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Widmer case on ‘Dateline NBC’ tonight

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By Denise G. Callahan, Staff Writer 10:25 AM Friday, September 18, 2009

The Ryan Widmer murder trial will gain national attention again tonight, Sept. 18, when “Dateline NBC” airs a story about the sensational case.

The show begins at 8 p.m., but the portion about the Widmer case does not begin until 9 p.m. on local NBC channels.

Widmer’s mother, Jill Widmer, was interviewed for the piece right after the first trial ended in a murder conviction for her son. The jury, after a two-week trial in March and April, found Widmer guilty of drowning his bride Sarah Widmer in the bathtub of their Hamilton Twp. home last summer.

After some of the jurors came forward and admitted experimenting on how long it took to air-dry after bathing, Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson granted a new trial for Widmer. The crux of the drowning case was that the scene was virtually dry when first responders arrived. There should have been water everywhere if there was a violent struggle and if Widmer dragged his wife’s lifeless body out of the tub during his 911 call, minutes before help arrived.

“Dateline” was on hand for the first trial and Jill Widmer said they wanted to interview her son as well. After Bronson granted the new trial, Widmer’s defense attorneys advised he not be interviewed.

Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel said she is not happy about the decision by “Dateline” producers to air the piece now because she said it might taint the jury pool for the new trial.

“All I can say is they are in the entertainment business and we are in the law enforcement business,” she said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.

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