Summary

In April 1994, twenty-year-old Tina Heins was stabbed to death in the apartment that she shared with her husband, Jeremy Heins, in Jacksonville, Florida. Jeremy, who was in the Navy, was on active duty and aboard a ship the night of Tina's murder. Jeremy's brother Chad Heins, who was 19-years-old at the time, had recently moved to Jacksonville, and was temporarily living with Tina and Jeremy. On the night Tina was killed, Chad was asleep on the living room sofa when he awoke at approximately 5:45am to three small fires burning in the apartment. After extinguishing the fires and disabling the smoke alarm, Chad proceeded to check on his sister-in-law, when he found her body in her bedroom. Tina Heins had been stabbed 27 times.

Chad Heins was eventually arrested and convicted of Tina's murder in 1996. In 2007, after serving 11 years of a life sentence, DNA evidence led to the dismissal of Chad's case and he was released from prison. This DNA evidence, which was found in the apartment and on Tina, including under her fingernails, pointed to an unknown male suspect. An STR profile was developed and uploaded to CODIS, but there was no match to a known individual and the suspect's identity remained a mystery.

In 2021, Florida's Office of the State Attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the man. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the man. Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.

Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the suspect. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified suspect. This investigation led to the positive identification of the suspect, who is now known to be 51-year-old Michael Shane Ziegler. Ziegler, a Navy veteran, was a close friend of Tina Heins's husband and was stationed near Tina Heins's residence at the time of her murder.

Michael Shane Ziegler was arrested on September 4, 2025, in Covington, Georgia, and was extradited to Jacksonville, Florida on September 18, 2025. Ziegler is now charged with murder and attempted sexual battery in the 1994 stabbing death of Tina Heins. Ziegler is being held with no bail.

Michael Ziegler never surfaced during prior investigations, making forensic genetic genealogy an important tool in helping to identify him as a suspect in the case.

The identification of Michael Ziegler represents the 45th case in the State of Florida where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram. Visit DNASolves to learn about other Florida cases where your support can help bring long-awaited answers to families.