MasonBuzz.com

Janice Morse reports:

A Warren County court has denied Ryan Widmer’s attempt to secure a fourth trial, shifting the focus of his continuing legal battle to an appeals court.

Widmer, now 31, was convicted last February of murder in the 2008 drowning of his wife, Sarah, 24, in their Hamilton Township bathtub. It was his third trial, following two mistrials.

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

On Tuesday, the county Common Pleas Court denied Widmer’s motion for a new trial, the county prosecutor’s office said in a news release.

Widmer’s appeal of his conviction is still pending with the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown.

In its ruling Tuesday, the county court also refused to order genetic testing on any usable DNA from Sarah Widmer. Widmer’s lawyers were seeking those tests because they wanted to see whether Sarah Widmer may have suffered from a genetic condition that can cause a heart-rhythm disturbance. They argue that such an undetected medical problem may have contributed to her drowning.

Widmer has protested his innocence in post-conviction interviews, but did not testify during his trials.

Prosecutors have contended there was sufficient evidence to support Widmer’s conviction, and that the evidence included marks on her head and neck areas that were suggestive of force.

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Related stories:

• Widmer lawyers: Bathtub seized improperly
• 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, dateline, denied, dna, motion, ohio 12th district court of appeals, ryan widmer, sarah widmer, warren county common pleas court

In MasonBuzz’s first annual Year in Review, readers are asked to count down the top local stories of the year. Vote in the poll below for the story you believe should be the top Mason story of the year (if you are unable to vote in the poll, please hard refresh your browser or leave your vote in the comments field). Select up to 2 stories. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29 with results to be posted on Saturday, Dec. 31.

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Ryan Widmer convicted in third murder trial

In what has been called Greater Cincinnati’s “trial(s) of the year,” Ryan Widmer was convicted in his third murder trial in the 2008 drowning death of his wife, Sarah Widmer. Widmer, 32, who last lived in Mason, was sentenced in February to 15 years to life in prison. The Colerain Township native has maintained his innocence. He was convicted in his first trial in 2009 but the verdict was set aside because of jury misconduct. His 2010 trial resulted in a hung jury. His attorneys have appealed the third jury’s verdict and have asked for a fourth trial.

Kings Island opens new attractions

The region’s premier amusement park saw the opening of two new attractions this year and announced the expansion of a third major attraction for next year. Kings Island debuted the world’s largest animatronic dinosaur park, Dinosaurs Alive!, in April and its newest thrill ride, WindSeeker, in June. The park, which was also honored in September for the best kids’ area in the world by Amusement Today, this year announced a $10 million Soak City water park expansion that will double its size to 33 acres for 2012.

Mason named among best places to live

In August, Money magazine has confirmed what many Mason residents have long suspected. The magazine announced Mason to be the 24th best place to live in its national survey of smaller towns and cities. The city of 33,100 was cited for its high-ranking schools, recreational opportunities and housing prices.

Western & Southern Open welcomes world’s top tennis players

For the first time ever, the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason hosted top-tier men’s and women’s tournaments simultaneously during the same week in the largest Western & Southern Open. The new combined format joined Rome, Madrid, Miami and Indian Wells as the only other cities in the world hosting the same caliber events for both sexes at the same time. To make room for the larger event, the Lindner Family Tennis Center underwent a 5.4 acre expansion adding six new courts, a new entrance and ticket office, retail plaza and family restrooms.

Miss Ohio pedals into town amidst fanfare

Miss Ohio Ellen Bryan pedaled into Mason this summer amidst fanfare and smiles. The pageant contestant visited Mason in September on the third stop on a 45-city bike tour across Ohio to raise funds for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals of Ohio.

Disgraced Mason teacher heads to prison

A Warren County judge rejected the insanity plea of a former Mason teacher accused of having sex with students and sentenced her to four years in prison. Stacy Schuler, 33, was found guilty of 16 felony counts of sexual battery and three misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to minors following a four-day bench trial in October. Schuler resigned from her job in February as a health and physical education teacher and trainer with Mason Schools. She will be eligible for judicial release after six months.

Huckabee comments propel Mason to center of state Issue 2 debate

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s comments at a pancake breakfast in Mason in October propelled the city to the forefront of the state debate on Issue 2, a ballot referendum on Senate Bill 5, which would have limited the ability of public workers to negotiate for wages, working conditions and pension benefits. Huckabee galvanized hundreds of supporters of Issue 2 by jokingly urging them to stop opponents from voting. The comments drew national attention with MasonBuzz’s coverage and audio clip of the comments featured on such popular liberal blogs as Politico, the Huffington Post and Mother Jones, as well as aired on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Ed Schultz Show. Voters rejected Issue 2 at the polls in November.

Mason bands take national stage

Mason High School bands took the national stage not once, but twice this year. In March, the school’s symphony and symphonic bands performed on one of music’s most grand stages, New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The 124 performers in Mason’s band performed as part of “The Best of the Midwest” concert in an evening time slot usually set aside for college and professional bands. Then, in November, the school’s marching band was chosen as just one of 12 bands of 92 to advance to the Grand National finals, where they finished as the top-placing Ohio band and tenth in the nation. The competition, held at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, is considered to the “Super Bowl” of competitions for high school marching bands.

Mason seats three on City Council, names new mayor

Mason city voters returned two former council veterans and voted in one newcomer to Mason’s City Council in November. Incoming council members Tom Grossmann, Victor Kidd and Barbara Berry-Spaeth were elected to four-year terms on city council. Grossmann and Kidd previously served on city council while it is a first term for Berry-Spaeth. Incumbent Mike Gilb, a lawyer and former state representative for a northern area of Ohio, lost his seat in the race. The other two seats replaced council members Christine Shimrock, who chose not to seek a second term, and Tony Bradburn, who was forced to leave due to term limits. Council also tapped David Nichols, who’s served as vice mayor for the past two years, as mayor in a December organizational meeting.

Mason woman follows dream on prime-time TV

Danielle Withers, 27, of Mason, is realizing her dreams of becoming a professional singer after appearing on the third season of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” this fall. The weekly series hosted by Nick Lachey follows 16 a cappella groups from across the country as they compete for a Sony Music recording contract and $200,000 cash prize. Withers and her group, Afro-Blue, made it to the top final four groups before being voted off. But for Withers, a 2002 Mason grad and Homecoming Queen, the dream has just begun — she moved to Los Angeles in November to pursue the professional opportunities generated by her appearance on the reality show.

Mason Schools receives statewide honors, awards

It’s been a banner year for Mason Schools. The 11,000-student district, which consistently ranks among the top 10 of Ohio’s 614 districts, racked up a number of awards and honors this year for academic growth and achievement, financial record-keeping and instituting a new child sexual abuse curriculum.The district kicked off the year in March by landing on the College Board’s AP Achievement List for gains in advanced placement course access and student performance — an achievement it repeated again in December. In August, the district reported that it had returned to the state’s top academic ranking of “Excellent With Distinction.” The district also ranked fifth in the state this year for more year-to-year academic growth, according to a numeric ranking of Ohio school districts compiled by a nonprofit consulting company. The district ended the year as one of five Ohio school districts to be recognized with the 2011 SOAR Award for Significant Progress.

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: afro-blue, awards, bands of america, barbara berry spaeth, boomerang bay, carnegie hall, city council, danielle withers, david nichols, dinosaurs alive, election, ellen bryan, honors, issue 2, kings island, lindner family tennis center, mason high school, mason marching band, mason schools, mike huckabee, miss ohio, money magazine, murder, nbc, ohio, ryan widmer, sarah widmer, sb 5, sb5, soak city, stacy schuler, teacher, tennis, the sing-off, tom grossmann, trial, victor kidd, w&s open, western & southern open, windseeker

Mason earns national kudos. Greater Cincinnati’s trial of the year. Miss Ohio pedals into town. The world’s top tennis players converge on Mason. A disgraced teacher goes to prison. New attractions open at the region’s premier amusement park. Mason’s band takes the national stage. New faces appear on City Council. Controversial comments propel Mason to center of Ohio’s public workers debate. A Mason woman follows her dream on prime-time TV.

These were just some of the breaking news stories to hit Mason in 2011 and that commanded our online attention. Now, in MasonBuzz’s first annual Year in Review, readers are asked to count down the top local stories of the year. Vote in the poll below for the story you believe should be the top Mason story of the year (if you are unable to vote in the poll, please refresh your browser or leave your vote in the comments field).  Select up to 2 stories.  Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29 with results to be posted on Saturday, Dec. 31.

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Ryan Widmer convicted in third murder trial

In what has been called Greater Cincinnati’s “trial(s) of the year,” Ryan Widmer was convicted in his third murder trial in the 2008 drowning death of his wife, Sarah Widmer. Widmer, 32, who last lived in Mason, was sentenced in February to 15 years to life in prison. The Colerain Township native has maintained his innocence. He was convicted in his first trial in 2009 but the verdict was set aside because of jury misconduct. His 2010 trial resulted in a hung jury. His attorneys have appealed the third jury’s verdict and have asked for a fourth trial.

Kings Island opens new attractions

The region’s premier amusement park saw the opening of two new attractions this year and announced the expansion of a third major attraction for next year. Kings Island debuted the world’s largest animatronic dinosaur park, Dinosaurs Alive!, in April and its newest thrill ride, WindSeeker, in June. The park, which was also honored in September for the best kids’ area in the world by Amusement Today, this year announced a $10 million Soak City water park expansion that will double its size to 33 acres for 2012.

Mason named among best places to live

In August, Money magazine has confirmed what many Mason residents have long suspected. The magazine announced Mason to be the 24th best place to live in its national survey of smaller towns and cities. The city of 33,100 was cited for its high-ranking schools, recreational opportunities and housing prices.

Western & Southern Open welcomes world’s top tennis players

For the first time ever, the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason hosted top-tier men’s and women’s tournaments simultaneously during the same week in the largest Western & Southern Open. The new combined format joined Rome, Madrid, Miami and Indian Wells as the only other cities in the world hosting the same caliber events for both sexes at the same time. To make room for the larger event, the Lindner Family Tennis Center underwent a 5.4 acre expansion adding six new courts, a new entrance and ticket office, retail plaza and family restrooms.

Miss Ohio pedals into town amidst fanfare

Miss Ohio Ellen Bryan pedaled into Mason this summer amidst fanfare and smiles.  The pageant contestant visited Mason in September on the third stop on a 45-city bike tour across Ohio to raise funds for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals of Ohio.

Disgraced Mason teacher heads to prison

A Warren County judge rejected the insanity plea of a former Mason teacher accused of having sex with students and sentenced her to four years in prison.  Stacy Schuler, 33, was found guilty of 16 felony counts of sexual battery and three misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to minors following a four-day bench trial in October.  Schuler resigned from her job in February as a health and physical education teacher and trainer with Mason Schools.  She will be eligible for judicial release after six months.

Huckabee comments propel Mason to center of state Issue 2 debate

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s comments at a pancake breakfast in Mason in October propelled the city to the forefront of the state debate on Issue 2, a ballot referendum on Senate Bill 5, which would have limited the ability of public workers to negotiate for wages, working conditions and pension benefits.  Huckabee galvanized hundreds of supporters of Issue 2 by jokingly urging them to stop opponents from voting.  The comments drew national attention with MasonBuzz’s coverage and audio clip of the comments featured on such popular liberal blogs as Politico, the Huffington Post and Mother Jones, as well as aired on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Ed Schultz Show.  Voters rejected Issue 2 at the polls in November.

Mason bands take national stage

Mason High School bands took the national stage not once, but twice this year.  In March, the school’s symphony and symphonic bands performed on one of music’s most grand stages, New York City’s Carnegie Hall.  The 124 performers in Mason’s band performed as part of “The Best of the Midwest” concert in an evening time slot usually set aside for college and professional bands.  Then, in November, the school’s marching band was chosen as just one of 12 bands of 92 to advance to the Grand National finals, where they finished as the top-placing Ohio band and tenth in the nation.  The competition, held at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, is considered to the “Super Bowl” of competitions for high school marching bands.

Mason seats three on City Council, names new mayor

Mason city voters returned two former council veterans and voted in one newcomer to Mason’s City Council in November.  Incoming council members Tom Grossmann, Victor Kidd and Barbara Berry-Spaeth were elected to four-year terms on city council.  Grossmann and Kidd previously served on city council while it is a first term for Berry-Spaeth.  Incumbent Mike Gilb, a lawyer and former state representative for a northern area of Ohio, lost his seat in the race.  The other two seats replaced council members Christine Shimrock, who chose not to seek a second term, and Tony Bradburn, who was forced to leave due to term limits.  Council also tapped David Nichols, who’s served as vice mayor for the past two years, as mayor in a December organizational meeting.

Mason woman follows dream on prime-time TV

Danielle Withers, 27, of Mason, is realizing her dreams of becoming a professional singer after appearing on the third season of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” this fall.  The weekly series hosted by Nick Lachey follows 16 a cappella groups from across the country as they compete for a Sony Music recording contract and $200,000 cash prize.  Withers and her group, Afro-Blue, made it to the top final four groups before being voted off.  But for Withers, a 2002 Mason grad and Homecoming Queen, the dream has just begun — she moved to Los Angeles in November to pursue the professional opportunities generated by her appearance on the reality show.

Mason Schools receives statewide honors, awards

It’s been a banner year for Mason Schools.  The 11,000-student district, which consistently ranks among the top 10 of Ohio’s 614 districts, racked up a number of awards and honors this year for academic growth and achievement, financial record-keeping and instituting a new child sexual abuse curriculum.The district kicked off the year in March by landing on the College Board’s AP Achievement List for gains in advanced placement course access and student performance — an achievement it repeated again in December.  In August, the district reported that it had returned  to the state’s top academic ranking of “Excellent With Distinction.”  The district also ranked fifth in the state this year for more year-to-year academic growth, according to a numeric ranking of Ohio school districts compiled by a nonprofit consulting company.  The district ended the year as one of five Ohio school districts to be recognized with the 2011 SOAR Award for Significant Progress.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Kings Island, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: 2011, afro-blue, bands of america, barbara berry spaeth, boomerang bay, business, carnegie, comets, danielle withers, david nichols, dino park, dinosaurs alive, ellen bryan, issue 2, kings island, mason, mason high school, mason marching band, mason schools, mayor, mike huckabee, miss ohio, money magazine, murder, news, ohio, ryan widmer, sarah widmer, sb 5, sb5, schools, senate bill 5, soak city, stacy schuler, tennis, the sing-off, tom grossmann, trial, victor kidd, w&s, western & southern open, windseeker, year in review

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

Deb Silverman, reporter for WCPO, writes her story while listening to testimony during the third Ryan Widmer murder trial in Warren County. File photo

The Enquirer’s John Kiesewetter reports that reporter Deb Silverman is leaving Channel 9 — and television.

Silverman, who covered Warren and Butler counties primarily for WCPO-TV, starts Monday in the public relations office at GE Aircraft Engines in Evendale.

Silverman, a Sycamore grad, interned at Channel 9 while attending Ohio University.  After OU, she returned to the station as a field producer until offered an opportunity to spend several months at ABC’s London Bureau.  There, she worked with network correspondents and anchors in London covering Princess Diana’s death.

She then worked as a reporter in Lincoln, Neb., and at Dayton’s WKEF-TV (Channel 22) before coming to Channel 9.

Silverman covered both the high-profile Mason trials of Stacy Schuler, the former high school teacher convicted of having sex with students, and Ryan Widmer, who was convicted in February of murdering his wife, Sarah Widmer, for WCPO.

Here’s a link to her Channel 9 bio.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, News |

Tags: Tags: butler county, channel 9, deb silverman, evendale, ge aircraft engines, reporter, ryan widmer, stacy schuler, television, trials, tv, warren county, wcpo, WCPO-TV

Jim Rohrer reports:

A young man finds his wife unresponsive in the bathtub. He gets her out and tries to revive her, only to realize she has died. Eventually, he is charged with her murder.

Cincinnatians are riveted. A crush of reporters recounts every detail. In media shorthand, the case is trumpeted as “The Bathtub Murder.”

Capt. Robert J. Connors' acquittal of murdering his wife was front-page news.

Sound familiar?

The resemblance is eerie, but this “bathtub murder” is not the case of Ryan and Sarah Widmer, which Ryan Widmer’s defense team is still contesting (Widmer, 32, who last lived in Mason, was convicted of his wife’s murder in February).

This trial happened in the war year of 1944, and the defendant was an Army captain of movie-star good looks, Robert J. Connors, 26. His wife, Lois, 25, had died while the pair spent a few days together at the Sinton Hotel, Downtown, before his overseas deployment.

No less an authority than legendary defense attorney William “Foss” Hopkins claimed in his book, “Murder is My Business,” that it was one of the most highly publicized cases he ever tried.

Capt. Robert J. Connors’ acquittal of murdering his wife was front-page news.

Hopkins called the courtroom battle “no holds barred,” mostly centering on dueling medical experts who disagreed on the cause of death.

Lois Connors’ death, earlier that year, at first had been ruled due to “natural causes.” But her parents were suspicious and asked for a second autopsy. The body was exhumed months later and a Philadelphia physician ruled she had suffered injuries to her head and throat. He ruled it a homicide, and Robert Connors was arrested.

At trial, Hopkins undressed the Philadelphia physician. He was shown to be incompetent and the wounds were then attributed to embalming procedures (the throat) and to a broken soda bottle that crashed to the floor and sent glass shards everywhere during the revival attempt (the head wound).

Robert Connors was acquitted, to a cheering courtroom.

Lois Connors’ father, Robert E. Burns, attended the trial and had some carefully chosen words before he left.

“If the people out there think he didn’t do it, it’s all right with me,” he said.

Posted in: Crime, News, Widmer Trial |

Tags: Tags: bathtub murder, capt. robert j. connors, cincinnati, convicted, guilty, history, lois connors, mason, murder is my business, ryan widmer, sarah widmer, sinton hotel, trial, william "foss" hopkins

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

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.”

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

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 |

Tags: Tags: bathtub murder, carolyn duvelius, election, judge neal bronson, lebanon, mason, probate court magistrate, re-election, ryan widmer, sarah widmer, warren county common pleas

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