Ryan Widmer's wife drowned in the tub

**Jaded** · August 16th, 2008, 04:54 PM

Bathtub drowning victim Sarah Widmer’s family believes so strongly in her husband’s innocence, they’re putting her funeral on hold because they want Ryan Widmer to attend – but he can’t while he’s in jail.

Widmer, 27, is charged with murder in the drowning Monday night of his wife, Sarah Widmer, 24. The couple, married April 19, were living in a home in Hamilton Township, a community that hasn’t seen a homicide in a decade.

Widmer is being held on $1 million bond. Friends and relatives say the murder charge was a huge mistake.

“(The funeral) is pending until we can see when we can clear this up for Ryan. He’s her family; he’s my family. He needs to be there,” said Mike Steward, 28, Sarah’s brother. “With every ounce of my being, I believe there’s no possible way he could have done this.”

But Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel is standing her ground.

The murder charge is based on “injuries that are consistent with a violent death, not an accident,” Hutzel said Thursday.

Coroner Russell Uptegrove found the injuries inside Sarah Widmer’s body during an autopsy, Hutzel said. She says ethical rules bar her from sharing more details right now.

Steward unsuccessfully asked a judge today to lower the bond for his brother-in-law, saying, “Ryan should be treated as a hero for trying to save my sister…He doesn’t deserve this.”

Ryan and Sarah got married at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Middletown, after about 1½ years of dating. Friends and relatives say Ryan Widmer had no known history of getting angry. They also say Sarah Widmer was known to spend hours in the bathtub and that she habitually fell asleep, even as she sat in a car on her way to social outings or during movies.

However, the injuries to Sarah Widmer’s body cannot be explained by any accidental cause. They also are different than those that could be associated with CPR attempts, Hutzel said.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...313/0/NEWS0103

Thanks to Nurseronda!

**SoUncool** · August 16th, 2008, 07:46 PM

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndid=327156837

Could this be her? Age says 25 though and Hartville, OH. Mood says..."sleepy."

**Unamused Cat** · August 16th, 2008, 08:49 PM

I notice he is wearing a suicide gown at his arraignment. Innocent folks don't usually want to kill themselves in jail. :P

**Dakota Valkyrie** · August 16th, 2008, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by Unamused Cat

I notice he is wearing a suicide gown at his arraignment. Innocent folks don't usually want to kill themselves in jail. :P

They only put that on him to make him look guilty!!! You don't even know him!!!!! He loved her to death! He did not do this!!! Do not believe everything you read!!!! The truth will come out!!

(tard impression - couldn't think how to tard it up with misspellings and caps so used alternative of multiple exclamation points instead)

**nurseronda** · August 17th, 2008, 12:22 AM

Dakota_Valkyrie, You forgot to add that she may have had Epilepsy and may have suffered a seizure and that is probably how she died violently in the bath tub, 'tard version'.

**Unamused Cat** · August 17th, 2008, 12:52 AM

They only put that on him to make him look guilty!!! You don't even know him!!!!! He loved her to death! He did not do this!!! Do not believe everything you read!!!! The truth will come out!!

You forgot to say, "fuck off and get a life". Hmmm.... I am wondering how much life insurance she had.

**nurseronda** · August 17th, 2008, 01:01 AM

Originally Posted by Unamused Cat

You forgot to say, "fuck off and get a life". Hmmm.... I am wondering how much life insurance she had.

I would thank you for these posts, but I guess we are still limited. So Thanks!!!

**Boondock** · August 17th, 2008, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by SoUncool

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndid=327156837

Could this be her? Age says 25 though and Hartville, OH. Mood says..."sleepy."

Ok, I know this is wrong but if that is her MS that would be freakin hilarious! What are the odds that she would "fall asleep" in the tub and her mood would be sleepy?

If by some miracle he is actually innocent, he needs to sue the person who took that pic! He looks mean as hell!

**Unamused Cat** · August 22nd, 2008, 10:08 PM

Ryan Widmer is out on bond now. Bah!

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...frontpagepreps

video: http://www.local12.com/mostpopular/s...5-9c1711dd467b

**Just my luck sucks** · August 22nd, 2008, 11:34 PM

Probably not her. Now her mood says "exhausted" with last activity date of 8/20/08.

Unless someone else has access to her MS account.

**Jaded** · August 29th, 2008, 03:29 AM

Search warrant unsealed....

A blood stain on the carpet under Sarah Widmer’s head and another blood smear on her vagina were found at the scene of her death in Hamilton Township, according to a search warrant unsealed this morning in Warren County.

An affidavit for the search warrant, signed by Police Officer Quillan Short, provides some insight into the case but also leaves many unanswered questions.

Quillan wrote that Widmer told him he had removed his wife from the tub. Hamilton Township emergency medical technicians were attempting to resuscitate Sarah when Quillan arrived.

“(I) noted that she was nude and only her hair appeared to be wet. The carpet underneath the body was dry. There were two blood stains noted. The first was in the area of where Sarah A. Widmer’s head was lying; the second blood stain was coming from her vaginal area,” Quillan wrote.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.../1164/NEWS0107

**Gilbrit** · August 29th, 2008, 04:11 PM

I'm not at all suprised that the scum bag was lying.

Mr Tard there thought he could "out think" the police.

Book 'em Dan-O

**Unamused Cat** · April 5th, 2009, 08:47 PM

Update: Guilty

Applause gave way to wailing after a jury found Ryan Widmer guilty Thursday, April 2, of murdering his wife, Sarah.

After more than 22 hours of deliberations over two days, a Warren County jury handed over its verdict at about 8:30 p.m.

When Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson read "not guilty" on the charge of aggravated murder, the crowded courtroom cheered. The next verdict, guilty of murder, brought sobbing and accusations.

"You put an innocent man in jail" one exclaimed, and another stormed out taunting "small town justice" as he slammed the courtroom door, to which Bronson responded: "Take that man into custody."

The judge imposed the mandatory sentence of 15 years to life on Widmer and asked him whether he had anything to say.

http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/cont...309widmer.html

**Cassandra** · April 5th, 2009, 08:54 PM

Unbelieveable -_-

**PoongyPrincess** · April 5th, 2009, 08:57 PM

interesting. wonder if there will be an appeal.

Defense attorney Charlie Rittgers called several experts, including a world renown pathologist, to bolster his theory the bruising was caused by rigorous attempts to revive her. The fact there were no defensive wounds on either Widmer also cast doubt Rittgers said, because if there had been a attack, signs of struggle should have surfaced.

http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/cont...309widmer.html

**Dakota Valkyrie** · April 16th, 2010, 07:18 PM

Prosecutors have asked a Warren County judge to not allow a “drying” expert to testify in the Ryan Widmer murder trial next month.

Widmer’s defense has asked for Michael Birchak, an engineer, to testify about drying during the retrial in Warren County Common Pleas Court.

A retrial was granted for Widmer by Judge Neal Bronson after jurors admitted to experimenting at home during deliberations to see how long it takes to air dry after bathing.

A year ago, the jury took almost 23 hours dissecting the drowning death of Sarah Widmer, Ryan Widmer’s 24-year-old bride, ultimately finding April 2, 2009, that she died at his hand in August 2008.

The crux of the drowning case was the scene was virtually dry when first responders arrived about six minutes after Widmer dialed 911.

First Assistant Prosecutor John Arnold asked Bronson to conduct a hearing to determine if Birchak can testify as an expert on drying.

“Mr. Birchak stated that he applied thermodynamic and heat/mass transfer principles to formulate his opinion that the temperature in the Widmer residence was likely 72 degrees and had a relative humidity of 50 percent on the night of the murder,” Arnold said in a court filing. “According to Mr. Birchak’s opinion, these conditions were favorable to fast drying, consequently, there was adequate time for all bodily surfaces to have dried before the EMTs arrived.”

Birchak apparently used Widmer’s statements about the air conditioning unit in the house, the house plan and temperature and humidity records from that date and the 911 call to form his opinion.

Arnold said Birchak failed to disclose what theories or principles he used to draw his conclusions and whether those principles are scientifically valid.

The prosecution also wants Bronson to determine whether another expert, a doctor who will testify on medical evidence that Ryan Widmer didn’t forcibly drown his wife, should be allowed.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/...al-653386.html

I can just see this popping into my head after my shower...

**Valasca** · April 16th, 2010, 09:41 PM

HORSESHIT!
I am just SURE he's innocent. Some things add up to him trying to save her. other things don't add up on him trying to kill her.
If i am wrong, so be it, but... I think he's innocent.

**LadyCygnet** · April 17th, 2010, 12:05 AM

Now the blood from the vagina I can understand, since she could have been on her period and taking a bath (not my favorite thing to do when I'm menstruating, but to each her own), but what about the blood that was found at her head? Did she strike a faucet and knock herself out?

**MC30** · April 17th, 2010, 03:39 PM

maybe. honestly, i have no clue weather he killed her or not. but it sounds as though she was narcoleptic. my second ex-hubs was, and he would fall asleep anywhere if it was too quiet, too dark, too whatever. he fell out one time while peeing. for reals. with him, what would happen is when he went to sleep (in bed, the way most people do) he would never enter REM sleep. but when he would just 'sleep' as in anywhere, he would go directly into REM sleep...i had many an odd conversation with him in that state. sometimes you couldn't tell if he was really there or 'sleeping'.

**Saffron** · May 28th, 2010, 04:33 PM

My best friend is narcoleptic but she still wakes up when water hits her face.

**Saffron** · May 28th, 2010, 04:34 PM

Looks like a hung jury. http://www.wlwt.com/news/23711784/detail.html

**Obsolete** · May 28th, 2010, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by LadyCygnet

Now the blood from the vagina I can understand, since she could have been on her period and taking a bath (not my favorite thing to do when I'm menstruating, but to each her own), but what about the blood that was found at her head? Did she strike a faucet and knock herself out?

It isn't uncommon for blood to trickle from orifices after a drowning death.

**Athena** · May 28th, 2010, 05:14 PM

I often feel as though the concept of "reasonable doubt" is lost on jurors. The fact that there were no defensive wounds, that the cause of the wounds that were present weren't specifically accounted for (i.e. "that wound was undeniably caused by a (insert object here)"), and that the crux of the case came down to something as ambiguous as the scene being "virtually" dry (what, exactly, constitutes "virtually"?) is unbelieveable to me.

This man may not be innocent, but as the facts have been presented to the press, he sure as fuck shouldn't have been convicted, either.

**Ninja0980** · May 28th, 2010, 06:07 PM

IMO, it will stay a hung jury. There's too much reasonable doubt, and trying to convict someone based on how they sound on a 911 call,no.

**Valasca** · May 28th, 2010, 06:44 PM

I still think he's innocent, but... how to prove or disprove that? Up to the jury, I guess.

**Saffron** · June 1st, 2010, 05:43 PM

Trial ends in a hung jury...

http://www.wlwt.com/news/23752709/detail.html

**Ninja0980** · June 1st, 2010, 06:26 PM

Not a surprise, there is just too much reasonable doubt. And I will be blunt, trying to use a 911 call to convict someone is wrong IMO. If the person sounds too hysterical,they're faking it. If they sound calm or aren't screaming their head off, it shows lack of emotion.

**Athena** · June 1st, 2010, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by Ninja0980

Not a surprise, there is just too much reasonable doubt. And I will be blunt, trying to use a 911 call to convict someone is wrong IMO. If the person sounds too hysterical,they're faking it. If they sound calm or aren't screaming their head off, it shows lack of emotion.

Sadly, a lot of conviction tactics are bullshit. Witness ID, bite mark "evidence", bruise timelines, etc., etc. Recent studies have been poking HUGE, GAPING holes in the reliability of long-trusted forensic and other evidence.

Frankly, the fact that we get as many right as we do is nothing short of a miracle.

**Ninja0980** · June 1st, 2010, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by Athena

Sadly, a lot of conviction tactics are bullshit. Witness ID, bite mark "evidence", bruise timelines, etc., etc. Recent studies have been poking HUGE, GAPING holes in the reliability of long-trusted forensic and other evidence.

Frankly, the fact that we get as many right as we do is nothing short of a miracle.

Tis true,sad to say but our justice system is far from the most perfect in the world. Even certain cases on here, I withhold judgement sometimes. Confessions alone won't do it unless there is evidence to back it up.

**Valasca** · June 2nd, 2010, 09:47 AM

Mistrial...
Jeez, how long will they torture this guy?

Jurors in the retrial of Ryan Widmer failed to reach a verdict Tuesday.

Widmer was charged with murder in the 2008 death of wise, Sarah Widmer, at their home near Mason. His first trial found Widmer guilty in April 2009, but a judge set aside that conviction following allegations of juror misconduct.

The jury had been deliberating since last Wednesday afternoon, with a break for the Memorial Day weekend.

At 5 p.m., jurors said they were unable to reach a verdict. Judge Neal Bronson declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury. Ryan Widmer, still out on bond, and his family left the courthouse soon after.

The defense attorney's have 14 days to file a motion for acquittal. Prosecutors then have 10 days to respond.

"It's just confusing, it's just total confusion. I don't know what's going through my mind because I don't know what to think," Gary Widmer, Ryan's father, said. "I fully expected that we'd be going home happy today."

The jurors left without commenting to the media.

Prosecutors must now decide if they will refile charges a third time.

"Poor kid, he hasn't even grieved yet for his wife. He's worrying about his survival. He's just tired. He's just not well," Kim Widmer, Ryan's stepmother, said.

http://www.wlwt.com/ryan-widmer-retr...09/detail.html