Caseyville man charged with murder of woman in Granite City in 1993
By Charles Bolinger
Editor • Lightning may not strike twice but new DNA technology has struck twice in May when it comes to solving area “cold cases.” On May 22, Madison County State’s Attorney, Thomas Haine, charged Albert Lee Zigler, 70, with two counts of first-degree murder.
The counts stem from an incident on Nov. 9, 1993, when he was charged with beating Randi Gail Sperino, 32, about the head with an object, allegedly bludgeoning her to death. The first count charges that he had no lawful justification and he intended to kill her. The second count charges that he had no lawful justification and that by beating her about the head with a bludgeon, he knew such acts created a strong likelihood of great bodily harm or causing her death. Both counts are Class M felonies.
Sperino was last seen walking in Granite City before getting into what a witness described as a late 1970s to early 1980s, dark-colored pickup truck in an alley between Cayuga and 22nd streets around 8 p.m. Her nude body was later discovered in an empty field nearby, bludgeoned to death. Zigler lived in a mobile home park in the vicinity at that time. Investigators said Sperino was from Charleston, Missouri but was born and raised in Granite City, where she was visiting her father.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office spent 33 years investigating and interviewing hundreds of people about Sperino and Zigler. Investigators performed numerous tests using DNA samples collected from the scene, running them through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) since 1998, to no avail. A lead finally opened after the sheriff’s office turned to Othram, a Texas-based company that specializes in modern forensic genealogy technology. That technology identified Zigler as the suspect.
Earlier in May, DNA technology led to the capture of a perpetrator who committed a crime in 2022.
Associate Judge John Hackett has since appointed a public defendant to represent the defendant, and scheduled his detention hearing for 1:15 p.m. on May 27. Zigler is currently in custody at the Madison County Jail in Edwardsville.
