LISBON — Defense attorneys for William P. Long Jr. filed a motion to suppress a lengthy list of evidence in the aggravated murder case against him, claiming the search of his property was unconstitutional and the evidence should be thrown out.

The list of evidence sought to be suppressed includes: the property at 807 N. Market St., Lisbon where Long had been residing and any vehicles located there; a 2019 Chevy truck; a 2005 Chevy pickup; an Apple iPhone; Verizon wireless records associated with two separate phone numbers; a Life360 account for Long; iCloud accounts for various email addresses; iCloud accounts for a particular phone number or account belonging to Long; Amazon blink cameras; documents associated with an Allstate Insurance Company policy and Google accounts located within a certain radius of specific coordinates on Nov. 29, 2023 from 5:38 p.m. to 5:48 p.m.

Defense attorney David Betras, along with defense attorney Frank Cassese, filed the motion to suppress evidence seized by the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, one day after Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton granted him permission to file the motion to suppress.

A new hearing date remains set at 1 p.m. Oct. 29, but Bickerton requested the appointment of a visiting judge to handle this specific motion since she’s the judge who issued the search warrants in question.

The jury trial remains set for 9 a.m. Nov. 18, with a final status hearing set for 9 a.m. Nov. 3.

Betras wrote that “the defendant’s property was unconstitutionally searched as Detective Lt. Caleb Wycoff’s search warrant affidavit lacks probable cause due to the affidavit lacking the requisite nexus between the place to be searched and the evidence sought.”

Long, 51, North Market Street, Lisbon stands accused of shooting his ex-wife to death in 2023 and could face a possible penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of the aggravated murder charge. He remains jailed under a $1.5 million cash or surety bond after being charged in May 2024 with aggravated murder and murder, both unclassified felonies, along with first-degree felony discharging a firearm upon a roadway, and firearm specifications for using a gun for each count, in the death of 50-year-old Michelle A. Long on Nov. 29, 2023 outside her Carey Road home in Butler Township.

At the time of her murder, Michelle A. Long was the Leetonia High School math/STEM/industry teacher, junior high robotics coach and junior high track coach. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

According to the statement of facts included in the motion by Betras, a 911 caller reported finding Michelle Long deceased with an apparent gunshot wound to the head and that she and her husband, William Long, were recently divorced. While detectives were there, William Long showed up because he said his minor son contacted him and told him Michelle Long had been murdered.

“Immediately, law enforcement treated William Long as a suspect and questioned him about possible involvement in the murder,” Betras wrote.

William Long said he attempted to contact Michelle earlier that day after being questioned about a firearm, he said he believed he had a .45-caliber handgun in the vehicle and his cell phone was also in the truck. After realizing he was being treated as a suspect, he declined to continue talking and was told his truck would be towed and he wasn’t permitted to retrieve his phone.

Betras wrote that on Nov. 30, 2023, Wycoff watched security footage of the road in front of Michelle Long’s house, showing her arriving at her mailbox and another vehicle “appearing to be a truck” pulling next to her truck and then leaving. Betras said there’s no way to identify what type of vehicle arrived next to Michelle Long’s vehicle and Wycoff did not identify whether the vehicle resembled William Long’s truck or if it was a truck at all.

On Nov. 30, 2023, officers were monitoring the North Market Street, Lisbon property where they claimed to see people removing firearms from the residence.

In the motion, Betras wrote that the state must demonstrate a nexus between the place searched and the criminal activity to establish probable cause for a search warrant. In this case, he said there was no evidence that linked William Long to this crime except for the assertion by 911 caller. He said the state does not have a substantial basis to establish that William Long or any of his property was linked to any criminal activity.

Betras wrote that the affidavit “does not provide evidence that incriminates William Long, rather, it infers culpability because the deceased and William Long recently went through a tumultuous divorce.”

The state is represented by county Assistant Prosecutors Alec Beech and Jennifer Bonish.

mgreier@mojonews.com