Black-Sperino’s brother, Wes, spoke at the press conference announcing the arrest of Zigler. Her photo was place on the podium. Credit: Madison County Sheriff’s Office Facebook
After 33 years, forensic genetic genealogy has led the Madison County Sheriff’s Office (Illinois) to a suspect in the 1993 murder of Randy Gail Black-Sperino, a 34-year-old mother.
Albert Lee Zigler, 70, has been arrested and now faces first-degree murder charges for the homicide of Black-Sperino.
Case background
On Nov. 9, 1933, property owners called the Madison County Sheriff’s Office around 11:45 p.m. to report the recovered body of a female. Police found the woman nude and bludgeoned to death. DNA was recovered from the crime scene.
The next day, the victim was identified as Black-Sperino. Subsequent investigation revealed she had been walking around town earlier that evening. Police even located the person who was later determined to be the last to see her alive around 8 p.m. This witness described seeing her get into a late 70s/early 80s dark-colored truck.
For 33 years, the case centered around the truck. The DNA left at the crime scene was identified as male and entered into CODIS, but no matches were found, despite recurring testing. DNA samples were also taken from those interviewed throughout the years, but no matches were found there either.
Then, in 2018, Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor started looking into new forensic technology.
“Seven years ago, Sheriff Connor had the foresight to know that a new investigative tool, even though it was just emerging, might be able to provide a breakthrough in this investigation,” said Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas Haine said. “The sheriff and his investigators never wavered in seeking justice in this case. These tools are only effective because of the dedication, persistence, and professionalism of investigators who are willing to revisit evidence, follow leads, knock on doors, conduct interviews and continue pursuing the truth, no matter how much time has passed.”
Genetic genealogy
After a good deal of searching, Connor and other detectives at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office settled on Othram as a DNA partner. They submitted the DNA from the crime scene to the private lab in May 2025.
The DNA yielded a lead which led to a name, and another and another until eventually the investigators identified Albert Lee “Buddy” Zigler, born in 1955. The now-70-year-old klived in a mobile home park close to where Black-Sperino’s body was found. Otherwise, the police have found no known connection between suspect and victim. Zigler does not have a previous criminal record, either.
Detectives say Zigler was surprised when they arrested him after 33 years. New court documents show he subsequently confessed to picking up Black-Sperino that night, beating her with a metal bat or steel pipe at his residence and then dumping her body in the field where she was later recovered.