Court allows new trial in Ohio bathtub drowning

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) — A state appeals court will not block a retrial for an Ohio man convicted of murder in the bathtub drowning of his wife.

The 12th District Court of Appeals ruled without comment Thursday that it would not hear an appeal by prosecutors seeking to block the retrial of 28-year-old Ryan Widmer.

A jury convicted Widmer in April in the drowning death of his 24-year-old wife, Sarah Widmer, in the couple’s home near Maineville in southwest Ohio.

But a judge said in July that Widmer deserves a new trial because his right to a fair trial was violated when jurors conducted their own bathroom experiments at home.

Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel says the evidence was strong enough to convict Widmer, and the same evidence would be offered in a new trial.