Ohio appeals court denies man's bid for 4th trial

LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — A state appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of a southwest Ohio man in the 2008 bathtub drowning of his wife.

The ruling of the 12th District Court of Appeals was released today in Lebanon, and it turns back an effort to gain a fourth trial for Ryan Widmer. His attorneys could appeal the ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court.

In this appeal, they had argued that police shouldn’t have removed the bathtub as evidence from the Ohio couple’s suburban home.

Widmer’s first guilty verdict was thrown out over juror misconduct, and a second trial ended in a hung jury.

A jury convicted him in February 2011 at his third trial. He is serving 15 years to life for Sarah Widmer’s death.