Page 3 - Forceful Drowning News Today

Shes undergone significant cpr. however there is no hemorrhage anywhere in the area of the chest. so its difficult to try to rationalize that the hemorrhage in her neck can be the result of cpr. >> as the coroner saw it, the significant bruising on sarahs neck was caused by ryans forceful drowning of her. >> do you have an opinion as to the manner of sarahs death? >> yes. the manner of death was homicide. >> and that took prosecutors into the realm of speculation. what had happened in the bedroo...

Only dr. scholls has massaging gel insoles that provide all-day comfort. to keep him feeling more energized. dr. scholls. born to move. >> reporter: that monday night the cincinnati bengals were looking more than decent against green bay. fans across town, like jeff braley, wondered if this could finally be a miracle season for the back-then hapless local franchise of the nfl. but braley didnt get to see all of the game. he was a cop, a detective. and you dont get to pick your down time. >> ive ...

The hospital. by then they worked on her for 45 minutes. but hadnt gotten a response. minutes later, jill was with her son waiting anxiously together in a room off emergency. >> finally, a woman came in and then we said is she gone? and she said yes. and he just dropped down to his knees and was just bawling and sobbing into the chair. >> reporter: sarah widmer, 24 years old, the bride of less than four months, was dead. her husband ryan told the emergency services people he thought she had fall...

>> ive was at home watching the bengals game. i get a call from the sergeant. "lieutenant, were out on a drowning. the paramedics are working on her. but somethings not right here." >> reporter: as he rolled to the house he knew some of what to expect. when you are a cop more than a decade you become familiar with the signs of the drowning like the froth about the victims nose and mouth. >> your mind starts running immediately about possibilities. they initially tell me i have a 24-year-old drow...

Closed doors on crested owl court. the prosecutors would have to convince another jury that ryan widmer had killed his wife. >> thats got to be hugely frustrating. youve got a guilty verdict and youve got to do it again. >> on the other hand, by that point we knew how a jury would react to our evidence. >> on the other side of the coin, the defense has seen your case. >> they certainly have. and they can now counterpunch. >> and we cant change it very much. >> ryan widmer trial, take two. >> com...

Person. if ryan had forced sarah over the side of the tub, had she tried to brace herself as she was pushed into the water? >> from my experience, those looks like prints that are going in a downward motion. >> how do you fight back? keep your head out of the water? put your hands against the tub, or put your hands on the bottom of the tub? do you grasp at somebody and lose your only hold on life? >> a stark image, a husband pushing his wifes head underwater and holding her there until she drown...

Start over again. this time a new defense team would take over ryans case. defense lawyers jay clark and lindsey gutierrez worried that even though they were starting the trial with a clean slate of jurors, the verdict from the first trial would still hang over the accused. >> well, hes still innocent until proven guilty, everyone thinks and everyone knows, well, he was proven guilty. >> across the courtroom, the prosecution team was the same. it would hammer home the argument that a healthy 24-...

So its difficult to try to rationalize that the hemorrhage in her neck can be the result of cpr. >> as the coroner saw it, the significant bruising on sarahs neck was caused by ryans forceful drowning of her. >> do you have an opinion as to the manner of sarahs death? >> yes. the manner of death was homicide. >> and that took prosecutors into the realm of speculation. what had happened in the bedroom that night if sarah hadnt drowned by herself in the bathtub? this forensic pathologist had one s...

>> but the prosecutions message for the jury was blunt. there had been a violent confrontation in the widmer house that night. >> ryan widmer purposely killed sarah stewart widmer and murdered her by drowning. >> the prosecutors began with the first moments of the case. ryans call to 911. >> my wife, she fell asleep in the bathtub, i think. i was downstairs. i came up here and she was laying face down in the bathtub. >> the emergency dispatcher testified that the voice was giving more details th...

Energy lives here. >> reporter: sarah widmer had died of drowning in her home. and her body would be examined by the coroner. there was nothing for ryan, her husband of four months, to do but leave the hospital and head home. his mother, jill, took him back to the house in the wee hours. ryan asked me, mom i cant go back in there. can you go in and grab clothes for me. so i want upstairs. when i got to the bedroom. there were a couple pieces of carpet cut out of their carpeting which i thought w...