LISBON — A motions hearing is now set for 11:30 a.m. Monday in the aggravated murder case against William P. Long Jr. after his attorney asked for permission to file motions to suppress evidence, just one month shy of the jury trial.

Long, 51, North Market Street, 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.

David Betras, the hired defense attorney who’s representing Long, along with defense attorney Frank Cassese, filed the motion for leave to file motions to suppress evidence Thursday afternoon. He claimed the delay in filing a motion to suppress “was inadvertent, but not willful. Counsel did not intentionally disregard the deadline but discovered after reviewing recently produced discovery materials that substantial Fourth Amendment issues exist regarding the admissibility of certain evidence.”

He wrote in his motion that the delay in filing “was also inadvertent due to the sheer and overwhelming volume of discovery produced in this matter.”

Betras talked about reviewing and organizing hundreds of pages of reports, digital evidence and other materials and about retaining an expert to analyze portions of discovery.

He said the issues related to the proposed motion to suppress “go to the core of the defendant’s right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Denying this motion on procedural grounds would elevate form over substance and risk the admission of evidence obtained in violation of constitutional protections.”

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton set a deadline for motions of June 13 which came and went with no motions filed. During an interim status hearing in August, Cassese was there and Bickerton said the case remained unresolved based on her conversation with counsel before hearing.

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

Long 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.

In the case, the state is represented by county Assistant Prosecutors Alec Beech, Tammie Riley Jones and Jennifer Bonish.

During the interim hearing, Bickerton made a point of mentioning that the deadline for any motions was June 13, saying she wanted it on the record.

Since a hearing in April, nothing had been filed in the case. During that hearing in April, Betras said the defense may be filing some motions related to the search warrants in the case, which is something he mentioned during the previous hearing held late last year. The only motion filed by the defense since last year until now was a motion to continue the previous spring trial date, which the judge did and reset to the current date.

County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino said previously that Michelle Long was found deceased in her vehicle outside of her residence on the road near her mailbox. Early in the investigation, there had been search warrants executed, including one at the home of William P. Long Jr. in Lisbon.