LISBON — A Lisbon man accused of shooting his ex-wife to death in 2023 won’t face a jury trial now until 9 a.m. Nov. 18 after his defense attorney said their expert needs more time to review video and cell phone evidence.

William P. Long Jr., 51, North Market Street, remains jailed under a $1.5 million cash or surety bond after being charged in May 2024 with aggravated murder and murder, both unclassified felonies, along with a first-degree felony of discharging a firearm upon a roadway, and firearm specifications for using a gun for each count in the death of 50-year-old Michelle A. Long on Nov. 29, 2023 outside her Carey Road home in Butler Township.

At the time of her death, Michelle A. Long was the Leetonia High School math/STEM/industry teacher, junior high robotics coach and junior high track coach. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The jury trial for William P. Long Jr. was scheduled to begin April 29 in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, but his defense attorneys David Betras and Frank Cassese filed a motion March 21 requesting a continuance.

“For cause, the evidence provided to undersigned counsel is voluminous which required a 2 terabyte hard drive to download the discovery provided by the state of Ohio,” Betras wrote.

Based on a portion of the evidence, he said defense counsel retained the services of an expert witness to review the video and cell phone evidence and because of the considerable amount of video surveillance footage, the expert indicated that additional time was necessary to adequately review the footage for the purpose of writing an expert report and rendering an expert opinion.

He also noted the state indicated an intent to use cell phone data at trial, which the expert witness can also review, which requires more time to analyze and render an expert opinion. He also wanted to have access to the defendant’s truck, which had been seized.

Betras wrote that the defendant’s family was paying for the legal services and he was unable to immediately retain expert services until the funds became available. During the hearing, he said they had been having trouble raising the money for the expert.

“From what I understand, this is a circumstantial evidence case,” he said, adding “they have some witness who said he made threats,” referring to the state’s case and his client.

Betras also said during the hearing that he may be filing some motions related to the search warrants n the case, which is something he mentioned during the previous hearing, which was held late last year. Since then, the only motion filed was for the continuance.

Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton set a deadline of June 13 for the filing of any motions, with an interim status hearing set for 10:20 a.m. Aug. 18 and a final status hearing set for 9 a.m. Nov. 3.

County Assistant Prosecutor Alec Beech said the state understood the reason for the motion for continuance.

Due to the court’s schedule and the schedule for Betras and the state, the only open date available was in November. The state is represented by Beech and county Assistant Prosecutor Tammie Riley Jones.

If convicted, William P. Long Jr. could be facing life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to county Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino.

Abruzzino said previously that Michelle Long was found deceased in her vehicle outside of her residence on the road near her mailbox. Early in the investigation, there had been search warrants executed, including one at the home of William P. Long Jr. in Lisbon.

mgreier@mojonews.com