Hearing today on using phone evidence in Leetonia teacher murder case
LISBON A legal dispute over key cell phone evidence in the trial of a man accused of murdering his wife is scheduled to be heard today by a judge in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court. William Long Jr. is accused of fatally shooting his former wife, Leetonia High School teacher Michelle Long, in November 2023 outside her Butler Township home.
The central issue is whether a preliminary hearing is required to test the reliability of a mapping tool called Trax, which police used to track Long's location.
Prosecutors intend to use location maps generated by the Trax software to argue that Long was near the scene of the incident on Carey Road around the time of the shooting. The software takes raw cell phone data and converts it into visual maps, including shaded "coverage areas" or "handoff zones" that show where a phone was allegedly located.
The defense for William Long is fighting to exclude this evidence. They argue that Trax is not reliable and its output should not be shown to the jury. In a court filing, the defense claims the software uses an unpublished, untestable algorithm to create its maps. They also point to a forensic expert they hired who concluded that Trax produced errors exceeding five miles in another case.
The defense maintains that because Trax uses proprietary algorithms to interpret data and create new geographical inferences, it must be considered scientific evidence subject to a reliability check.
Prosecutors previously filed a motion to deny the hearing, arguing that the Trax maps are simply a visualization of existing data, not a scientific conclusion. They claim the detective who used the software will testify as an investigator, not as an expert, and therefore, a hearing on scientific reliability isn't needed. They also point to past court cases where similar cellular location evidence has been admitted.
However, the defense is pushing back, arguing that the maps are not just a simple display of records. They say the maps are a "scientific conclusion" about a phone's location that could mislead a jury by implying a certainty that doesn't exist.
The defense states that the State’s position goes against Ohio law and the court's role in making sure evidence is reliable before trial. They are asking the court to deny the State's motion and grant a full hearing before the trial begins.
Judge Megan L. Bickerton is scheduled to hear arguments on the motions at 9 a.m. Her ruling will determine if the prosecution can use the Trax-generated cell phone location maps at trial.
The jury trial for William Long is currently scheduled for February 3, 2026.
