State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces an arrest in the 1994 murder of Tina Heins. Heins' image is shown on the TV screen at right. | Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Published on September 25, 2025 at 4:10 pm
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Tina Heins, a 20-year-old pregnant newlywed, was stabbed to death in her Mayport apartment in 1994, but her murder has remained a Cold Case — until now.
New analysis of DNA found on her body has led police to arrest a man who, at the time, was friends with her husband — 51-year old Michael Shane Ziegler, now of Covington, Georgia.
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State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced the arrest Thursday.
Ziegler is the second person charged in the slaying. Heins’ brother-in-law was originally convicted in 1996 and sent to prison until he was exonerated through DNA evidence in 2007.
The role of DNA
Heins was stabbed 27 times in her apartment on Heron Road, according to an entry on the Project: Cold Case website.
DNA was found under Heins’ nails and on her bedsheet, and a profile of an unknown man emerged.
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The DNA was uploaded into a national database, and the profile was run weekly for years without a hit, Nelson said.
It was ultimately retested at a Texas lab successful in identifying profiles. Through genetic genealogy, Nelson said, Othram Labs identified a likely match: Ziegler.
Ziegler was stationed at Mayport at the time of the murder. He was a close friend to Tina’s husband, Jeremy, and attended their wedding.
According to the arrest report, a Duval County grand jury indicted Ziegler on charges of first-degree murder and sexual battery.
Ziegler was arrested last week during a traffic stop near his home in Covington and is in the Duval County jail without bond.
