William P. Long Jr. enters the courtroom on the second day of his trial for aggravated murder in the 2023 death of his ex-wife, Michelle Long, who was a Leetonia teacher and track coach. The day began with a jury view, then opening statements, then testimony by five prosecution witnesses. Also pictured is Columbiana County Deputy Sheriff Nick Rusyn. Testimony for the prosecution will continue this morning. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON — Sara J. Lewis testified that she started screaming when she saw her sister, Michelle Long, sitting in her still running truck, through a hole in the window she thought came from a gunshot.

“My immediate thought was he killed her, he killed her,” she said.

When Columbiana County Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Bonish asked who “he” was, she said. “Bill,” referring to aggravated murder defendant William P. Long Jr., her former brother-in-law who she pointed out at the defense table.

Lewis was the first witness for the prosecution in the jury trial for Long, who’s accused of pulling up next to Michelle’s truck while she was getting her mail and shooting her to death in front of her Carey Road home in Butler Township at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 29, 2023. She was 50 years old and had taught that day at Leetonia High School where she was a math teacher/STEM/industry teacher, junior high robotics coach and junior high track coach. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. She had been with the district for eight years .

The first order of business was the jury view when jurors boarded a bus and rode from Endley Road, Lisbon, to the Carey Road house where the shooting took place. When everyone returned to the courthouse in downtown Lisbon to Common Pleas Court, attorneys for both sides presented their opening statements to the six men and six women and two male alternates.

Charges against Long include aggravated murder and murder, both unclassified felonies, and first-degree felony discharging a firearm upon a roadway, with firearm specifications for use of a gun for each count. If convicted of aggravated murder, he could face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

During opening arguments before a packed courtroom with family members of both the victim and the defendant in attendance, county Assistant Prosecutor Alec Beech described the events of that night when a neighbor on Carey Road, Robert Saltsgiver, at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 29, 2023 heard multiple booms which he immediately knew were gunshots. For a rural area, that wasn’t unusual, but it was unusual to hear it so close to his house.

“What he heard were the gunshots that ended the life of Michelle Long,” Beech said.

There were no signs of robbery. The truck wasn’t stolen, nothing was stolen, not even something she had just purchased.

“Michelle Long was a mother to a 14-year-old son, she was a daughter, she was a sister, she was a teacher, she was a coach and she was many things to many other people,” he said.

Beech then talked about her divorce from the defendant, saying it was petty and contentious. The divorce was granted in April 2023, but then came the challenges and they kept returning to court. Beech said the defendant couldn’t accept the outcome. On Nov. 28, 2023, a judge denied the defendant’s motion, ruling that Michelle Long would receive the Carey Road home and all the land, child support, spousal support and $100,000.

He talked about the charges, the large amount of evidence and said the evidence will show the defendant was at the Carey Road property carrying out the murder of Michelle. He pulled up beside her, shot her and killed her, Beech said. He said the defendant planned it, he took deliberate actions, such as leaving his cell phone at another place while he drove somewhere else. 

He warned jurors that the defense will try to divert their attention from what happened, but the evidence will point to one person.

Defense attorney Frank Cassese talked about the defense being up close where details matter and said “the devil is in the details.”

He told jurors they’re going to hear that Michelle Long was shot and how her family members said Bill Long did it. He talked about how the police confiscated Bill’s phone, the truck he drove to the shooting scene after Michelle was discovered and his .45-caliber handgun.

Cassese explained that Bill liked to work on cars in a garage with his son and after he picked him up from school that day, Nov. 29, 2023, they went to the garage. At 5:18 p.m. that evening , Bill left the garage and went to his girlfriend’s residence and a residence on Market Street in Lisbon. He said they’ll hear that Bill was at the Market Street property when he left to pick up his son at the garage.

He said they’ll likely hear that Bill and Michelle’s older son took his own life, about their divorce and the disgusting things he said to his wife and that he tried to take his own life.

But he said that’s not what this case is about. He said this case is about whether the state can provide the evidence to convince them beyond a reasonable doubt.

Both Lewis, the younger sister of the victim, and her boyfrend, Robert Morris, testified about the relationship between the victim and defendant and their own interactions with the defendant, how he started drinking more after the suicide of their son, Jacob, and how they saw the victim and defendant argue. Lewis said the way he spoke to her sister at that time was hurtful.

She shared what she knew or was told after the divorce was filed, how he was living at a girlfriend’s residence and at his father’s house on Endley Road, Lisbon, but would also return to the marital home.

They both detailed what happened on the day of the murder, how she had copied some documents for Michelle, which Michelle picked up from her house on state Route 46, then went to her attorney’s office, which was in Canfield. Lewis tried to call her at 6 p.m. but she didn’t answer, which wasn’t unusual. Later at night, her mother called because Michelle didn’t pick up her son, Brandon, 14 at the time,  and that was unusual. While the grandmother went to pick up Brandon, Lewis and Morris left to drive to the Carey Road home of Michelle.

They both testified to seeing Michelle’s truck and glass in the road, then they saw a large hole in the passenger side window and there was a smaller hole on the driver’s side window. The doors were locked and the truck was still running. Morris, who was the defendant’s cousin and grew up with him, said when he looked inside Michelle’s truck, “I seen her head covered in blood.”

Her head was down and she didn’t appear to be breathing. He called 911 and the 911 call was played for the jury by Beech, with Morris telling the dispatcher it looked like she’s been shot. In the background, screaming could be heard and he said that was Sara reacting to seeing her sister. During the call, he mentioned the divorce and Bill Long, saying yes when asked if Bill had any guns.

Lewis said she called her mom and told her not to come there with Brandon, but she did. Once there, she had him stay in the vehicle and she and her mom went to see Michelle in the truck. Brandon was then taken into the house. Lewis said she called his older brother, Billy, to let him know and she also called Bill, telling him Michelle was killed and told him to come and get Brandon.

During cross examination by Cassese, he questioned Lewis about her interview with a detective and some text messages she shared, questioning her about when she said the defendant last communicated with her sister was October 2024, but it may have been later.

“You told them you believed Bill did it, correct?” he asked, with Lewis replying “yes.”

Other testimony came from Michelle’s divorce attorney, Louis Katz, regarding the divorce and a meeting with Michelle the day of her death, the neighbor who heard the gunshots, Robert Saltsgiver, and Deputy Sheriff Rob Vukovich. Katz went into great detail about the divorce complaint, reviewing some of the information in the filings presented by Beech. He said after the temporary orders, he filed motions for contempt for Long removing items from the marital residence on Carey Road, for exclusive possession of the residence for Michelle and regarding Long unplugging security cameras at the residence. He would be gone for weeks on end, then show up and Katz said that scared her.

He talked about the results of the divorce and how Long objected. On Nov. 28, 2023, the judgment was issued and that was the end of the road for Long. Everything was now over. Katz met with Michelle the day of her death and described her demeanor as looking forward to a new phase of her life starting, but apprehensive too.

Defense attorney David Betras questioned Katz extensively about the divorce  proceedings and whether he referred to his client as a “drunken sailor” and “Bart Simpson.” Katz said he said he was spending money like a drunken sailor and he didn’t recall calling him Bart Simpson, but that he wasn’t taking responsibility for his actions related to the requirements of the divorce. When he reviewed his statement, he admitted he did call him Bart Simpson.

Betras kept asking him about what he called a side agreement and how Michelle voluntarily signed for his client to take money from his pension. During the questioning, Judge Megan Bickerton told Betras to let the  witness answer after Betras cut him off during one answer.

“I’m not going to let him ramble on,” Betras said.

Betras and Bickerton had an exchange regarding the alleged side agreement and an email from Katz that Betras kept asking about, prompting Bickerton to review the email which had not been provided to the state. She said she wasn’t letting it into evidence.

Betras asked if Michelle ever expressed to Katz any concern about Long stalking her, noting if there had been any concern, Katz would have filed something in response, but nothing was filed.

“Was there anything filed about him stalking her or any location device on her phone?” Betras asked, with Katz answering, “No.”

 Saltsgiver testified that he heard three gunshots, but it was dark and with a tree line, he didn’t see anything. Vukovich talked about what he saw when he arrived at the scene, noting that he didn’t find any shell casings. When Bill Long arrived, he said Sara Lewis became alarmed because he was approaching, but under cross-examination by Cassese, he was asked if he realized she was the one who called Bill and told him to come there, which he did not.

Vukovich said he read Long his Miranda rights and described him as disinterested, saying when he was with him, he didn’t look over at the truck and never inquired about what was going on.

Testimony is expected to continue today.