Sunday, May 20, 2012

Ryan and Sarah Widmer, what the Prosecution doesn't want you to know.

Ryan and Sarah Widmer 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.

Ryan and Sarah Widmer Wedding Dance

 

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.
Continue Reading Ryan and Sarah's Story

Different Testimony in 3 Trials...

Prosecution

Defense

1. Prosecutors claim Ryan held Sarah by the neck and forcibly drowned her during an altercation and cleaned up the scene before calling 911.

1. Neither Ryan nor Sarah had any marks or wounds on their bodies and there were no signs of a struggle. A search of the house showed no evidence of a cleanup. Sarah's French Manicure and Pedicure were still perfect.

2. Because of the two blood spots on the carpet, prosecutors said Ryan moved Sarah's body before calling 911.

2. Officer Bishop testified he might have helped Ryan move Sarah's body from the bathroom doorway into the bedroom. (1st Trial) He couldn't remember if he helped move Sarah. (2nd Trial) He "absolutely did not" help Ryan move her body. (3rd Trial).

3. Ryan allegedly confessed to Jennifer Crew that he punched Sarah in the chest during an argument and then blacked out. When he came to, she was laying dead on the bathroom floor. He said he forgot to clean up the spilled waste basket in the bathroom.

3. Jennifer Crew has a criminal record and is a recovering drug addict now on methadone, who saw Ryan's story on Dateline. Most of her testimony, word for word, was from the Dateline program. Officer Bishop dumped the bathroom trash can looking for illegal drugs. (1st & 2nd trial) He didn’t remember dumping it, but agreed that he's been blamed for it. (3rd Trial).

4. The lead detective (Braley) and the coroner's investigator were present during the autopsy and discussed with the coroner what the manner of death might be. Det. Braley gathered evidence and dusted the tub for fingerprints claiming streaks on the tub showed signs of Sarah trying to save herself.

4. The coroner was criticized in another trial for allowing investigating officers to name the manner of death. Braley was not a trained evidence technician and criminalist Wm. Hilliard said none of the fingerprints were of any value. He couldn't tell who they belonged to or when they were put on the tub. Braley was forced to resign when it was verified that he lied on his employment application and didn't have the training or experience that he claimed.

5. First responders testified that Sarah's body, the tub, towels, clothing, magazines, floor, etc. were all dry.

5. Officers and EMTs wore gloves when feeling for wetness. Signs of water in the tub included droplets on the drain and a small area of water pooled near the middle of the tub. Some officers admitted they didn't touch anything to feel for wetness. Magazines were crinkled, indicating they had been wet. Two EMTs testified that Sarah's body was moist or not overly wet. Officer Bishop noticed an Ionic Breeze fan knocked over near where Sarah was lying. (1st Trial) The dryer was cold, indicating that it had not been used.

6. Coroner Uptegrove declared Sarah's death a homicide before reading the EMT and ER reports, and without talking to Ryan or Sarah's mother about any health issues.

6. The coroner spoke briefly with Sarah's mother after Ryan had already been charged, arrested and arraigned. He never did speak to Ryan and was not told that she frequently fell asleep in the tub. Her mother and brother knew she fell asleep in the tub. There were numerous mistakes on the run report, as well as three different copies.

7. The coroner made his decision based on the bruising on the side and back of her neck. He said there was no evidence of any heart problem or seizure.

7. EMTs tried to intubate Sarah twice in the house, once while the ambulance was in the driveway and two more times while en route to the hospital. An EMT assisted twice by performing the Sellick maneuver. He held Sarah's head and neck firmly while applying pressure at the thyroid cartilage. EMTs worked on Sarah for almost 45 minutes before leaving for the hospital. Doctors testified that 5 intubations would cause neck bruising and in a drowning, the blood is thinner and bruising would spread farther. Forensic pathologist Dr. Balko testified coroner Uptegrove didn't take enough heart or brain tissue samples to verify there was no heart problem or seizure and didn't test for narcolepsy. Coroner Uptegrove has been criticized for taking short cuts and having a coroner's job in three counties.

8. Sarah's mother said Sarah was always healthy, had no history of heart problems and there was no history of heart problems or seizures in the family. She didn't recall Sarah ever falling asleep anywhere.

8. In the 3rd trial, she admitted that Sarah had surgery for a cleft palate and had a heart murmur as an infant. She took Sarah to a pediatric cardiologist but never followed up over the years.

9. In the 2nd trial Sarah's mother said, they're part of a younger generation and talk differently to each other. She said, "They would argue on certain things. They got in an argument on how to hang pictures so they called Sarah's brother to come and hang all the pictures in their house. In the 3rd trial she said they called each other "nasty names".

9. In previous trials she testified that Ryan and Sarah got along well together and they were very happy. They bought a house and moved in together and Ryan became part of their family even before they married. When asked what the "nasty names" were, she couldn't say.

Dreama Epperson, the juror that was using Social Media on Anti Ryan Widmer pages and vidoes, during the trial - still at it.

RWDI-Dreama

The News about the situation: WCPO.com

Defense Witness: Kimberly Liles
Written by Mike Mayleben   
Friday, 06 May 2011 18:28

Direct Exam: Jay Clark

She began working for Jill Widmer at Luxottica in 2005, starting as her assistant and then advancing to her production coordinator. She worked with her until Jill retired in June 2008. She lives in Franklin Township and has lived in Warren County for two months.   As Jill's assistant she met the family, including Ryan, his twin brother Aryn and Kyle, the younger brother.   She was invited to go to their lake house many times. She met Ryan prior to Sarah meeting him and he never lost his temper or got angry. When there were family get-togethers that she attended, she saw Ryan drink, but not excessively. His behavior never changed when he had been drinking;   he was still laid back and calm.

She first met Sarah at a gathering at Jill's house and also spent time with her and Ryan at the lake house. She said Sarah was a "sweet girl" and she and Ryan appeared to be a happy couple. They were very lovable with each other, giggling, teasing, and joking.   She never saw Ryan lose his temper with Sarah.  

She attended Sarah's bachelorette party which began at their house on Crested Owl Court. They had a lot of fun and everyone got along. She attended their wedding and it was a very beautiful event. Sarah was beaming and she never saw a happier couple. Sarah had talked Ryan into taking ballroom dancing lessons for their first dance, and it was "very cute". They danced beautifully together.

She spent a lot of time with the family at their lake house at Lake Carrington, near Danville, Kentucky, where Jill owned a two-bedroom cabin.   While she was there, she never saw Ryan get angry with Sarah.

She never heard Sarah complain about financial issues or that she made more money than Ryan. They all joked about Sarah not being able to walk out of Target without spending $100. It was a running joke and everyone always laughed about it. She said Sarah never complained about Ryan being controlling or a tight wad.

The week end before she went on a trip to St. Louis with her mom , they all were at the family's cabin relaxing.   Ryan was "very loveable" toward Sarah and did anything she asked. If she asked for a glass of water, he got it, "you know, very sweet."   During that weekend at the cabin they didn't do any activities--just laid around and relaxed.   It was just beginning to get dark when Sarah fell asleep in the lawn chair.   She thought it was kind of odd and commented to the others how Sarah could fall asleep

within inches of everyone talking and laughing. She knew about the weekend trip Sarah was planning with her mom, and Ryan didn't seem upset about it at all.

Clark handed her some papers which she looked over and then identified as her Verizon cell phone records. Asked if she gave Ryan a phone to use she said "yes", to help him and his mother out financially. She already had her number, her mother's number and her mother-in-law's number on it so she just added another number to her account. She never placed any restrictions on it and said he could call whoever he wanted and talk for as long as he wanted.

She and Sarah exchanged text messages the night she died. They had a brief conversation and Sarah texted her that she "wasn't feeling well".   She had a bad headache so they ended the conversation. Nothing further.

Cross Exam: John Arnold

Arnold began by asking about the Dateline episode in regards to her phone records. Did she give him the cell phone before or after the Dateline episode aired? She replied before, but then said she wasn't sure when the episode aired. Arnold walked over to her and abruptly swiped the records from her.

Arnold pointed out that the first phone call for that number was Sept. 18, 2009 and Clark said he could explain. Arnold snapped, "I don't need his explanation," but the judge called them both to the bench. After a discussion, the judge told Liles to disregard the question.

Arnold reiterated that she went to their wedding and asked if Ryan's father was at the wedding.   She replied "no".   Asked if Ryan was very close to his father, she said she didn't know their relationship; "It was none of my business".

Asked if Jill had a drinking problem, she replied, "I don't know what you call a drinking problem".  Arnold then asked if Jill drank a lot, and Liles replied, "It depends on what you call a lot." He asked if they were very good friends and she replied, "Yes, she's my friend". He then asked if they were partying at the cabin that weekend and she said she wouldn't call it partying. She wasn't drinking and neither

was Jill because she was sick.

She said she never knew of Ryan monitoring Sarah's spending online or to call her after she made a purchase.  She said she never discussed finances with Ryan.

Regarding Sarah falling asleep in the lawn chair, Arnold asked what time it got dark at the lake. Liles replied she didn't know because she didn't wear a watch.  Sarah was asleep until Ryan woke her to go to bed about 11:00 p.m.

Arnold asked if there were phone calls to Iowa on her phone records. She said she didn't know because she didn't look at them that closely, so Arnold handed them to her to look through. After she was finished reviewing them, Arnold asked if there were several calls between Sept. 18, 2009 and December 2009. She said there was, and said the plan was a family share package with unlimited calls and texts.  She didn't know if Ryan was contacted by many people after the Dateline episode. She talked to him 2 or 3 times a week. She said she wasn't a "follower" of his website but would look at it from time to time.

During his last questions, Arnold seemed to be getting irritated because he "barked" at the witness. "Do you know whose DNA was found under her fingernails?"Answer: No. "Do you know anything about what happened; were you at the Widmer home that night?" Answer: No.   Nothing further.

Re-Direct: Jay Clark

In regards to finances, Liles said her husband teased her about spending habits while they were talking at the lake house but she didn't recall Ryan saying anything about Sarah's spending habits. Clark then asked if Sarah ever said anything to her about Ryan complaining about her spending and she replied, "no".   Nothing further.
 

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