Case overview
Lisa Ziegert was abducted from a card shop in Agawam, Massachusetts, in April 1992, sexually assaulted, and stabbed to death. Her body was found four days later in a wooded area several miles from the store. For more than two decades, the case remained unsolved until a DNA match in 2017 identified a suspect who had lived and worked near the crime scene.
The disappearance
On the evening of April 15, 1992, Lisa Ziegert, a 24-year-old schoolteacher, was working alone at Brittany’s card and gift shop in Agawam. She was scheduled to close the store at 10:00 p.m. When a friend arrived to pick her up shortly after closing time, the shop was locked, the lights were off, and Ziegert was gone. Her car remained in the parking lot. The register had been closed out, and her purse was still inside.
There were no signs of a struggle inside the shop, but investigators determined she had been abducted. The case became a priority for the Agawam Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police.
Discovery of the body
On April 19, 1992, Ziegert’s body was discovered in a wooded area off Route 75 in the neighboring town of Granby, about four miles from the card shop. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times. The location was somewhat secluded, accessible by a dirt road used by local residents and hunters.
Investigators collected physical evidence from the scene, including biological material that would later prove critical. At the time, DNA technology was still in its early stages of use in criminal investigations, and the evidence was preserved for future analysis.
The investigation stalls
Despite an extensive investigation that included interviews with hundreds of individuals, forensic analysis, and public appeals for information, no suspect was identified in the immediate aftermath of the murder. Ziegert’s family maintained pressure on law enforcement to keep the case active, and investigators periodically revisited the evidence as technology improved.
In the years following the murder, DNA testing became more sophisticated. The biological evidence recovered from the crime scene was submitted for analysis multiple times, but no matches were found in state or federal databases. The case remained open but effectively cold for more than two decades.
The DNA breakthrough
In 2017, advancements in DNA technology and database expansion led to a breakthrough. The Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory identified a match between DNA recovered from the crime scene and a sample in the state’s database. The match belonged to Gary Schara, a 55-year-old man who had lived in the Agawam area in 1992 and had worked at a nearby shop.
Schara’s DNA had been entered into the database following a 2015 arrest for an unrelated offense. Investigators reviewed his background and determined he had been living and working within a short distance of Brittany’s at the time of Ziegert’s abduction and murder. He had never been questioned or considered a suspect during the initial investigation.
Arrest and charges
On April 17, 2017, Gary Schara was arrested and charged with murder, aggravated rape, and kidnapping in connection with Lisa Ziegert’s death. He was taken into custody at his home in Springfield, Massachusetts. Prosecutors presented the DNA evidence as the foundation of their case, linking Schara directly to the crime scene and the victim.
Schara pleaded not guilty. His defense attorneys did not dispute the DNA match but argued that the evidence alone did not prove he was responsible for the murder. They suggested the possibility of secondary transfer or contamination, though those arguments gained little traction as the case moved forward.
Trial and conviction
Schara’s trial began in 2019 in Hampden County Superior Court. Prosecutors laid out a timeline of Ziegert’s final hours, the discovery of her body, and the forensic evidence that linked Schara to the crime. They argued that the DNA match was definitive and that Schara had abducted Ziegert from the shop, driven her to the wooded area, and killed her.
The defense maintained that the DNA evidence was insufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and that the prosecution had not established a clear motive or provided eyewitness testimony placing Schara at the scene. No murder weapon was recovered, and Schara had no documented history of violence prior to his 2015 arrest.
On March 6, 2019, a jury found Gary Schara guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated rape, and kidnapping. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The disputed evidence
The DNA match was the cornerstone of the prosecution’s case, but defense attorneys raised questions about the lack of corroborating evidence. No witnesses placed Schara at or near the card shop on the night of the abduction. No physical evidence linked him to the interior of the shop or to Ziegert’s vehicle. The forensic evidence was limited to biological material recovered from the victim’s body and clothing.
Schara’s legal team filed post-conviction motions arguing that the trial court had erred in allowing certain evidence and that the DNA testimony had been presented in a way that overstated its certainty. Those motions were denied, and Schara’s conviction was upheld on appeal.
The question that remains
The case is resolved in the legal record, but questions about Schara’s path to the crime persist. Investigators never established a clear connection between Schara and Ziegert prior to the night of the murder. There is no documented evidence they knew each other, and no motive was presented at trial beyond the sexual assault itself.
The case demonstrates how DNA technology can solve decades-old cases, but it also illustrates the limitations of relying solely on forensic evidence without corroborating witness testimony or physical links to the crime scene. Schara has maintained his innocence, and his conviction rests almost entirely on the DNA match.
Where to look next
- Documentary: “The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes” (Oxygen)
- Book: “The Forever Witness: How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder” by Edward Humes
- Podcast: “DNA: ID” (Audiochuck)
