Hoffman teen found murdered

Joseph Ziegler was remembered Friday as loyal, athletic and well-liked, a young man who'd "always wanted to be a cop" and was on his way to reaching that goal.

But the 19-year-old Schaumburg High School graduate and Harper College criminal justice student is now on the other side of a murder investigation. He was found shot to death in his Hoffman Estates home late Thursday afternoon.

More than 24 hours later, police were following several leads but had announced no arrests.

Ziegler was found in his basement bedroom by his father, Jeffery, at their home on the 300 block of Payson Street, police said. Ziegler died of a gunshot wound to the head, the Cook County medical examiner's office said.

Authorities believe the shooting was targeted, not random. There were no signs of forced entry or a struggle, and there was nothing reported stolen from the home.

Ziegler's murder shocked friends, neighbors, and former teachers and teammates, many of whom recalled him as friendly and well-liked.

"I have very positive memories of 'Zigs' as a student-athlete," said Mark Stilling, Schaumburg High varsity football coach and school psychologist. "He was intelligent and had an admirable work ethic and a tremendous amount of energy."

Ziegler played No. 22 for the Saxons as a defensive back when the team went to the playoffs in 2006. Earlier, he played for the Schaumburg Vikings youth team.

As a psychologist, Stilling is playing an active role in the counseling efforts at the school, which Ziegler's younger sister still attends.

"Our focus is that there's a 19-year-old man who meant a lot to a lot of people," Stilling said.

Oliver Mayapis shared many friends and classes with Ziegler, who invited him to join the football team during their senior year.

"He was always a quiet guy, but when you approached him he always spoke his mind," Mayapis said. "He wanted to be a good cop and make a difference."

John Cosgriff, who'd known Ziegler for 10 years and was also a teammate, said Ziegler wasn't the type who wanted to sit behind a desk.

"He always wanted to be a cop," Cosgriff said.

He said Ziegler, whose mother Cynthia died in 2001, was a loyal friend who was well-liked by his classmates at school.

"He was just part of the crowd. Everybody loved Joey," he said. "He was loyal. He would never leave you for anything."

Cosgriff said Ziegler had a close group of 10 friends who were like his brothers.

"It's just a shame he's not here with us anymore," he said. "It puts life into a whole new perspective."

Schaumburg police Sgt. John Nebl said his department had two uniformed officers stationed at the school Friday simply to be of comfort and provide a sense of security. He stressed the school itself is not involved in the investigation.

Harper College spokesman Phil Burdick confirmed Ziegler had been enrolled since the fall of 2007 and that all his elective courses were in law enforcement and criminal justice.

Cosgriff said Ziegler had ambitions to leave the area to finish college.

Peter J. Puleo, an associate professor of law enforcement at Harper, taught Ziegler in a class. Puleo said Ziegler was a quiet student who "never gave me any trouble." Though he didn't know him well, Puleo recalled that he had a more "realistic perspective" on what a career in law enforcement entailed, compared with some students who think it's "all gunfights and car chases."

A neighbor who declined to give his name said Ziegler often had parties with his friends on weekends while his father was away from home for work. They were rarely noisy and didn't cause any problems, the neighbor said.

"I never even heard of a fistfight in this neighborhood," the neighbor said.

This is the second murder in Hoffman Estates this year, the last being the stabbing of a 38-year-old in March.

• Daily Herald staff writer Ashok Selvam contributed to this report.