MasonBuzz.com

Paul McKibben reports:

Warren County plans to spend $6.1 million next year to build a new office building near its crowded Common Pleas Courts Building.

The project is part of the county’s general fund budget that commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday.

Overall, the 2013 general fund budget of $64.5 million is 4.5 percent more than this year’s budget.

“I’m pleased with this budget,” Commissioner Pat South said.

“I think we have been able to … maintain operations adequately.”

As part of the budget:

• Non-union employees will receive a 2 percent raise, and there will be no layoffs.

• The county could begin a 10-year lease on a new radio system.

An annual payment will be $800,000 to $1 million.

• Two new positions – a pre-trial sentence writer and a community corrections officer – are funded.

• Coroner Dr. Russell Uptegrove will move to full-time, in part because of the county’s increased population.

The courts building has become so cramped that there are cubicles in a hallway.

The county plans to pay cash for the new building, with the county prosecutor and judges also contributing.

Earlier, commissioners conducted a lengthy discussion with judges, law enforcement and other officials about possibly consolidating one of the two Warren County courts into the Lebanon and Franklin municipal courts.

No decision has been made, and officials want to hire a consultant to study the issue.

In Ohio, county and municipal courts conduct preliminary hearings in felony cases and hear traffic and non-traffic misdemeanors.

They also handle civil cases involving money no more than $15,000.

Warren County Court Judge Donald Oda’s seat will become vacant after he takes office as a Warren County Common Pleas Court judge, replacing retiring Neal Bronson.

That will leave Joseph Kirby as the only Warren County Court judge.

Oda was elected last month to his new position.

Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: commissioners, donald oda, joseph kirby, judge, non-union, radio system, russell uptegrove, union, warren county, warren county common pleas court

Janice Morse reports:

Jurors in the Ryan Widmer murder case were provided with all the information they needed to make a sound decision, prosecutors say, arguing that the lead detective’s alleged credibility problems were irrelevant.

Although Hamilton Township police Lt. Jeff Braley was the lead investigator, “(Widmer’s) guilt did not turn upon Lt. Braley’s testimony,” prosecutors wrote this week in their response to Widmer’s second appeal of his 2011 murder conviction. “In other words, Lt. Braley’s credibility was not material…(and) was not determinative of the Appellant’s guilt or innocence. Any issues material to the case were fully aired before the jury.”

• Read Widmer’s appeal

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Widmer, 31, is serving 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of drowning his wife of four months, Sarah, 24, in their bathtub in Warren County’s Hamilton Township in 2008.

Now county prosecutors and Widmer’s appellate lawyer, Michele Berry, are battling in the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown.

In two separate appeals, Berry asks the court to throw out Widmer’s conviction based on alleged mistakes. The court heard arguments about the first appeal in April and could make a ruling in a few more weeks. That appeal focuses on issues such as alleged illegal seizure of the bathtub.

The second appeal centers largely on Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson’s refusal to allow Widmer’s trial lawyers to grill Braley about false statements in his employment records. Berry contends that, if Bronson had permitted jurors to learn more about Braley, that may have changed the outcome of Widmer’s third trial following two mistrials.

But Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Greer wrote: “The record from the first, second and third trials demonstrates conclusively that the State used the 911 tape, the testimony of the first responders and the testimony of its medical experts to prove that (Widmer) murdered his wife.”

Berry says authorities wrongfully withheld information about Braley, and she argues that Braley’s involvement could have skewed the whole case.

Greer calls Braley’s role in the case “rather minimal,” noting: “he was not solely responsible for collecting most of the evidence.” There also is “not a shred of evidence…that he fabricated or altered any evidence or that he even had the opportunity to do so,” Greer wrote.

A year ago, an independent investigator issued a report revealing more questions about Braley‘s honesty, and Braley resigned. He denied making any false statements.

Next, the appeals court is to set a hearing in which judges will question Berry and Greer about the issues they raised in court documents.

Related stories:

• Second Widmer appeal filed
• Widmer hearing focuses on bathtub
• Three-judge panel reviewing Widmer conviction
• Widmer lawyer vows fight after fourth trial denied
• Widmer lawyers: Bathtub seized improperly
• Ryan Widmer: “I’ll never give up”
• Ryan Widmer found guilty of murder

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: 12th district court of appeals, appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, michele berry, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Michele Berry, appeal attorney for Ryan Widmer, shows a photo of the space where Widmer's bathtub was ripped out of from his Hamilton Township home in 2008. Berry says police had no right to remove the tub under the search warrant they obtained. Berry presented evidence to a three judge panel at the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown on Monday April 16, 2012. The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

Janice Morse reports:

In an alleged “bathtub murder” case, why was the bathtub itself not listed on a search warrant?

That is one of the major points that Ryan Widmer’s appellate lawyer, Michele Berry, hammered home today during a hearing before the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals here, arguing police had no right to take the bathtub, which is considered part of the home. She said that, for example, if a crime were committed in a mobile home, police shouldn’t therefore be allowed to seize the entire mobile home. That, she said, would be a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Judges Robert P. Ringland, left, Robert A. Hendrickson, and H.J. Bressler, listen to Michele Berry, appeal attorney for Ryan Widmer, as she goes over details about the bathtub where Widmer's wife Sarah, drowned in their Hamilton Township home in 2008. / The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

Police never should have removed the tub without a court order — and Widmer’s trial lawyers erred when they failed to file timely objections to admission of the tub, which ended up being a major piece of evidence against Widmer, Berry said.

Assistant Prosecutor Michael Greer argued: “The police officers do not know, cannot list every possible source of fingerprints.” That’s why the search warrant didn’t list the bathtub, he said, although the search warrant did say they were looking for fingerprints.

The presiding judge, Robert Hendrickson, noted: “The search warrant didn’t list one or a couple items. There were multiple items,” yet the bathtub itself was omitted.

Widmer, 31, who is serving 15 years to life in the 2008 bathtub drowning of his wife, protests that he was wrongfully convicted of murder last year. None of his fingerprints were found on the tub, but prosecutors argued that was evidence that the tub had been wiped clean after the drowning of his wife, Sarah, 24. And prosecutors argued that, based on a criminalist’s testimony about unidentified “streaks” and a “forearm mark” — were evidence of a violent struggle. Such evidence lacks a scientific foundation, Berry argued, and that testimony should have been barred from the trial.

About a dozen supporters showed up wearing white to symbolize they believe Widmer is innocent. On the other side of the room sat John Arnold, a Warren County assistant prosecutor who presented evidence against Widmer during all three of his trials.

(more…)

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: 12th district court of appeals, appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, michele berry, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Janice Morse reports:

Ryan Widmer’s fight for a fourth murder trial is shifting to a bigger battleground: the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown, which handles cases from an eight-county region.

Until now, decisions directly affecting Widmer have been made in Warren County. Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson twice declared mistrials in the highly publicized 2008 bathtub drowning of Widmer’s wife, Sarah, 24, in Hamilton Township.

After Widmer stood trial a third time last year, a jury convicted him of murder; now 31,Widmer is serving a mandatory prison term of 15 years to life.

So far, Bronson has shot down several of Widmer’s lawyers’ attempts to get his conviction thrown out. Prosecutors contend the conviction should stand.

But today, a three-judge panel will hear arguments from both sides and will review the work of Bronson and other authorities. The appellate judges must rule whether any mistakes in the case were serious enough to warrant another retrial for Widmer.

• Photos: Ryan Widmer speaks with The Enquirer
• Photos: Ryan Widmer convicted of murder
• LIKE MasonBuzz on Facebook for the latest Widmer case updates

The fight promises to be difficult, legal experts say.

“The 12th District is more of a conservative district … they have a reputation for rarely reversing jury decisions. But this case might be an exception,” said Mark Krumbein, a longtime Cincinnati defense lawyer who has been an ardent follower of the Widmer case since it began.

But another Widmer watcher, Mike Allen, former Hamilton County prosecutor and current defense lawyer, said: “There may have been small errors made but as far as serious, reversible errors, I just don’t see it.”

Christo Lassiter, professor of law at the University of Cincinnati, says today’s hearing “is critically important as it is his first, best opportunity to challenge the procedures leading to his conviction. … It sets the stage for the appellate life of this case.”

This the first of two Widmer appeals pending with the Middletown court. The initial appeal, which will be heard today, will focus on whether authorities made any serious legal errors before or during Widmer’s third trial.

The second appeal, to be heard at a later date, will center on issues that arose after Widmer was convicted. Those include Bronson’s refusal to grant a retrial based on new evidence about the lead detective on the case, Jeff Braley, who resigned last year amid allegations of resume fraud.

The appeals judges who will hear the arguments in the first appeal – Robert Ringland, Robert Hendrickson and retired Judge H.J. Bressler – are likely to take several weeks or even possibly months to render a decision.

Two of the appeals court’s five judges were excluded from the Widmer panel to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

Judge Rachel Hutzel was ineligible to hear the appeal because she served as Warren County prosecutor while most of Widmer’s case was pending. Judge Robin Piper recused himself; before he became a judge, he was Butler County prosecutor, and reporters and others had sought comments from him about the case. His recusal led to Bressler being appointed to fill Piper’s slot on the panel.

In Widmer’s appeal, attorney Michele Berry alleges authorities illegally removed the bathtub from the Widmers’ home. She says its seizure wasn’t permitted under a search warrant.

Prosecutors argued that a lack of fingerprints on the tub indicated that Widmer wiped the tub clean. A criminalist testified that finger-like “streaks” could have been made by a smaller hand, possibly of a female, and that a forearm mark likely came from a male. While prosecutors pointed to that testimony as evidence that Widmer forcibly drowned his wife, Berry says the criminalist’s testimony lacked a scientific basis.

“So the argument is: The bathtub was being used as evidence improperly, an expert was using junk science and then came a conviction for murder – it’s one plus one equals murder,” Krumbein said.

But Allen said Widmer’s strongest attack may target Braley’s role: “I think it’s a pretty compelling argument that that the entire investigation was tainted, and that defense should have been permitted to dig into Braley’s credibility issues in the third trial.”

Lassiter said the prosecution won a hard-fought verdict, and he predicts that the current Warren County prosecutor, David Fornshell, or his representative who handles appeal issues, “will approach the case on appeal with all the smugness of a winning coach holding the ball while time runs out.”

“The public must be forewarned that an appellate court is obligated to sustain the trial result unless reversible error occurred,” Lassiter said. A reversible error is a serious mistake that violated a person’s right to a fair trial or broke other legal rules. “This is especially true when the trial result is the product of a jury verdict. Thus the defense bears the burden to show reversible error. The defense has its work cut out for it.”

Should Ryan Widmer receive a fourth trial?

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Related stories:

• Widmer lawyer vows fight after fourth trial denied
• Widmer lawyers: Bathtub seized improperly
• Ryan Widmer: “I’ll never give up”
• Ryan Widmer found guilty of murder

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homocide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Janice Morse reports:

Was Ryan Widmer’s murder conviction “a manifest miscarriage of justice?”

In an appeal filed Monday lawyers for Widmer allege that a jury lost its way and that authorities made crucial mistakes, including improperly seizing the bathtub in which his wife, Sarah, 24, had drowned in 2008.

Widmer, 30, of Mason, is serving 15 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him of murder in February.

• Photos: Ryan Widmer speaks with The Enquirer
• Photos: Ryan Widmer convicted of murder

Since then, Widmer has given two public interviews protesting his innocence and saying he wanted to testify but he did not take the witness stand during any of his three trials based on his lawyers’ advice.

Today was the deadline for attorney Michele Berry to file the appeal on Widmer’s behalf in the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown.

That court previously refused to extend a deadline while Judge Neal Bronson considers motions for a fourth trial in Warren County Common Pleas Court.

In those motions, Widmer’s lawyers want Bronson to order genetic testing that could show whether Sarah Widmer suffered from a disorder that can disrupt heartbeats. Berry argues Widmer’s previous lawyers made a mistake by failing to seek that testing.

They also argue Bronson should grant a new trial because evidence emerged after Widmer’s conviction showing that the lead investigators on the case, Lt. Jeff Braley, had likely made false representations about his job history and education on employment documents.

Bronson had refused to allow Widmer’s lawyers to grill Braley on those credibility issues largely because Braley had denied making the false claims. Braley resigned from the Hamilton Township police force in June after an indpendent investigator told trustees there was reason to consider launching a pre-disciplinary hearing over issues with his honesty.

Widmer’s lawyers say that the genetic testing and Braley evidence likely would have altered the entire course of Widmer’s trial, had they been included.

Related stories:

• Widmer judge won’t run for re-election
• Prosecutors agree to give Widmer lawyers more time for appeal
• Ryan Widmer’s lawyer needs more time for 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

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homocide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Paul McKibben reports:

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: 12th court of appeals, appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homicide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, michele berry, murder, neal bronson, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Legal experts who’ve followed the Ryan Widmer case say the chances of the convicted Mason man getting a fourth trial are “fair” at best.

Attorneys for Widmer, who was convicted in February in the 2008 drowning death of his wife, Sarah, filed a motion Wednesday asking a Warren County judge to set aside Widmer’s February murder conviction and accusing officials of perjury and cover-up.

• Photos: Ryan Widmer speaks with The Enquirer
• Photos: Ryan Widmer convicted of murder

The Enquirer’s Janice Morse spoke with several legal experts who’ve been following the case about the latest court documents filed.

“I think Judge (Neal) Bronson probably has a pretty strong case of ‘Widmer fatigue,’ but even so, he’ll do the right thing,” says defense lawyer Mike Allen, who has closely watched the saga since it began in 2008 with the drowning of Widmer’s wife, Sarah, 24, in their Hamilton Township bathtub.

While Allen, Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell and other experts think Widmer’s chances of persuading Bronson to grant a fourth trial are small, University of Cincinnati law professor Christo Lassiter says issues swirling around the case are grave.

Concerns about the honesty of Jeff Braley, the lead investigator, and how he may have influenced the county coroner, Russell Uptegrove, “not only provides a reason to doubt the conviction, it reeks of an injustice,” Lassiter said.

Despite that strong statement, Lassiter agrees with other experts that it will be very difficult for Widmer’s lawyer to overcome legal hurdles to prove a new trial is warranted.

Joe Mooney, a Northern Kentucky University law student who coordinated a panel discussion on the Widmer case said, “I think this (motion for a new trial) is a ‘Hail Mary’ pass that will likely fall incomplete. … At the end of the day, I would not bet any money on a fourth trial.”

Bronson’s decision on whether to grant a retrial may well turn on whether he now agrees that a jury should have been allowed to hear Widmer’s lawyers grill Braley over his credentials. Bronson blocked that line of questioning after a closed-door hearing in his chambers in 2010 about alleged resume fraud.

“When he made that decision, Judge Bronson didn’t know everything that we know now about Braley. … And now, if the judge believes Braley committed perjury, that’s one of the keys to the case,” said Mark Krumbein, a defense lawyer who became so fascinated by Widmer’s case he attended portions of all three trials.

Braley resigned in June after an investigator reported that Braley falsely claimed he had served in the U.S. Special Forces, which secured him a position heading the township’s police tactical unit in 2001 – before he became a sworn police officer.

“What happened with Braley was an abomination,” Allen said. “It’s almost unbelievable that a person could misrepresent his credentials like that and be put in such a position of responsibility.”

The investigator also found evidence dating to 1996, supporting allegations that Braley falsely asserted on township documents that he earned a master’s degree and held various jobs; Braley denied making the misrepresentations, but a handwriting analysis supported the allegation that the writing was his, officials said.

Fornshell downplayed the significance of Braley’s issues. But Allen, a former Hamilton County prosecutor, said that if he were in Fornshell’s position, he thinks the situation is “egregious enough” to consider taking the case to a grand jury to consider a possible perjury indictment of Braley.

“The problems with Braley are huge,” Allen said. “But did not knowing about them during the trial affect the outcome? I think a strong argument could be made either way.”

Lassiter thinks that, in order to grant a new trial, Bronson would have to decide that revelations about Braley may well have changed jurors’ minds about Widmer’s guilt, had they been aired during the trial.

Allen notes that Bronson has a reputation for doing what he thinks is just, even if it draws fire. It was Bronson who voided Widmer’s 2009 murder conviction because of jury misconduct; a hung jury resulted in 2010, followed by a conviction this year.

Fornshell dismisses Braley’s issues as irrelevant to the crime that Widmer is convicted of committing. But Krumbein said it’s reasonable to question the entire foundation of the case based on Braley’s involvement in it.

“Judge Bronson may feel that, if he (Braley) lied about substantive things in the past, and lied under oath in a pre-trial hearing, can anything he did or said be trusted?” Krumbein said.

And Braley did play a pivotal role in the case, Krumbein said.

“He maintained the crime scene, supervised gathering all the evidence. Then he told the coroner he thought this was a homicide – and he may not have been any more qualified to say that than the Man in the Moon. His qualifications were pretty bad.

“As the defense has already argued, if you can’t trust the messenger, you may get the wrong message.”

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.

Related stories:

• Will there be a fourth Ryan Widmer trial?
• 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.

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homocide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

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.

• Photos: Ryan Widmer speaks with The Enquirer
• Photos: Ryan Widmer convicted of murder

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.

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homocide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer

Ryan Widmer was found guilty of murder, a jury determined Tuesday after spending 12 hours deliberating over two days.

Following the verdict, Widmer immediately collapsed on the table, holding his head and sobbing.

• View photos from today’s trial

Sobs could also be heard throughout the courtroom after the verdict was read.

“I did not do this. My life has been ruined. I don’t know why this has gone on for so long. I loved Sarah, I would never hurt her, never,” Widmer told the judge before he was sentenced.

“This has gone on for two and a half years now.  We depleted our money.  This keeps going on and on. Twelve hours after she died and I’m charged … This isn’t right, isn’t right.”

Judge Neal Bronson sentenced Widmer to 15 years to life in prison.  He already served about five months behind bars after the first trial and will get credit for time served

The jury started its deliberations Monday morning after hearing 15 days of testimony.  The verdict was announced at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Before the jurors came out, the courtroom was hushed and silent. An audible gasp from the audience could be heard when the verdict was read.

Gary Widmer, Ryan’s father, and other Widmer family members bowled over, sobbing, after the verdict was read. They were the only ones in the courtroom who didn’t stand for the jury after it was dismissed.

Widmer attorneys Lindsey Gutierrez and Jay Clark hugged a sobbing Gary Widmer tightly after Ryan Widmer was taken into custody.

After the verdict was read, Ruth Ann Steward, Sarah Widmer’s mother, looked straight ahead, chin up, her face stoic. She declined to make a statement.

Widmer supporters appeared stunned.

Widmer supporter Jill Bowman of Maineville struggled to find words.  A registered nurse with 25 years experience in a level one trauma center, Bowman attended the trial after working the night shift.

“I don’t get it, I don’t get it,” she said, before overcome by tears.

Carol Freiberger, a retired nurse who attended the entire retrial, expressed her doubts that the evidence proved Widmer’s guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.

“I’m very disappointed,” she said. “If anything I expected they’d come back with manslaughter.”

Mollie Mihalik of West Chester, an operating room nurse whose daughter was acquainted with the Widmer family, said, “I can’t believe this travesty has happened.”

The Warren County Prosecutor’s Office released a statement Tuesday night about the verdict.

“The Prosecutor’s Office is pleased the trial over and that justice has been done for Sarah and her family. The jurors who have served on this case should be commended for their willingness to be a part of this process, and their diligence in reviewing the evidence,” Chief Assistant Prosecutor Bruce McGary said.

“Recognition should also go to the dedicated men and women who have been involved in the case from start to finish. The diligent efforts of the Hamilton Township Police and Fire Departments, the Sheriff’s Office and Coroner, Dr. Russell Uptegrove, as well as the Prosecution team, have worked tirelessly to ensure that justice was done.”

Attorneys for Widmer said they were too upset to comment as they left the courthouse.

In 2009, a jury acquitted Widmer of a more serious charge, aggravated murder, which alleged Sarah Widmer’s death was purposely caused, with “prior calculation and design.” The jury convicted him of a murder charge, but Judge Neal Bronson later set aside that conviction because of jury misconduct.

Last year, jurors went 30 hours, believed to be the longest deliberation in Warren County history, before announcing they were hopelessly deadlocked and unable to reach the required unanimous decision on the murder charge.

Widmer was accused of drowning his wife, Sarah, in their Hamilton Township bathtub in 2008.

Janice Morse contributed to this story.

Posted in: News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: appeal, bathtub murder, conviction, coroner, fraud, genetic, homocide, jeff braley, long qt syndrome, mason, murder, russell uptegrove, ryan widmer, sarah widmer