Jurors visit Widmer home, hear 911 call

LEBANON, Ohio - Jurors deciding the fate of the Warren County man accused of drowning his wife heard the 911 call for help Wednesday.

This is Ryan Widmer's second trial.

The jury also heard from two witnesses and toured the home where Widmer says he found his wife Sarah not breathing in the bathtub in August 2008. The jury in the first trial did not visit the home.

Jurors started their day with visiting the Widmer home on Crested Owl Court in Hamilton Township.

US Bank foreclosed on the house. It is now owned by the bank. Widmer went along, but he stayed outside.

The jurors spent about 30 minutes inside. Then the jury returned to the courthouse for opening statements.

Prosecutors explained their evidence. It's the same evidence they used during the first trial.

They told the jurors some of the evidence they'll hear includes testimony that Sarah's body was dry and her hair was wet when paramedics arrived.

"Law enforcement officers at the scene based on some of the circumstances are rightfully suspicious," says Assistant Prosecutor Travis Vieux. "You're going to hear testimony from witnesses at the scene who had contact with Mr. Wider at the scene that Mr. Widmer was also dry.”

Prosecutors say Widmer was making excuses right away.

"The very first thing he wants to tell them is that she fell asleep in the bathtub. He relays to the 911 operator he found her. He makes a point that he was downstairs. He was not present," says Vieux.

Defense attorneys told the jury during opening statements that while it may sound unusual to some people, Sarah and Ryan Widmer got engaged in the same bathroom where Ryan says he found Sarah dead.

Defense attorneys say an expert will prove neither of their bodies had injuries that reflect murder.

"His opinion will be based on engineering and medicine that there is no way Ryan forcibly drowned a conscious sober Sarah in that bathroom," says Jay Clark.

Defense attorneys also tried to discredit investigators telling the jury that people who worked on the case for the prosecution are inexperienced.

Widmer's attorneys also say the prosecution has too many missing pieces to prove it was murder.

"Don't let the state try to force you into putting pieces in place that don't fit," says Clark.

"After you consider the evidence, the exhibit, the testimony. There's only one verdict that truly is justice for Sarah and that is verdict of not guilty." says Clark.

The first witness was Don Sebastianelli, the Warren County 911 coordinator.

The 911 operator who answered the call did not testify, but he testified in the first trial.

When the 911 call was played, Widmer looked down as he listened to his own voice reporting he thought his wife was dead.

Widmer's father had trouble listening. He, too, hung his head as the call was played.

Sarah's family is not in the courtroom and doesn't plan to listen in.

A deputy testified in the afternoon that Widmer's behavior was odd the night his wife died. He says Widmer was pacing, but not screaming and crying.

Widmer has different attorneys this time around.

The first jury found him guilty but that case was thrown out because of juror misconduct. Jurors did experiments on how long it takes a body to dry.