ILLINOIS 1993 Cold Case Solved - A Dark Pickup Held the Clue for 33 Years

In November 1993, Randy Gail Sperino was seen walking through Granite City, Illinois. Around 8 p.m., a witness saw her get into an older dark-colored pickup truck. Less than four hours later, Randy was found dead in a rural field near Hanfelder Lane. Investigators interviewed hundreds of people and preserved biological evidence from the case, but for more than three decades no one was charged. The investigation eventually took a new direction when advances in forensic DNA testing and genetic genealogy gave detectives a way to revisit evidence collected in 1993. That work led investigators to Albert Lee “Buddy” Zigler, a man whose name had not publicly been at the center of the original investigation. Prosecutors later said details from the old case—including a pickup truck similar to the one Randy was seen entering—became significant once detectives began investigating Zigler. Authorities also say a direct DNA comparison connected Zigler to biological evidence from Randy’s case, and prosecutors allege that he later admitted involvement after initially denying that he knew her. Zigler was arrested in May 2026 and later indicted on two counts of first-degree murder. As of September 1, 2026, he has not been convicted and the prosecution remains pending. In this Root of Crime documentary, we follow Randy Gail Sperino’s case from her final known movements in Granite City, through decades of unanswered questions, to the renewed investigation that finally led authorities to an accused man more than 30 years later. Subscribe to Root of Crime for carefully researched cold cases, long-unsolved murders, forensic breakthroughs and the investigative work that finally brings old cases back into the light. #ColdCase #TrueCrime #RandySperino