Ryan Widmer is charged with murder, and the trial begins Monday.
The defense said Tuesday it received permission from the new owners of the home on Crested Owl Court to let the jury see the bathroom where Sarah Widmer died.
First Assistant Prosecutor John Arnold said in his motion that since there is a new bathtub in the bathroom and the new owners have likely redecorated, it would be unfair to show jurors a scene that doesn’t mirror the image of the house as it was the night Sarah Widmer died.
“The new residents, according to the defense, have installed a new bathtub and carpeting in the master bedroom, as well as relocating the bathtub faucet,” Arnold wrote. “The new bathtub and fixtures are of particular concern as it cannot be guaranteed that the size of the new bathtub is the same as the one in place at the time of the incident and it would otherwise give an improper impression to the jury.”
In the upcoming trial, the jury is tasked with determining if Ryan Widmer should be convicted and serve 15 years to life in prison.
In the first trial in 2009, the jury returned a guilty verdict, but after misconduct was discovered, the verdict was tossed. A second jury came up deadlocked after 31 hours of deliberations following a 16-day trial in June.
The second jury viewed the scene at the start of the last trial. The tub was not in the bathroom because it was at the Common Pleas Court.
The defense also plans to call to the stand again Dr. Chandler Phillips, a medical doctor and engineer who will testify that the dimensions of both Widmers and the bathroom make it impossible for Ryan Widmer to have drowned his wife. He took extensive measurements and photographs of the bathroom.
Arnold said his testimony and diagrams, along with the original bathtub and police photos are sufficient.
“The jury would have to remember the room but eliminate the current bathtub and supplant the bathtub from the date of the crime in its stead,” he wrote. “Such will be troublesome for the jurors and will likely lead to confusion. The proper remedy is to use demonstrative evidence.”
The media was kept out of the jury viewing last time and Arnold wants Bronson to issue a similar bansince grainting this motion.
According to the county auditor’s office, the house sold in September for $103,000. US Bank foreclosed on the house and bought it back in a sheriff’s sale in March for $110,000. The Widmers paid $194,520 for the house in March 2007.
The jury for the upcoming trial was selected on Wednesday.
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