LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department identified the suspect in the 2005 murder of Daniel Zeisler through DNA analysis in 2024, but an arrest was not possible because the suspect died in 2020.

An apartment manager reported a foul smell from a Las Vegas property on December 29, 2005. First responders discovered Zeisler's body inside an apartment, where it was found to be moderately decomposed. Detectives determined that Zeisler died from strangulation with a phone cord.

Zeisler's 1997 Dodge Neon and his home keys were missing at the time of the discovery. The vehicle was later found abandoned in Memphis, Tennessee, in January 2006. Las Vegas police recovered a DNA profile from the vehicle, but it did not produce a match when run through a forensic database.

In September 2024, investigators submitted the DNA profile to Othram, Inc. for further analysis. Othram traced the DNA sample to a relative of the suspect. Detectives believe the suspect was seen in surveillance footage shortly after the killing, using Zeisler's car to drive to a store and his bank card to make a purchase.

Las Vegas police detective Tate Sanborn helped revive the investigation into Zeisler's murder. Sanborn said in a 2024 podcast that he pushed for detectives to continue pursuing the investigation. "The fact that it hasn't been solved or looked at in the last approximately 20 years, that's a little unique," Sanborn said. "When I looked at it initially and saw the evidence that we had, I felt like the case needed to be fired back up. And that there's great potential for somebody out there to have information that will help solve this case."