Body may be murder suspect's

NIXON - A body found Thursday in a vehicle on the northeast shore of Pyramid Lake might be a man suspected in the killing of a Virginia City Highlands woman.

Gary Duane Brown, 51, has been the subject of a search since the Dec. 13 shooting death of girlfriend Linda Ziegler, 52, a retired San Francisco police officer.

Her body was found in her Silverado Drive home Dec. 14 after Brown called and left a message for his brother stating, "You better answer, I just killed Linda."

A body was found by Pyramid Lake Tribal police about 1:30 p.m. inside what has been identified as Brown's 1989 Toyota pickup. The truck was parked some 14 miles off Pyramid Highway near the Anderson Bay area of the lake north of Reno.

Ziegler's sister Carol Ziegler O'Regan said she was just preparing to leave Linda's Virginia Highlands home Thursday afternoon when a state investigator called to tell her of the discovery.

"They just said there was a sighting of his truck and there may be a body in it, and if there is someone inside, it might be Gary, but that's unconfirmed," she said Thursday night as she and Ziegler's 23-year-old son, Ryan Morris, returned to their homes in Concord, Calif.

"I've got mixed feelings. I mean what a horrible ending," she said. "If he was that unhappy, why didn't he just go ahead and do this to himself first?"

The couple's relationship was tumultuous shortly after it began four years ago, when Brown first asked Ziegler out for coffee and pie, Carol said.

Soon Brown was known by the family to be short-tempered and outspoken about his dislikes. He kept a close rein on Linda, calling frequently to check on her whereabouts when she was away from home, friend Teresa Denham said.

Carol said the couple broke up and reconciled several times until a 2002 incident in which Brown held Linda at gunpoint in the same home where she was later found dead. He was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon, which was dismissed. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery.

After that incident, Linda never told Carol she was seeing Brown again. When she learned of her sister's murder, Carol said she didn't believe Brown was living at Ziegler's home until she saw his glasses by the bedside.

"She was in love with the man she met who wanted to go out for coffee and pie," Carol said. "And I kept telling her, 'Linda, he's not there anymore.'"

Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.