Yesterday, it was announced that there was a "significant development" in Lisa Ziegert's murder case. I didn't get my hopes up too much at first, since the same thing was said last year about the DNA phenotype composite. However, this morning, an article from the Boston Globe announced that, according to information from the DA's office, Lisa's alleged killer will be named today! The article mentions that it has not been released whether or not the suspect is still alive.

The name will be released at 2pm EDT during a press conference. MassLive will carry live video of the announcement.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/09/18/agawam-cold-case-solved-suspect-brutal-murder-lisa-ziegert-named-monday/A9aWdQ3jXxABTMi21bjXTO/story.html

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/09/reports_da_anthony_gulluni_to.html#incart_std

Great news! But, even if they name a suspect, what happens then? Do they charge the suspect or now everyone just knows the name of the suspect and he/she can go about their daily lives? (Unless dead, of course.)

Gary Schara was arrested and charged with kidnapping, aggravated rape, and murder https://www.google.com/amp/wwlp.com/2017/09/18/news-conference-on-major-developments-in-lisa-ziegert-case/amp/

Nothing to add here, except to say I am surprised about the development and also excited for the family.

The DA made the announcement at a news conference with Zeigert's family in the room. https://t.co/pAOQiCLGqV

It's great that they now have charged a suspect. Hopefully it is the right guy

Apparently there was a written confession

https://www.google.com/amp/s/articles.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/09/suspect_identified_in_murder_o.amp

Some important information from the conference:
The DA announced that DNA evidence at the crime scene was linked to Schara. He had been a suspect in the case since 1993. Recently, they decided to look into the original suspects in the case. A witness came forward and gave investigators a handwritten note, allegedly from Schara. In the note, he allegedly confesses to Lisa's murder. When investigators tried to get a DNA sample from Schara, he fled and then attempted to commit suicide. He was found in a Connecticut hospital where DNA was taken and he was arrested.

My husband is a friend of her brother David, so I've always paid close attention to this one. Funny... I was just watching the episode with her segment on Friday and saw the composite for the first time. The articles don't really say much about how his arrest came about. I'm assuming they were able to match Schara's DNA with the crime scene?

Wow! I'm thrilled they have arrested someone in this case.

Lisa sounded like an awesome person, so it's great to see progress and hopefully justice for her family, friends, coworkers, and students.

I'm speechless. :eek:

I re-watched the segment today on Amazon Prime and later read the articles. According to the DA, the guy had a motive, however they will not release it yet.

Great news!

This case has always bothered me immensely. I'm so glad a suspect is in custody.

Wonderful news. Another break in a case that I thought would remain unsolved.

I re-watched the segment today on Amazon Prime and later read the articles. According to the DA, the guy had a motive, however they will not release it yet.

I'm very eager to hear it, although I figure that info probably won't be released for a while.

All we really know is Gary Schara was 23 at the time of the murder. Now I want to know was he stalking her? Was he planning this for a while? Did she turn down his advances and snap and do this as a spur of the moment thing? Was he a local resident, as I have suspected?

Had he been spying on her and was he the reason she felt like she was being watched and was apprehensive about being alone at the card shop? I'm still shocked UM never included that info in the segment.

I guess one other unanswered question I'd like to know is if Schara had an accomplice? I remember the eyewitness on UM who thought she saw a man and woman struggling in the back seat of a car as it was driving towards the spot where Lisa's body was found. If that woman was Lisa, then at least one other person had to be involved.

I feel bad for the witness from the store. She must've been devastated at the time knowing she could've potentially saved Lisa if instead of walking away she had gone to a neighboring business for help. I am glad she didn't go to the back room as it would've put her in danger as well.

That said, she had no way of knowing what was going on, and I'm sure she felt really uncomfortable in the empty store with the strange banging and just wanted to get out of there. I certainly don't blame her for not doing anything. and I hope she never blamed herself.

The interesting thing is I get the sense Lisa might've been left there alone for a while since she was apparently lying on the floor banging on the door with her feet. That's very unusual in an abduction/murder scenario.

I'm glad that someone has finally been arrested and hope that Lisa and her family receive the justice that they deserve. It's been good to see resolution on some of these old cases like this one and the Donald Eugene Webb one.

The latest of what we know: 9 takeaways from Gary Schara's arraignment in 1992 Lisa Ziegert homicide case.

Gary E. Schara, the West Springfield man accused in the 1992 slaying of Lisa Ziegert, denied charges of murder, aggravated rape and kidnapping Tuesday morning in Westfield District Court.

A judge ordered Schara, 48, held without bail. His next hearing is Nov. 21.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni offered brief remarks about the case after the hearing. Below, a summary of the key details Gulluni offered.


The crime appears to be random.

"At this point we do not believe there was a pre-existing relationship," between Schara and Ziegert, Gulluni said.

The district attorney added that he believes it's "fair to say" Ziegert was targeted at random.


Schara faces life in prison, without parole.

A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole, and Gulluni said prosecutors will seek that maximum penalty.

"We will absolutely seek the maximum punishment under law," Gulluni said.


Schara has lived outside of Western Massachusetts.

The suspect is a graduate of Longmeadow High School, and has been identified by officials as a West Springfield resident.

But Gulluni said Tuesday investigators believe he has also lived outside of Western Massachusetts at times in the two-plus decades since his alleged crimes.

"I believe there were times in the past 25 years where he was in other parts of the country," Gulluni said. "But for at least the preceding years until today he's been in the region, in West Springfield."


Investigators believe Schara acted alone.

While rumors about potential accomplices have persisted since the early 1990s, Gulluni said investigators believe no other suspects were involved in Ziegert's slaying.


Gulluni's office "vetted" a number of potential suspects.

Over the course of the investigation, Gulluni said, "hundreds" of names were identified. Schara himself was identified as a person of interest as early as 1993.

"Many of those people, especially in the last couple years under my administration, were vetted, were looked at, were contacted for DNA, and were excluded," Gulluni said. "So there's names out there, over the years, that are like Mr. Schara's, that were there for a long, long time."


Schara had "limited" contact with law enforcement over the years.

Officials have not said how Schara landed on law enforcement's radar as a person of interest in the case, and Gulluni on Tuesday declined to comment on the suspect's criminal history.

Citing "CORI implications" — referring to the state's laws on the release of criminal records — Gulluni said "that will become public" when asked about Schara's past. Gulluni did add, though, that Schara's "involvement with law enforcement was really very limited."


Schara was adopted, and has an adult son.

Gulluni offered a few details about the suspect's family, saying Schara was adopted. His father passed away but his mother is still alive, Gulluni said, adding that Schara also has an adult son who lives outside the area.


Schara worked in Western Massachusetts.

Gulluni said Schara worked in the region, but declined to identify the suspect's employer. "I just think that would be difficult for his co-workers and put undue pressure on them," the district attorney said.


Gulluni plans to speak with the Ziegert family again today.

In an aside at the end of the remarks, Gulluni said he expected to have a conversation with Dianne "Dee" Ziegert, Lisa's mother, later today.

Members of the Ziegert family — including her mother; her father, George Ziegert; and her sister, Lynne Ziegert Rogerson — attended and spoke at Monday's press conference announcing Schara's arrest.

The family has expressed appreciation for the investigators who have worked on the case for over 25 years. "I don't think people can imagine how many people were involved through the law enforcement over the years, and they just kept on with it and kept on with it. It just boggled our mind with the fact that that would happen," George Ziegert said.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/09/gary_schara_arraignment_takeaways.html

Oh, this is great news. This one always stuck with me. I'm so glad for Lisa's family.

Cheers,
Matt

Some more links for anyone interested.

Lisa's killer being captured gives renewed hope for the families of Holly Piirainen and Molly Bish, two other Massachusetts cold cases. Dee Ziegert contacted the Bish family this week...

http://wwlp.com/2017/09/20/lisa-ziegerts-mother-reached-out-to-family-of-molly-bish/

http://www.telegram.com/news/20170920/bish-piirainen-families-encouraged-by-arrest-in-western-mass-murder-case

Here's details of what we now know about Gary Schara.

Except for some drama over a custody battle with his estranged wife, he led a somewhat quiet life. But ironically, several months after Lisa's murder, Schara went to get help for his custody battle from some of the same law enforcement who were desperately trying to find Lisa's killer.

The question most talked about following Schara's arrest goes something like this: How can a man accused of committing such a depraved act on a stranger have remained below the radar for 25 years?

One retired investigator may have offered the most prophetic theory months after Ziegert's killing.

"People are looking for a guy with a foot growing out of his head," Detective Lt. Robert D. Campbell, bubbling with frustration 12 months into the investigation, told a reporter on the one-year anniversary of Ziegert's slaying. "This is someone who has blended right back into society. It's like a chameleon."

So far, the detective appears largely correct. Schara was adopted and grew up in Longmeadow, investigators have said. The only oddity upon his graduation in 1987 is that by most accounts, Schara made nary a blip in a wealthy suburban school district that churns out over-achievers.

Several Longmeadow High School alumni who graduated with him in 1987, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they struggled to remember Schara at all. His yearbook does not indicate he was involved in any sport, club or activity. In a community enthralled with engagement, Schara seemed a ghost who glided through the system unnoticed. His younger, brother, Brian, was a standout on the football and baseball teams.

Though Schara is similarly a ghost on social media, he appeared to come into his own after high school, gravitated to customer service jobs, developed friends and even played team sports. He was reportedly in a long-term relationship at the time of his arrest.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/09/who_is_gary_schara_accused_in_lisa_ziegert_case.html

The case was recently featured on Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen:


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For some reason, Part 3 wasn't put on YouTube (yet) and is available on their Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/crimewatchdaily/videos/1753372518020866/

After Schara's arrest on September 14th, law enforcement officials announced that he became a suspect as early as 1993, one year after Lisa's murder. But they still decline to confirm how he became a person of interest, which I guess isn't surprising.

A relative of Schara's ex-wife Joyce (who died in 2014) gave a series of interviews based on anonymity, and the relative said Joyce stumbled across some disturbing "writings," or a diary, that frightened her and prompted her to alert authorities in 1993. Her family members did not believe her because she had a problem with alcoholism.

For more on this, check out this link...

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/10/late_ex-wife_of_accused_lisa_z.html

It's also interesting to read the comment section. Some residents are not happy with the Agawam Police Department. One person claimed they are being investigated by the FBI? I cannot confirm it. Just relaying what the poster said.

It's been over a year since Schara was arrested and things are moving...very, very slowly.

A few weeks back, a brief pretrial conference was held. The prosecution made a request to take a buccal swab from Schara for DNA testing. They also want to get a handwriting sample from Schara. This will not happen until November 15th. And another pretrial conference is set for April 17, 2019.

https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/09/handwriting_sample_lisa_ziegert_case.html

I'm not exactly happy with this progress so far. Schara has been in jail since September of 2017 and the state is just NOW asking for a DNA sample? And another pretrial is scheduled for this April, which just makes it feel like the actual trial is waaaaaay too far away from starting.

Update as of yesterday:

Two years after his arrest for Lisa Ziegert's murder, Gary Schara has changed his plea to guilty of first degree murder. He has now been sentenced to life in prison without parole. To see comments from Lisa's mother, click on the link...

https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampden-county/cold-case-murder-closed-after-27-years/

Yes!

Matt

Dateline is doing a profile on this case tonight. Looks like UM did provide hundreds of tips but they went nowhere. Hopefully at the end of the segment we’ll got more info and maybe a motive.

F this guy. Hope they bury him under the jail.

The two hour episode of Dateline is a good watch for those who want to see a detailed look of the case throughout the 25 years it was unsolved.

Gary Schara had his inner demons but it looks as though he never killed again after he murdered Lisa. Along with his original suicide letter, he also had written a letter to the Ziegerts, apologizing to them for all the pain he caused. He said he thought about turning himself in to the police many times but just wasn't man enough to do it.

It was interesting that they showed a taped interview investigators had with Schara in 2002. He had refused to submit his DNA because of....cloning. Investigators tried to trick him in to getting his DNA by giving him a water bottle but he didn't fall for it.

Schara gave his wife, at the time, a music box that was believed to be bought from the card shop that Lisa worked. But we don't know if Schara took it with him the night he abducted Lisa or if he had been in the card shop at an earlier date and that's how he discovered Lisa and possibly became infatuated.

Schara's wife had expressed her concerns to her divorce attorney that Schara was the one who killed Lisa. She even remembered him coming home late the very night Lisa went missing covered with a few cuts and bruises. In 1993, the attorney passed this information on to the police. But she was not seen as a credible witness because of her alcoholism, depression and an ugly custody battle.

Another sad aspect that got mercilessly resolved was the suspicion of Ed Borgatti Jr., who was the roommate of Lisa's boyfriend. A rumor among the locals was that Lisa had stopped by and caught her boyfriend and Ed in bed together...and that Ed had eventually killed Lisa so their secret relationship wouldn't become public. Who started this rumor and where it came from is unknown but it sort of took on a life of it's own and never went away. When Lisa's case was profiled on Unsolved Mysteries, the majority of the calls that came in pointed the finger at Borgatti. Likewise, when the phenotype photo of the killer was released in 2017, the majority of calls to police fingered Borgatti. Borgatti wasn't just close friends with Lisa but the entire Ziegert family. He was even a paul bearer at her funeral. They remained close throughout the years and the Ziegerts never once thought he was involved. This weight has finally been lifted off his shoulders.

Schara's change of heart, changing his plea to guilty of first degree murder is almost unheard of. But it spared the Ziegerts the stress of a trial. After everything they have endured, it's the ending they deserve.

Here's an interesting read that was posted this past June.

It's the story of Noelle DesLauriers. She briefly dated Gary Schara while in high school in 1986. Over the years, the two kept in touch. After her marriage ended, she and Schara rekindled their relationship and they had now been dating for two years when the investigation closed in on him for Lisa Ziegert's murder.

It's a fascinating read about someone who remembers being glued to the TV every day, watching the news about the Ziegert investigation, hoping desperately that the killer would be caught and the entire time, she had this whole relationship with the actual killer.

Also, the confession letter Schara wrote was to DesLauriers. It said...

'“You are going to find out some awful things about me today. They will tell you I abducted, raped, and murdered a young woman approximately 25 years ago. It is true. All of it. I had no intention of killing her when I grabbed her but events spun out of my control. And in the eyes of the law it is all the same. I have never regretted anything so much…. I always knew one day it would catch up to me & now it has. I received a text [from my roommate] last night that the state police were at the house with important papers for me. That will be a warrant to take DNA & that will send me away for life…. I have never really been or felt normal. From a very young age I was fascinated by abduction & bondage. I could never keep it too far from my mind for long. On that fateful day, I let myself do something terrible. I’ve never forgiven myself of that…. I also never did anything of the like again. I hated what happened. I despised myself. I thought of turning myself in hundreds of times over the years but I am truly a coward. Today it will all end. I will either take my own life or face the music as it were…. —G.”'

Here's the link....

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2021/06/22/noelle-deslauriers/

'“You are going to find out some awful things about me today. They will tell you I abducted, raped, and murdered a young woman approximately 25 years ago. It is true. All of it. I had no intention of killing her when I grabbed her but events spun out of my control. And in the eyes of the law it is all the same. I have never regretted anything so much…. I always knew one day it would catch up to me & now it has. I received a text [from my roommate] last night that the state police were at the house with important papers for me. That will be a warrant to take DNA & that will send me away for life…. I have never really been or felt normal. From a very young age I was fascinated by abduction & bondage. I could never keep it too far from my mind for long. On that fateful day, I let myself do something terrible. I’ve never forgiven myself of that…. I also never did anything of the like again. I hated what happened. I despised myself. I thought of turning myself in hundreds of times over the years but I am truly a coward. Today it will all end. I will either take my own life or face the music as it were…. —G.”'



Well.. I'll give him credit. Doing the right thing 25 years late is better than never doing the right thing.