Ryan Widmer v. Jossette Okereke

Type

Opinion

Author

Eric L. Clay

Filed

May 19, 2025

Case

Ryan Widmer v. Jossette Okereke

Case status

Decided

The first passage of the document, as extracted by the source provider.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 25a0258n.06 No. 24-3054 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED May 19, 2025 KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk ) RYAN K. WIDMER, ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT v. ) COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN ) DISTRICT OF OHIO JOSSETTE OKEREKE, Warden ) Defendant-Appellant. ) OPINION ) ) Before: MOORE, CLAY, and THAPAR, Circuit Judges. CLAY, Circuit Judge. Petitioner Ryan Widmer appeals the district court’s order denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the district court’s denial of habeas relief. I. BACKGROUND A. Sarah Widmer’s Death and Ryan Widmer’s Trials In February 2011, after three trials, Ryan Widmer was convicted of murdering his wife, Sarah Widmer (“Sarah”). We recount the details of Sarah’s death and Widmer’s trials, and then recount additional information relevant to Widmer’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On the night of August 11, 2008, Sarah drowned in the bathtub at her residence in Hamilton Township, Ohio. Her husband, Petitioner Ryan Widmer, called 9-1-1 to report the drowning. Widmer stated that he be…

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