William P. Long Jr. prepares to leave the courtroom followed by Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ian Kristan after jury selection was completed in his aggravated murder trial Monday. Opening statements are expected sometime this morning in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, after a jury view of the route to the victim’s home. Long is accused of allegedly killing his ex-wife in 2023. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON — The aggravated murder trial for William P. Long Jr., who’s accused of killing his ex-wife, Michelle, in 2023, kicked off Tuesday with close to 40 potential jurors in the courtroom and ended with the selection of 12 jurors, plus two alternates.

This morning those jurors will board a bus for a defense-requested jury view, traveling a route between Endley Road, Lisbon and Carey Road, Salem and looking at the scene where the shooting occurred outside the victim’s Carey Road home in Butler Township.

The jury consists of six men and six women, with two men as alternates. The selection process, known as voir dire, took all day in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court as attorneys for the defense and the state asked the potential jurors questions, then decided who to keep and who to let go, along with Judge Megan Bickerton.

Long, 51, North Market Street, Lisbon, appeared in a shirt, tie and dress slacks with dress shoes, escorted by two deputies with the county sheriff’s office and accompanied by his team of defense attorneys, including David Betras, Frank Cassese and Tallie Orengia.

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

Opening statements will take place after the jury view today, then the state will begin presenting its witnesses. The trial has attracted a heavier than normal media presence, with representatives of Court TV and the CBS News show “48 Hours” in attendance, along with the local print and TV media who have been covering the case.

William P. Long Jr. 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 home. She was his ex-wife and a teacher at Leetonia High School. Long has remained in custody since his arrest under a $1.5 million cash or surety bond.

Before jurors entered the courtroom, Bickerton talked with attorneys on the record regarding three motions filed by the state last month. The defense had not filed a response to the motions. 

The state had filed a notice of the intent to use evidence contained in the victim’s cell phone, specifically two recordings/videos of the defendant speaking to the victim, saying such evidence is admissible “to prove motive, opportunity, knowledge, identity, and /or the absence of mistake.”

The state also filed two motions in limine, one to permit the admission of writings authored by the victim concerning her relationship with the defendant and one to place limitations on the testimony of defense witness Jim Stafford, who had testified in a hearing regarding the “Trax” program. The request was to prohibit him from presenting expert opinion testimony on issues such as the vehicle depicted in videos and location data.

Cassese said it was his understanding that the one video in question is from two years prior to the death of the victim. As for the writings from the victim, he said what the state’s providing goes to the character of the defendant.

Bickerton said she would be reviewing the information and make a ruling before opening statements.

In late fall and in December, the defense lost its battle to have evidence thrown out through its challenge of multiple search warrants. In a judgment entry written by Bickerton regarding the search warrant related to a particular cell phone, she highlighted some of the information from the affidavit by Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office Detective Lt. now Chief Deputy Caleb Wycoff, who said the sheriff’s office received a 911 call at 9:28 p.m. Nov. 29, 2023 about a shooting on the road near the Carey Road property, with the victim found dead in the driver’s seat of her Dodge truck.

Wycoff noted that the victim and defendant were recently divorced and they were involved in ongoing legal proceedings in county Common Pleas Court.

On Nov. 29, 2023, the defendant arrived at the crime scene in a 2019 Chevy 2500 pickup, said he was divorced from the victim and he had sent a text to the victim at 5 p.m., but she did not respond, Wycoff stated.

The ruling said Wycoff also spoke to the victim’s attorney “who indicated the victim had been at his office on Nov. 29, 2023 in the afternoon, and expressed her concern for her safety due to the defendant’s behavior.”