did—then what would be the reaction of black jurors to whom W. Thomas Zeigler, Jr., was just another white man?

*

In addition to the criminal charges, Zeigler and his parents became involved in a series of civil actions stemming from the crimes.

On January 5, Mattie Mays sought an injunction to prevent the Zeiglers from spending any of the proceeds of the two insurance policies on Eunice.  Shortly afterward, Mrs. Mays filed a $1 million wrongful-death suit against the Zeiglers.  Attorney J.R. Hornsby, who represented Mrs. Mays and her children, said that the suit would stand regardless of the outcome of the murder charges: "We feel that Zeigler, as owner of the store, had a duty to protect his customers and we feel that the duty of care has been breached."

Tommy had already renounced the benefits from the two policies in favor of his mother.  The two insurance companies, Life and Casualty Company and Gulf Life, sued to void the policies.  Beulah Zeigler later counter-sued the two companies.

The suits dragged on for years.  Eventually, too, lenders foreclosed on the commercial real estate owned by the family corporation.  Whoever committed the murders on Christmas Eve was responsible not only for four violent deaths, but for the slow strangulation of the financial structure that Tom and Beulah Zeigler, and their son and his wife, had worked so hard to build.