LISBON — The judge in the aggravated murder case against William P. Long Jr., who’s accused of killing his ex-wife, denied two defense motions this week — one seeking the exclusion of exhibits related to “Trax”-generated maps, plots or analysis and one seeking truck registration data from five counties.

William P. Long Jr., 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 remains set for Feb. 3 and he remains jailed under a $1.5 million cash or surety bond.

For the vehicle registrations, the defense filed a motion asking the court to order the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to provide non-identifying data on how many trucks similar to the defendant’s truck are registered in the five-county area, naming several particular truck models and asking for the number of registrations for those truck models for Columbiana, Mahoning, Stark, Carroll and Jefferson counties.

In her judgment entry, Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton wrote that the defendant “argues the records are necessary to rebut any implication that an unidentified truck seen in

video footage is the defendant’s vehicle.”

She, however, disagreed, and denied the motion.

“The issue presented in defendant’s motion is one for the trier of fact. The information the defendant is attempting to obtain from the BMV is not relevant. The BMV is not a party to this case,” she wrote.

As for the attempt to exclude “Trax”-generated maps, plots or analysis and to preclude any witness from offering opinions or conclusions based on “Trax” or other unverified GPS data, she denied the motion, writing that the raw data used in the program is admissible and several courts have found “Trax” to be admissible.

The cellular location evidence and “Trax” analysis allegedly places William P. Long near the scene of the 2023 homicide at the critical time when the victim was shot to death in her vehicle while getting her mail. Two separate hearings were held related to “Trax” with an expert for the defense and an expert for the prosecution both testifying.

Based on the factors she considered, Bickerton found the “Trax” map and the state’s cellular location evidence admissible. She also wrote that the state does not need an expert to testify to the “Trax” mapping in order for it to be admissible. She had acknowledged that the state indicated a plan to have an investigator from the county Sheriff’s Office testify regarding the cell phone location evidence, specifically Chief Deputy Caleb Wycoff.

In other matters related to the case, county Assistant Prosecutors Alex Beech and Jennifer Bonish filed a notice this week 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.