'Love of my life taken': Family of slain woman speak at sentencing of Port Charlotte man
A Port Charlotte man was sentenced to mandatory life for first-degree premeditated murder for the fatal shooting of a former girlfriend while she was in her Jeep at a drive-thru teller line at the former BB&T bank in Venice in October 2020.
William Tollard, 50, was found guilty by a 12-person jury in November for Angela Ziegler's murder following a five-day trial, according to a news release by the 12th Judicial State Attorney's Office. Sarasota Circuit Court Judge Thomas Krug adjudicated Tollard guilty following the verdict.
Among those present in the courtroom Friday for Tollard's sentencing hearing were Ziegler's husband, father and stepmother. The hearing, which lasted less than 30 minutes, concluded with Krug imposing a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Tollard is also prohibited from contacting Ziegler's family.
Previous reporting: Sarasota jury finds man, 50, guilty for premeditated murder of woman killed at Venice bank
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What happened that morning at the Venice BB&T bank?
On the morning of Oct. 5, 2020, investigators responded to the former BB&T bank at 160 Pointe Loop Drive in Venice following reports of a shooting.
Multiple witnesses saw a man, later identified as Tollard, walk up to a woman who was driving a white Jeep at about 9 a.m. in the drive-thru of the bank, according to previous Herald-Tribune reporting.
Tollard pulled up behind Angela Ziegler in the drive-through line, trapping her Jeep between his truck and a work van at the teller's window, according to the news release. Video surveillance showed Tollard got out of the truck, walked up to the driver's side of the car, and fired three shots. He then walked to the passenger side window and fired twice more.
The Jeep drove forward and crashed into a light pole in the bank's parking lot. Two eyewitnesses told detectives that Tollard then fired more bullets into the front windshield of the Jeep as he screamed: “Who the (expletive) do you think you are? You can’t (expletive) do this to me."
Tollard was arrested a short distance away from the former BB&T bank. Detectives found a semi-automatic firearm, a magazine containing eight rounds, and a pair of binoculars on the front passenger seat of his truck.
Family speaks of loving, compassionate wife and daughter
Jonathan Ziegler took the stand first on Friday, anger and grief apparent as he gave his statement before the court.
"I had the love of my life taken away from me," Ziegler said.
Ziegler spoke about how he will never be able to speak to his wife again, never be able to hold her hand as they walk along the beach, and how her family won't be able to create new memories with her.
As Ziegler gave his testimony, he mentioned how his wife was killed on his birthday, and he claimed Tollard had planned this so that his birthday would be a reminder each year of the loss.
Rebecca Brown-Savage, Angela Ziegler's stepmother, said she and her husband will always remember the last time they saw Angela — she had given them a big hug, kissed them on the cheeks and when she saw tears building in her father's eyes, reassured him.
"Daddy, don't cry, John and I will be back soon," Brown-Savage recalled her stepdaughter saying.
To Brown-Savage, the image of Angela Ziegler will never go away. She lost a friend, a "gift from God" who Brown-Savage said was sent to her and introduced her to her future husband after Angela Ziegler's mother died.
"It's been three years and our hearts ache every day," Brown-Savage said.
Angela Ziegler's father, who was present in the courtroom Friday, declined to give a statement, stating that his wife had said what they both felt.
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Sister blames medical system for failing her brother in October 2020
The defense called on Jennifer McCollian, Tollard's sister, to give a statement. She appeared via Zoom and said it wasn't easy being thousands of miles away Friday, but that she wanted to speak on behalf of her brother.
McCollian apologized to Angela Ziegler's family, stating she was "truly sorry from the bottom of my heart at the loss of Angela."
However, she believed that the medical system failed her brother in October 2020 when he was turned away twice and that the trial wasn't fair to her brother, adding that what the judge heard about Tollard wasn't true.
Court records from July 2022 indicate that Tollard planned to use a mental health other than insanity defense, with the file stating that Tollard before the incident had taken lawfully prescribed medications that had rendered him involuntarily intoxicated and resulted in insanity.
McCollian described her brother, whom she affectionately called Willy, as being kind-hearted, who loved fishing and going to the beach to find shark teeth with his nieces and nephews, was a respected real estate agent, and was raised in a family with good morals.
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on X: @GabrielaSzyman3.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota judge sentences Port Charlotte man to life in prison
