Testimony on the third day of a Lisbon man's murder trial centered on what vehicle he was driving, and where witnesses did — and did not — see him driving it, the day his ex-wife was killed. 

William Long, Jr., 52, has plead not guilty to charges of murder, aggravated murder and discharging a firearm over a public road in the death of Michelle Long, a Leetonia High School teacher. Michelle Long was shot dead in her vehicle outside her home on Nov. 29, 2023. She was 50 years old. 

Thursday began with two expert witnesses from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Special Agent Dan Boerner described how he had collected and preserved evidence from three key vehicles in the case: the red Dodge truck in which Michelle Long was killed, a white Chevy truck owned by William Long, and an older dark blue truck also owned by the defendant. 

Following Boerner was forensic scientist Andrew Chappell, who conducts examinations of firearms and other ballistic evidence for BCI. Chappell testified that while some evidence brought to him for examination was unsuitable for identification, a fired bullet from inside Michelle Long's truck and a copper bullet jacket found in her shirt were each consistent with a 44 magnum caliber revolver. 

According to previous testimony from Robert Morris, Jr., on Wednesday, William Long did own a 44 magnum caliber revolver. However, Chappell said the ballistic evidence he reviewed could have been associated with weapons from any of five different gun manufacturers. 

Next to the witness stand was a teenager, K, who identified himself as a nephew of the defendant. (21 News is not naming this witness because he is under the age of 18.)

K testified that on the day Michelle Long died, he was at his grandfather's — the defendant's father's — garage with his cousin and the defendant. The garage is a place where witnesses have testified William Long would often go to work on cars, dirt bikes and more, an activity that K said he also engaged in often. 

K told the court that his uncle left the garage at one point that afternoon in his blue truck. He said that was not the vehicle William Long typically drove, as he more often used the newer white truck to get around, though during cross examination K also confirmed that he told police it was not unusual for William Long to drive the blue truck. 

Testimony from Richard Todd, who said he would work on vehicles with the defendant, was used to further establish William Long's use of the older truck. Todd said on his way home from work on the day of Michelle Long's death, he had a brief phone conversation with William Long in which the defendant confirmed he was in that truck. 

Testimony from multiple witnesses in this case has established that later on that day, after Michelle Long died, William Long arrived at the crime scene to pick up their son in his newer white truck instead of the blue truck. 

As the trial continued into the afternoon, the witnesses' testimony began to focus more on where William Long had driven his older vehicle — or rather, where witnesses could not recall him taking it.

In opening statements Wednesday, defense attorney Frank Cassese told the jury his client had gone to his girlfriend Leeann Kelly's house on 807 North Market Street in Lisbon, where he stayed until returning to the garage later on. 

Three witnesses separately told the jury Thursday they were at that home on Nov. 29, 2023, and did not recall seeing William Long there until after Michelle Long had died. 

One of those individuals, Leeann Kelly's daughter Alexis Kelly, said she would have been aware if he had come into the home that day because she would have seen him arrive outside her bedroom window, or heard him enter through the downstairs back door, which she said makes noise. 

Alexis Kelly additionally testified on the existence of a gun in the North Market Street home, which she said William Long kept in a nightstand inside her mother's bedroom. She referred to the gun as a revolver and said after Michelle Long's death, she checked for it in the nightstand and could no longer find it.

During cross-examination and redirection, Alexis Kelly said the last time she saw the gun was in late October 2023, about a month before the incident.