Ryan Widmer wants a 4th trial. Was he wrongly convicted? You decide.

This tip for this story came from one of our new members, rebel belle. Thank you rebel. I will start the thread with the most recent news reports.
LEBANON, Ohio (AP) -- Defense attorneys are seeking a fourth trial for a Cincinnati-area man convicted of murder in the bathtub drowning of his wife.

The Middletown Journal reports that a motion filed Tuesday cites juror statements during and after the trial that ended last month with Ryan Widmer's conviction. Widmer was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the 2008 death of Sarah Widmer.

An earlier conviction was tossed for juror misconduct, and a second trial ended with a hung jury.

The motion alleges a juror told a friend during the trial that jurors knew Widmer was guilty. It also cites another juror's post-trial interview saying the evidence didn't prove innocence -- which a defendant isn't required to do.

The Warren County prosecutor's office plans a written response to the motion.
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LEBANON — The family of Sarah Widmer, the slain Warren County woman whose husband’s three murder trials captivated the region, spoke out Friday for the first time in more than two years.

“On behalf of my mother and our family we are relieved that the trial is behind us and that justice has been served for Sarah,” said Mike Steward, in a statement issued through the Warren County Prosecutor’s office. “Nothing we do will bring her back to us, but we feel we can now move on with our lives like Sarah would have wanted.”

Sarah Widmer, 24, a graduate of Edgewood High School, was drowned in her Hamilton Twp. home by husband, Ryan Widmer, in August 2008. Widmer was convicted of murder on Tuesday in his third trial. His first two ended in mistrials.

Mike Steward thanked the prosecutor’s office and the victim’s advocate division for their diligence and hard work in the three trials. He said the family would not make any more statements and requested privacy from the media.

Initially, following Sarah’s death, the Steward family, particularly mother Ruth Ann Steward, were supportive of Widmer and expressed belief in his innocence. By the first trial in 2009, the family had done an about-face. Ruth Ann Steward testified at all three trials for the prosecution.

In the third trial, Ruth Ann Steward said Ryan and Sarah were often nasty towards one another and that on one occasion she had to ask them to quit their bickering.

Ryan Widmer has maintained his innocence, even after the verdict was handed down, saying that he loved Sarah and would never have harmed her. He is serving 15 years to life in prison. An appeal on his behalf is expected to be filed, his defense attorneys said this week.

Staff Writer Denise Callahan contributed to this story
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Ryan Widmer, a 27 year old man, was charged with murder just 2 days after he found his wife unresponsive in their bathtub, on August 11, 2008. Ryan was downstairs watching TV, when his wife of only 114 days kissed him goodnight and told him she was going upstairs to take a bath. This was part of Sarah Widmer’s regular routine as she loved to take long baths. Ryan went upstairs about ½ hour to 45 minutes later to walk into their bathroom and find Sarah unresponsive in the tub. Ryan tried as best he could to perform CPR. The 911 operator didn’t provide any help whatsoever.

After 45 minutes to 1 hour of rigorous CPR and 5 intubation attempts they transported Sarah to the hospital and she was pronounced dead. There were no signs of struggle, no prior history of relationship issues, etc. However, Sarah had not been feeling well the entire day and had a bad headache. She was also known by family and friends to easily fall asleep and had actually fallen asleep in the tub numerous times, even before she met Ryan (as stated by Sarah’s brother). An expert at the trial spoke that in the U.S. every year about 300,000 people under the age of 35 die and that these people’s autopsies do not show any sign of what they died from - a staggering statistic.


The local police department jumped to the conclusion immediately that Ryan had taken his wife’s life, even though there were no signs or evidence of this fact. Because of this Ryan wasn’t even permitted to go back to see his wife once she was pronounced dead to say goodbye.

Family and friends said the murder charge was a huge mistake. But, Ryan was arrested and sent to jail just 2 days after Sarah’s death. Sarah’s family held off on the funeral and said that it was pending until they could see if they could clear this up for Ryan.

Unfortunately, Ryan’s bail was set at $1,000,000 and he wasn’t able to attend his own wife’s funeral.

Fox 19 has full coverage of this story of crime and justice.
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I saw this story on Dateline. I really thought Ryan was innocent at first but now I have changed my mind and think he's guilty! I remember the first officer to arrive said Sarah's hair was wet but her body was dry. I'm not sure if I believe Jennifer Crew or not but she did give a motive for the killing. I'm glad I'm not on the jury for this case it's really hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ryan killed Sarah.

01/14/2013

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - An appeals court has ruled not to grant a fourth trial for Ryan Widmer, 9 On Your Side confirmed Monday morning.

The ruling issued by the 12th District Court of Appeals denied the second appeal, after the 32-year-old was convicted of drowning his wife, Sarah, in their Hamilton Township home in 2008.

The second appeal in the case focused on former lead detective and Hamilton County Lt. Jeff Braley, whose credibility was called into question for lying on a 1996 employment application about his service history.

Widmer’s attorney Michele Berry touched on Braley’s alleged misconduct in the first appeal as well. The Court of Appeals said Judge Neal Bronson was not wrong to disallow evidence that Braley allegedly lied on a 1996 job application.

The Court of Appeals stood by that ruling in their decision on the second appeal.

"We find that Braley's allegedly perjured testimony was not material to discrediting the evidence against Widmer," wrote the judges.

"There is no reasonable likelihood that knowledge by the jury that Braley lied about various credentials and whether he filled out the 1996 employment application could have affected its decision on the ultimate issue of whether Widmer was guilty of murdering Sarah."

Berry confirmed to 9 On Your Side's Kendall Herold she plans to file an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court within 45 days. The first appeal, concerning the seizure of the bathtub in the home, has already been filed with the Ohio Supreme Court.

Widmer's father, Gary, told 9 On Your Side he's "disappointed" with Monday's decision.

"Ryan didn't commit this crime. It's plain and simple. Ryan is innocent, he hasn't committed this crime. He got caught up in a bad situation, and unfortunately this is where we ended up," he said.

Gary Widmer said he spoke with his son Sunday, who is serving 15 years to life in prison.

"He's adjusting to where he's at, and I don't mean that in any sense he's expecting to stay there, other than the fact that we all know this just takes time to deal with, with the judicial system in this country," he said.

"The decisions are slow and coming, and you just, we have to wait it out. But he is confident that one day we'll all be together and out, and it's not that far down the road."

He said he will continue to fight for his son.

In the first trial, Widmer was found guilty of murder, but the decision was later thrown out because of juror misconduct. The second trial ended in a hung jury and the third trial sentenced him to 15 years to life in prison.

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