Granite City cold case from 1993 solved through DNA genealogy. Here's what to know

A 70-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in the 1993 killing of Randy Gail Sperino, whose body was found in a rural Granite City field.

Investigators may have cracked the decades-old case using forensic genetic genealogy, comparing crime scene DNA with samples from commercial ancestry testing sites.

Here are key takeaways:

• Albert L. “Buddy” Zigler, 70, was charged May 22 with two counts of first-degree murder in the 1993 death of Randy Gail Sperino, whose naked body was found in a rural Granite City field on Nov. 9, 1993, Madison County prosecutors announced.
• Vaginal swabs revealed a suspect’s DNA that didn’t match the CODIS law enforcement database, so investigators turned to forensic genetic genealogy, comparing the sample to DNA from users of commercial sites like FamilyTreeDNA — the same technique famously used in the Golden State Killer case.
• Zigler told law enforcement he picked up a hitchhiker and had consensual sex. He then struck her multiple times with a weapon after she demanded $100 and began hitting his truck with a metal object, according to a prosecutor’s summary at Wednesday’s pretrial detention hearing.
• Defense attorney Mary Copeland asked that Zigler be released, citing heart problems, Parkinson’s disease and dementia, but Associate Judge John Hackett ordered him held at Madison County Jail until trial, citing his confession and “30+ years of deceptive and deceitful behavior.”
• “It’s been nearly 33 years, and I never thought this day would come,” said Wes Sperino, Randy’s son, who was a teenager when his mother died. “I finally get closure and finally know who did this,” he said at a news conference announcing the charges.
• This marks the second Madison County case solved through forensic genetic genealogy, following last month’s conviction of Timothy J. Dubois Jr., 42, in a 2022 rape and kidnapping case that began at a Collinsville Starbucks parking lot.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.