shop was brazen and could very easily be spotted by many witnesses. If this had happened late at night or during a graveyard shift, it would be so much easier to kidnap someone. But not at 8:30 p.m. on a spring evening a few days before Easter. There's no way every single one of those businesses was closed at the time. It really bugs me that nobody saw anything. I think it was pure luck that they were able to get out undetected. I also think it was luck that more customers other than the woman didn't walk into the store while they were holding Lisa in the back room.

Here's a link to the story written in 2013 about the DA investigating the case. If you scroll to the bottom for the comment section, a couple Agawam residents had some interesting things to say...

I have lived in Agawam all my life. We have all known, since this happened, who is responsible. When you have friends in "high" places, it is easy to get a pass. With any luck, the new DNA testing will prove what we have all known for 20 years. Attack me if you want but the truth will come out.

my daughter knew her and said it was a cop who killed her.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/01/investigators_press_on_with_20.html

If you go to street view on Google Maps and type 'Walnut Street Extension, Agawam, Massachusetts," you'll be placed right in front of the card shop to get a good look of the area...

I did just that on Google Maps. Was the card shop in that small beige building with so signage on it? If it is, I don't think it's a card shop anymore, it looks like nothing occupies that building at all. And you're right about all the small businesses in that area and no one hearing a cry for help or any suspicious activity going on that night. Very strange.

I did just that on Google Maps. Was the card shop in that small beige building with so signage on it? If it is, I don't think it's a card shop anymore, it looks like nothing occupies that building at all. And you're right about all the small businesses in that area and no one hearing a cry for help or any suspicious activity going on that night. Very strange.

Yes, that's the building. I think it's been empty for years. No businesses running out of it at the moment.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad64/andy80_bucket/LisaZ_zpsle8hc5sx.png

Here's some images from what it looked like at the time of the murder...

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad64/andy80_bucket/LisaZ3_zpsjwwrht2u.png

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad64/andy80_bucket/LisaZ2_zpspkesrtan.png

Here's a link to the story written in 2013 about the DA investigating the case. If you scroll to the bottom for the comment section, a couple Agawam residents had some interesting things to say...





http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/01/investigators_press_on_with_20.html



Why don't they just say the cop's (or former cop's) name if they "know" that this is the killer? It seems like that would be more helpful.

I remember reading some other comments in a similar article (might have been the same one actually) where someone wrote that they thought a guy that worked at a carpet cleaning place nearby the card shop was the killer. They said that he and an accomplice were the perpetrators and that he had been watching her work routines in the previous days or weeks to get an idea of when she would be alone. They said that this carpet cleaning guy moved away shortly after the rape and murder.

So apparently it was either a cop and an accomplice or a carpet cleaning guy and an accomplice.

Sounds like a crime of opportunity to me the man who did this probably watched her for some time next thing you know he sees her alone in the store and probably thinking it's the perfect time to strike she is alone and no witnesses probably wasn't his first brush with the law either

Police should have done a background check on the carpenter sure it probably wasn't his first brush with the law also they needed to check local prisons to see if any felons had escaped or been released at the time

If it really was a police officer who is the culprit, does anyone else find it ironic that a police car is in the picture of the card store?

It couldn't have been a police officer because the witness said a man and a woman were struggling inside a truck police officers don't drive trucks last time I checked unless he was off duty. I still think an ex convict was responsible I lived in Massachusetts at the time I was 13 years old and crime was hot were I lived there were alot of drug dealers not trying to be racist but mostly pimps that's why I think who ever did this had to have been either released from prison or had a criminal record

I have a hard time believing that "everyone in town" knows who the culprit is or even a large portion of people. Sure, fear is a powerful thing. But remember Lisa Ziegert: Didn't 1,000 people (or something like that) attend her wake? She was a well-loved and well-respected member of the community. 1,000 people+ cherished this lady and haven't raised hell trying to get this guy arrested? I know lack of evidence is a problem, of course, but you would think that many of these people would come forward anonymously even. Even if a police officer was their prime suspect, there are other avenues (alternative agencies). I would think the tips would be flooding in over the past 20+ years. You could use a payphone then, submit an anonymous tip online now..I'm very skeptical about it. My guess is that there is gossip and that's about it.

Another poster mentioned this, but this case is awfully similar to Tracy Kirkpatrick. I believe there is a lot of belief in that town as to who the culprit is, too.

I have a hard time believing that "everyone in town" knows who the culprit is or even a large portion of people. Sure, fear is a powerful thing. But remember Lisa Ziegert: Didn't 1,000 people (or something like that) attend her wake? She was a well-loved and well-respected member of the community. 1,000 people+ cherished this lady and haven't raised hell trying to get this guy arrested? I know lack of evidence is a problem, of course, but you would think that many of these people would come forward anonymously even. Even if a police officer was their prime suspect, there are other avenues (alternative agencies). I would think the tips would be flooding in over the past 20+ years. You could use a payphone then, submit an anonymous tip online now..I'm very skeptical about it. My guess is that there is gossip and that's about it.

I agree. Everyone in the town may suspect someone but no chance that a woman who was so loved and befriended by so many doesn't have at least one person who goes to a higher authority than the local police if they KNOW FOR A FACT who the killer is, to get justice.

What a lazy job by authorities this guy is still on the loose and they didn't even do a background check on local felons in the area did they even question anyone??

It's been mentioned that she was raped before being stabbed to death. Has the DNA from the crime scene even been put into the database yet? This case seems like another example of very crappy police work.

Somehow I missed this a couple months ago but Lisa's case was recently featured on the show 'Crime Watch Daily.' It includes police video footage of the card shop from the night of the abduction and a closeup shot of the storage room door that has the kick mark on it where the struggle took place. And although it's not shown, the investigator mentions that there was a small amount of blood in the storage room.

At the murder site was more signs of an obvious struggle. Her shoulders were out of their sockets. On top of the other stab wounds, her throat had been slit. DNA from the murder site is currently being tested.

Something I was surprised to learn that I don't think was ever mentioned before; during the days leading up to her murder, Lisa told loved ones she feared she was being watched. She was feeling uneasy at the store. She frequently asked her sister and a few friends to visit her so she wouldn't be alone at the card shop.

If anyone wants to watch the feature, go to the forbidden site and type in 'Crime Watch Daily: Mystery in Massachusetts as Special-Ed Teacher Disappears'

http://raycomgroup.worldnow.com/story/30476736/lisa-ziegert-a-mystery-waiting-to-be-solved

Somehow I missed this a couple months ago but Lisa's case was recently featured on the show 'Crime Watch Daily.' It includes police video footage of the card shop from the night of the abduction and a closeup shot of the storage room door that has the kick mark on it where the struggle took place. And although it's not shown, the investigator mentions that there was a small amount of blood in the storage room.

At the murder site was more signs of an obvious struggle. Her shoulders were out of their sockets. On top of the other stab wounds, her throat had been slit. DNA from the murder site is currently being tested.

Something I was surprised to learn that I don't think was ever mentioned before; during the days leading up to her murder, Lisa told loved ones she feared she was being watched. She was feeling uneasy at the store. She frequently asked her sister and a few friends to visit her so she wouldn't be alone at the card shop.

If anyone wants to watch the feature, go to the forbidden site and type in 'Crime Watch Daily: Mystery in Massachusetts as Special-Ed Teacher Disappears'

http://raycomgroup.worldnow.com/story/30476736/lisa-ziegert-a-mystery-waiting-to-be-solved



Sounds like the work of the Connecticut River Valley Killer. Wonder if it could be him that was responsible

Shoulders out of sockets?! What does that mean?

Shoulders out of sockets?! What does that mean?
She struggled so much her shoulders were dislocated in the struggle.

It's a really gruesome detail I hadn't been aware of :(

She struggled so much her shoulders were dislocated in the struggle.

It's a really gruesome detail I hadn't been aware of :(

Indeed. She didn't go down without a fight at the card shop or the murder site. :(

Sounds like the work of the Connecticut River Valley Killer. Wonder if it could be him that was responsible

I'm not sure about that. The victims of the Valley Killer were not sexually assaulted. Lisa was. And the Valley victims were much easier targets of opportunity. Half of them were hitchhiking and the others were abducted/attacked in very remote locations between midnight and 2:00 in the morning. Very easy to pull off a murder undetected in those circumstances. Abducting Lisa was going to take significantly more work and risk since the card shop was in the center of town, surrounded by businesses (many that were still open) during early evening hours. That makes me think she had been watched, just as she had feared, for a while so the killer knew her routine and waited for her to be alone. That's more work than the Valley Killer was used to.

I think it was extreme luck that Lisa's killer ended up getting her out of the card shop with no witnesses seeing anything.

Why wouldn't they have made that known in the original airing? It makes me want to find the person that killed this poor girl that much more.

Ugh. What a detail. I can actually hear RS discussing this. Now I'm going to wonder why they left that detail out...

Why wouldn't they have made that known in the original airing? It makes me want to find the person that killed this poor girl that much more.

Ugh. What a detail. I can actually hear RS discussing this. Now I'm going to wonder why they left that detail out...

Very strange, isn't it? I know UM intentionally left some facts out of their cases but someone fearing for their safety was never one of them, to my knowledge. I have no explanation as to why they would leave this information out.

Just watched "Crime Watch Daily" on the forbidden site and I'm glad that this case is still being worked on by the police and that it's getting media attention. The Ziegert family need some closure, they've been through so much for so long.

Please be aware, the information about her shoulders is NOT ACCURATE! Thanks to you all who keep the discussion alive concerning Lisa's case.

Dave Ziegert

Please be aware, the information about her shoulders is NOT ACCURATE! Thanks to you all who keep the discussion alive concerning Lisa's case.

Dave Ziegert

Thanks for that! I was very confused as to why that detail would have been left out.

I honestly hope your family gets the answers it deserves.

Thanks for that! I was very confused as to why that detail would have been left out.

I honestly hope your family gets the answers it deserves.

I think you're referring to Lisa feeling uneasy being alone at the card shop and her telling loved ones she feared she was being watched. My mouth was on the floor when that was stated because it was never mentioned before.

The issue with the shoulders was stated by one of Lisa's friends when she was interviewed during the Crime Watch episode. I guess she was mistaken.

I think it is more likely Lisa was a victim of the presumed central Mass killer. A little girl was murdered in a rural part of Sturbridge in the mid 90s and Molly Bish was killed in Ware a few years later. These places are not that far from Agawam.

I watch Crime Watch DAILY. Here it is on a broadcast channel in the afternoon, replayed in the middle of the night. I usually tape a week's worth of episodes and watch them on the weekend. The show is a little sensationalistic, desperately seeking to get credit for solving crimes. They hired a lady just because her father was a serial killer (a fact the viewer is repeatedly reminded of) but they usually feature two or three cold cases a week. Lately they have been featuring pet cases of Phelps, the guy who used to have his own show featuring a secret convicted serial killer informant. The internet figured who it was but I forget. I think the show is worth watching.

I think it is more likely Lisa was a victim of the presumed central Mass killer. A little girl was murdered in a rural part of Sturbridge in the mid 90s and Molly Bish was killed in Ware a few years later. These places are not that far from Agawam.

I watch Crime Watch DAILY. Here it is on a broadcast channel in the afternoon, replayed in the middle of the night. I usually tape a week's worth of episodes and watch them on the weekend. The show is a little sensationalistic, desperately seeking to get credit for solving crimes. They hired a lady just because her father was a serial killer (a fact the viewer is repeatedly reminded of) but they usually feature two or three cold cases a week. Lately they have been featuring pet cases of Phelps, the guy who used to have his own show featuring a secret convicted serial killer informant. The internet figured who it was but I forget. I think the show is worth watching.
I believe Bish was actually abducted from Warren and was found in Palmer, but Ware is right nearby.

I believe Bish was actually abducted from Warren and was found in Palmer, but Ware is right nearby.

thanks for the correction. at least I didn't say west brookfield

I think it is more likely Lisa was a victim of the presumed central Mass killer. A little girl was murdered in a rural part of Sturbridge in the mid 90s and Molly Bish was killed in Ware a few years later. These places are not that far from Agawam.

Let's look at the specifics of these 3 killings:

*Lisa Ziegert - murdered April 15, 1992 - Agawam, Mass. Her remains were found 4 days later on the edge of town, two miles away.

*Holly Piirainen - murdered August 5, 1993 - Sturbridge, Mass. Her remains were found 2 1/2 months later in Brimfield, Mass, six miles away.

*Molly Bish - murdered June 27, 2000 - Warren, Mass. Her remains were found three years later in Palmer, five miles away.

All three murders took place within a 20 mile radius. But there's a passage of time, seven years, before Molly Bish was eventually killed.

There's some obvious differences, though. Molly and Lisa were "older" victims, age 17 and 24. Holly Piiraninen was just 10 when she was abducted and killed.

All evidence seems to suggest that both Molly and Lisa's abductions were planned out and took significant risk. Both were nearly witnessed; A customer walked in the card shop while Lisa was being held in the storage room and a mother and her two little kids had walked on to the beach within minutes of Molly's abduction...(she was dropped off at the beach at 10:00, and Molly was already gone by 10:08 when the mother and her two kids walked on to the beach and passed Molly's lifeguard chair.)

It's unlikely that Holly's abduction was planned well in advance. She was a little kid that was visiting her grandparents, went next door to see the neighbor's new puppies and she never returned. She was in the absolute worst place at the worst time.

If any of these killings are connected, I'm thinking it's Holly and Molly, which were just four miles apart. My gut tells me Lisa's killer was an Agawam resident given that the [suspected] car driving her to the murder site went through a private property. And we now know that she was spooked for a while and afraid that she was being watched before her abduction. I just feel it was less likely a complete stranger to the area would be able to pull off the abduction and killing the way he did.

often the first murder in a series is close to where the killer lives. there were also some later murders in the Worcester area although I don't have any info on them.

Forensic Files II to air segment on Agawam murder of Lisa Ziegert

Her highly-publicized homicide remained unsolved for 25 years despite extensive efforts by investigators. Using new scientific Phenotyping testing on DNA found at the scene, police assigned to Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni’s office identified Gary Schara as a suspect in the case.

Schara, of West Springfield, was arrested for the crime on Sept. 16, 2017. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Sept. 25, 2019, waiving his right to a trial.

https://www.masslive.com/news/2021/07/forensic-files-ii-to-air-segment-on-agawam-murder-of-lisa-ziegert.html