An attorney for Ryan Widmer has filed a motion requesting a new trial for the Mason man convicted in the 2008 drowning of his wife, Sarah.
Widmer’s lawyer, Michele Berry, filed court documents today asking a Warren County judge to set aside Widmer’s February murder conviction and accusing officials of perjury and cover-up.
Berry also wants the judge to grant a hearing based on the “newly discovered evidence of false statements, lack of competence and training and outright fraud by the lead detective in this case, former Lieutenant Detective Jeff Braley.”
Further, Berry says Widmer’s former lawyers also made a grievous mistake when they failed to get Sarah Widmer’s DNA tested for Long QT Syndrome, a genetic condition that could have contributed to her drowning.
That alone should entitle Widmer to a new trial, Berry said.
Enquirer reporter Janice Morse has more details on the latest development in the case:
But much of the 35-page motion hammers on Braley’s involvement in the case and authorities’ failure to disclose information about Braley’s history of alleged misrepresentations. Braley resigned from his job earlier this year after an outside investigator checked into those allegations.
If the defense lawyers had been aware of the facts that were later released, Widmer’s lawyers could have impeached Braley and mounted a defense “which would have changed the nature of the entire trial,” Berry said.
“Had the defense been aware of these facts, this evidence could have been used not only to impeach Braley … but… to mount a … defense, which would have changed the nature of the entire trial.”
Last month, an expert who has evaluated 500 cases of police misconduct nationwide, Dennis Waller, issued a report about the Widmer case and “opines that, based on national law enforcement standards, Braley could be classified as ‘an opportunist without substance in a police department without established standards,’” Berry wrote.
In the court filing, Berry alleges that Braley committed perjury in a closed-door hearing on May 5, 2010, focusing on allegations that he had misrepresented his qualifications.
Previously, prosecutors have asserted that Braley’s role in Widmer’s trial was minimal, and the evidence was strong enough to obtain a conviction without him.
But in court records, Berry says Waller believes that “Braley’s incompetence, untrustworthiness, and penchant for manufacturing facts to further his career, are all relevant to the fingerprints and other marks on the bathtub, the collection of evidence in general … the decision to charge Widmer, and the conclusion of (Warren County Coroner Russell Uptegrove) that this case was a homicide.”
Uptegrove, in an interview with the Enquirer earlier this year, denied that Braley exerted any undue influence.
Widmer, 30, who last lived in Mason, was convicted in his third trial on Feb. 15. His first trial ended in a conviction, but the guilty verdict was set aside because of jury misconduct. The second trial ended with a hung jury.
MasonBuzz will update this story.
Related stories:
- Prosecutors agree to give Widmer more time to file murder appeal
- Ryan Widmer: “I’ll never give up”
- Widmer attorneys file notice of appeal to higher court
- Widmer’s defense lawyers fight for 4th trial
- Widmer jurors speak out amidst defense reports of juror misconduct
- Ryan Widmer found guilty of murder
What do you think? Should Ryan Widmer get a fourth trial? Discuss in the comments below.
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