Paul McKibben reports:
The Warren County judge who presided over Ryan Widmer’s three murder trials won’t seek re-election in 2012 and there’s already a candidate officially running for the seat.
Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson, a Republican, declined comment on Tuesday. Republican Carolyn Duvelius, Warren County Juvenile and Probate Court chief magistrate, said she’s filed petitions to replace him.
“This is a great opportunity to continue my career goal of serving and protecting the people of Warren County,” Duvelius said. “Warren County needs judges who are conservative and just. My whole career I have been both. I have dedicated my career to keeping criminals off of our streets and protecting the people of this county and I will continue to do so as judge.”
Bronson was appointed in 1987.
Duvelius has served as a magistrate for eight years and has heard more than 11,000 cases, her campaign said. Previously, she was an assistant Warren County prosecutor for 15 years. Her husband Mark is an investigator for the Warren County prosecutor’s office.
She is a member of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Lebanon, Warren County Republican Women and a board member of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Warren and Clinton Counties.
Republican Warren County Court Judge Donald Oda II has taken out petitions for the seat but hasn’t filed them, according to the Warren County Board of Elections. The filing deadline is Dec. 7. The primary is March 6.
Widmer’s last trial resulted in a jury convicting him in February of murder for killing his 24-year-old wife three years ago in their Hamilton Township homee. Widmer, 31, who last lived in Mason, has maintained his innocence and is appealing. He is serving 15 years to life.
Posted in: Crime, News, Warren County, Widmer Trial |
