LISBON — Prosecutors responded Thursday to a motion filed by defense attorneys for aggravated murder defendant William P. Long, Jr., saying a hearing isn’t necessary related to the state’s use of the “Trax” analytical tool or location evidence.

The document filed by Columbiana County Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin Bonish said even if a hearing is held, the state’s evidence will show that the cellular location data analyzed through “Trax” is admissable and should be permitted to be introduced at trial.

“Trial courts are not required to conduct a Daubert hearing every time scientific evidence is offered or even challenged,” she wrote.

Defense attorneys David Betras and Frank Cassese had asked the court to conduct what’s called a Daubert hearing, to determine the admissability of the challenged evidence, to exclude all exhibits related to “Trax”-generated maps, plots or analysis and to preclude any witness from offering opinions or conclusions based on “Trax” or other unverified GPS data.

The cellular location evidence and “Trax” analysis allegedly places Long near the scene of the 2023 homicide which occurred on Carey Road, Salem.

The defense alleged that the “Trax” software hasn’t been validated or accepted by any recognized forensic community.

Bonish, though, argued against that claim and noted that cellular location data has been used in other cases, including in Columbiana County, so it’s not unprecedented evidence in a criminal case or without judicial scrutiny or analysis.

She said the defense team’s claim that the state didn’t provide the raw data used to create the maps of the cell phone locations was false, saying the data was provided on an external drive to the defense and it appears the defense’s expert analyzed the raw data to formulate his opinions on the defendant’s whereabouts the day of the murder.

Long, 51, North Market Street, Lisbon, was 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 use of 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. She was his ex-wife and a teacher at Leetonia High School.

His jury trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday, but has been pushed back to Feb. 3. Now a general motions hearing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, with a status hearing at 2 p.m. Dec. 8.

Still pending in the case, which is being handled overall by Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton, is a ruling on the defense motion to suppress evidence from search warrants. Retired Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge William T. McGinty was assigned to decide on the motion to suppress, but the ruling hasn’t been filed yet.

The defense recently withdrew its request for an evidentiary hearing on the motion.

The list of search warrants and 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.

The state is not only represented by Bonish but also by county Assistant Prosecutor Alec Beech.