WAUSEON, Ohio -
It is official, another murder trial will be held in Wauseon in a cold case that is almost 30 years old. Walter Zimbeck learned that Friday.
When this next trial begins on September 17th, it will be just shy of 27 years since Lori Ann Hill disappeared and was later found dead. The question now is whether or not another trial will bring a new result?
Without court officially coming to order, Hill's family members were taken back to the judge's chambers. The judge met with prosecutors and defense attorneys behind these closed doors. A decision was made, Zimbeck will face murder charges again.
"I'm very, very excited. This is the right thing to do for Lori. Absolutely," said Hill's sister Rachel Barton.
"All I have to say is that the trial has been rest for September 17th and at this point I have no further comment," said Fulton County prosecutor Scott Haselman.
The 14 year old Hill disappeared after a Halloween party in 1985. Her body was found days later near Swanton. A grand jury indicted Zimbeck in 2009 in her death, but a judge threw out the case in 2010. An appeals court reinstated the charges in 2011.
Some of the jurors talked with 13abc. Some admitted they went back and forth but as a group they could not come to a decision. Prosecutors are being very tight lipped about this decision, why go forward again, and what their plans are for the next trial.
13abc asked Haselman, "Why did you decide to go ahead with a second trial?" Haselman responded, "again September 17th, I have no further comment at this time."
"Were you surprised today? Not at all, not with all the work Scott Haselmen's done," said Barton.
13abc tried to contact Zimbeck's attorney but we have not heard back.
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