Man guilty in wife's murder

A rural Findlay man pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder in the 2021 shooting of his wife in their Marion Township home, County Assistant Prosecutor Heather Pendleton reported. Brian Lee Ziessler, 67, of 16777 Township Road 205, will be sentenced Wednesday in Hancock County Common Pleas Court by Judge Jonathan Starn. The murder count Ziessler pleaded to is an unclassified felony, higher even than a first-degree felony, and will require a sentence of an indefinite term, Pendleton said. Ziessler is being held at the Hancock County jail. Ziessler called 911 about 6:10 a.m. Nov. 15, 2021, reporting he had just awakened and found his wife dead in their home, according to a court filing. The autopsy found that Sherri Ziessler suffered six gunshot wounds and died within seconds to minutes of the injuries. Lab testing determined that Brian Ziessler's revolver was the murder weapon. It was found at the crime scene near Sherri Ziessler's body and contained six fired special cartridge cases. The fired bullets and fired bullet jackets matched. In addition, a blood stain on Brian Ziessler's shoe was consistent with the DNA profile of Sherri Ziessler. Brian Ziessler told deputies that the shoe got stained when he killed an opossum with a crowbar. In addition, security camera footage at the Ziessler home showed that on the evening of Nov. 12, 2021, Brian Ziessler was at home and holding a handgun as he waited for his wife to return home from work, a court filing states. The footage shows Brian Ziessler looking out the window near the front door awaiting his wife's return while holding a handgun in his right hand down by his side. The footage further showed as Sherrie Ziessler approached the door, Brian Ziessler quickly hid the handgun, the filing states.