Deadly Divorce Murder Trial: Opening Statements

[00:00:01] Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, good morning. At approximately 5:45 PM on November 29th of 2023, a man named Robert Saltzgiver was enjoying a normal evening as a residence on Cary Road, just outside of Salem here in Columbiana County. And at approximately 5:45 PM, Mr. Saltzgiver heard multiple booms, which he immediately knew were gunshots. And it wasn't uncommon for him to hear gunshots around his home in that area. Due to hunters frequenting that location, it was hunting season. But it was unusual for Mr. Saltzgiver to hear gunshots that close to his home after dark. And he didn't know it at the time, but what he heard were the gunshots that ended the life of Michelle Long. What Mr. Saltzgiver heard was Michelle Long being shot to death in an execution style killing while she was sitting in her truck at the end of her driveway getting her mail. And the evidence in this case is going to show that the defendant, William Long Jr., is the one who murdered Michelle. Michelle's body was discovered by her sister, Sarah Lewis, Sarah's boyfriend, Rob Morris, and Michelle and Sarah's mother, Karen Lewis, later in that evening, in her truck, at her mailbox. Michelle Long Jr.: There was no signs of a robbery. There was no signs of a robbery. The truck wasn't stolen. But her wallet wasn't stolen. The keys were still there. There was even a brand new TV that she had just purchased in the back seat of her truck. It was not stolen. Michelle Long Jr.: 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 other things to many other people. Michelle was also the recent ex-wife of this defendant. The divorce proceedings began in April of 2022. So we're about a year and a half prior to the murder. The divorce was not easy. Not many are. Michelle Long Jr.: It was petty. It was contentious. The divorce was granted about a year later in April of 2023, sorry, about six months prior to the murder. But they kept coming back to court over and over again, even after the divorce decree was issued by the judge. Michelle Long Jr.: There was even a hearing that was scheduled in December after Michelle was murdered that they were going to have to go back to court again in the divorce case. And the reason that they kept coming back to court over and over and over again was because this defendant could not accept the outcome. And that's because it didn't go his way. In the divorce, the judge ordered that Michelle was going to receive the home on Cary Road. And because of the disparity in their incomes, the defendant was going to have to pay child support to Michelle. He was going to have to pay alimony to Michelle. And he was going to have to pay $100,000 in cash to Michelle. That was the court's order. So the defendant, he appealed that. And he appealed it again. And he appealed it again. Until finally, on November 28th of 2023, the day before Michelle was murdered, a judge denied all of the defendant's appeals. It was confirmed Michelle was going to get the house. The defendant was going to have to pay the child support. The defendant was going to have to pay the alimony. And he was going to have to pay the $100,000. And what should have been the beginning of a new chapter for Michelle Long turned out to be the end of the line. And it was the end of the line because this defendant had no intention of letting Michelle have what the judge said she was entitled to. And it was no secret, you're going to hear, the defendant did not agree with the divorce. He did not agree with the outcome of the divorce. It was no secret that he was angry about it. And it was no secret that he hated Michelle. And when you're thinking about motive in this case, this is the oldest motive in the book. The divorce didn't go his way. And you can absolutely consider the defendant's motive to kill Michelle, along with all the other evidence that you're going to hear in this case. And you're going to hear a lot of evidence. You're going to hear a lot of evidence from a lot of witnesses. Law enforcement undertook a substantial and thorough investigation of Michelle's murder. You're going to see photographs. You're going to see surveillance video. You're going to see cell phone records. You're going to see GPS location data. You're going to see that this defendant switched vehicles just prior to Michelle's murder. You're also going to see that this defendant left his cell phone at one location while he drove to Cary Road to murder Michelle. That's what this case is going to be about, where the defendant was not. At approximately 5.45 p.m. on November 29th of 2023, the defendant is going to want you to believe that he was not at Cary Road. That's not what the evidence is going to show. The evidence is going to show that at approximately 5.45 p.m. on November 29th of 2023, this defendant was at Cary Road carrying out the murder of Michelle. For that reason, he's charged with three counts in this case. You've heard a little bit about this already. Aggravated murder, murder, and discharge of a firearm over a roadway. So each of those counts carry what's called a firearm specification. The judge is going to explain that to you later. What that essentially means is that the defendant used the firearm to facilitate all these offenses. And there's going to be no question about that. You're going to hear evidence that Michelle was shot multiple times and those gunshots caused her death. Going in reverse order, count three, discharge of a firearm over a roadway. The elements of that offense are that on or about November 29th of 2023, this defendant did discharge a firearm upon or over a public road or highway. And the violation caused serious physical harm to any person. And you're going to hear and see that the murder occurred actually on top of Cary Road. Michelle had pulled just off the roadway to get her mail. And this defendant pulled up beside her, shot her, killed her. Count two is murder. The elements are on November 29th of 2023, this defendant did purposely cause the death of Michelle Long. There will be no question at the close of this case that Michelle Long was murdered and that this defendant committed the crime. Count one is aggravated murder. The elements are that on November 29th of 2023, this defendant did purposely and with prior calculation and design cause the death of Michelle Long. And the judge will explain that extra element, prior calculation and design, or what we talked about as premeditation. And you're going to hear and see evidence to support that the defendant planned out this murder. Among many other things, you're going to hear that defendant took deliberate steps prior to the murder that he thought would help him after the murder. Switching vehicles, switching vehicles, leaving his cell phone at one place while he drove to another place. And I can tell you that there's going to be side issues that are going to come up in your minds throughout this trial that you're just not going to know the answer to. And it's normal, it happens in every case. There's no way that we can know every single detail about every single thing that happened the night that Michelle was killed. And I anticipate that the defense will try and distract you from the facts in this case. And they're going to want you to look over here. They're going to want you to look over there. They're going to want you to look anywhere or right there. But I'm here to tell you that the motive in this case, the means in this case, and the evidence in this case all point to one person. And that's right there. And when you use your reason and common sense to consider those things that you're going to hear, I'm confident that you're going to agree too. And that's why at the end of this case, I'm going to stand right here in the same spot. And I'm going to ask that you find the defendant guilty of all the charges in this case. Thank you. [00:09:40] Speaker 2: Thank you, Your Honor. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, Your Honor, counsel. From a thousand miles away, this case looks very obvious. But we're not going to see this case from a thousand miles away. We're going to be up close where details matter. And the real devil is in the details. At 5.45 p.m. on November 29th of 2023, Michelle Long, a mother, a daughter, a coach, a beloved teacher, was murdered outside of her house. Her body wasn't discovered until hours later. You're going to see camera footage that shows the truck pull up to the front of a house. And approximately 18 seconds later, another vehicle, presumably the assailant, pulls up. You're going to learn that Michelle was shot. You're going to learn that when family members arrive, they immediately tell law enforcement, her ex-husband, Bill Long, did this. The evidence is going to show you that around 10 p.m., Bill goes to the Cary Road address to get his son, Brandon. I expect you're going to hear from Karen Lewis, Bill's mother-in-law, who's going to tell you she went to Bill's car and held his hand. He was visibly shaken. You're going to learn that the police confiscated Bill's cell phone, the vehicle he drove in, and a .45 caliber pistol that night. You're going to learn that that cell phone had valuable data. Bill had Life360, a geolocation app that tracks a cell phone's whereabout. He shared his location with his son, Brandon. You're going to hear about the garage. A garage on Bill's father's property that Bill, his son Brandon, and at times his nephew would work on cars and side-by-sides and four-wheelers. That was their hobby. That's what they liked to do. That's how Bill spent time with his son. You're going to learn that after school that day, Bill picked Brandon up, and they went to the garage. And Kell-in-law, Bill's nephew, was at the garage. And you're going to learn that around 5.18 that evening, Bill left the garage. And you're going to hear that wasn't unusual for Bill to leave the boys at the garage. Sometimes he said he would go into town or go to his girlfriend, Leanne's, 807 Market Street, where Bill actually stayed most of the time with Leanne at her house. I expect you'll hear that Bill was at 807 Market Street on November 29th until he returned to the garage to pick up Brandon. You're going to hear that Bill's Life 360 data corroborates the story he told. Still, Bill Long stands in front of you today. He stands trial. He was arrested for Michelle's murder. Now, I expect you're going to hear about a tumultuous divorce. You're going to hear that a horrible tragedy struck this family. Bill and Michelle's son, in 2016, took his own life. And from that time on, their marriage crumbled. Bill turned to alcohol to cope. You're going to hear drunken, foul, disgusting things that he said to his wife. I expect you're going to hear that at one point Bill Long tried to take his own life. And I wholeheartedly expect the state to line witnesses up on that stand to reiterate all the terrible things he said when he was drunk. But that isn't what this case is about. This is about whether the state can provide evidence that convinces you beyond a reasonable doubt that he killed Michelle. Not that he was a bad husband. Not that he said terrible things. It's not about a character assassination. Undoubtedly, the state will bring you suspicion. I anticipate the state will evoke a motion. I guarantee you the state will attack his character. But I do not anticipate they will bring you what matters most. What the law requires. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt. And I believe when the smoke clears. And you look at the actual evidence in this case. And not speculation and assumptions. You will equip Bill Long of these crimes. And send him back to what's left of his family. Thank you.