ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Belmont County Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer L. Sargus said a motion for judicial release for a woman who attempted to murder her husband in St. Clairsville was “premature.”

A hearing for Leslie Long, 43, was held Monday at the courtroom in the Belmont County Justice Center. Long, who is serving a nine-year sentence, was not present during the hearing. She was represented during the judicial release hearing by attorney Donald Tennant, who following testimony and comments from the judge, withdrew the motion for judicial release.

Long was convicted in 2005 after pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder. She is currently serving her sentence at a state reformatory for women.

Leslie Long was described as the ringleader in a plot to have her then husband, Brian Long, killed. On June 3, 2004, Brian Long was in his own Lexington Drive home in St. Clairsville when he was shot twice, but he survived.

Investigators later said Leslie Long was involved in an affair with John Jaworski, 41, formerly of Sarver, Pa., who she met on the Internet. The pair reportedly recruited Jaworski’s brother-in-law, Richard Cavannaugh, 48, formerly of Irwin, Pa., to act as the trigger man during the hit.

St. Clairsville Police said an initial payment of $5,000 for the hit was made in September 2003, although the attempt in which Brian Long was shot did not take place until the following June. Investigators said Leslie Long began to get frustrated with the lack of action after the payment was made and had threatened Jaworski and Cavannagh, stating that she could hire someone else to “take care of her husband and take care of them.”

During Monday’s hearing, Tennant said Leslie Long has been incarcerated for more than have the term of her sentence. She has served about 5 years, and has been a model prisoner. Long, who holds a master’s degree, helps other prisoners obtain their GEDs and has 126 certificates of completion as a result of programs in which she has enrolled, Tennant said.

In her original plea agreement, she had agreed to testify against Jaworski and Cavannaugh, who were also convicted and sent to prison. Although Leslie Long didn’t need to testify in those cases, she was willing to do so, Tennant said.

In fact, Leslie Long has done a lot of testifying since being behind bars.

While being held at the Belmont County Jail, Leslie Long testified in the Anthony Proviano murder case against fellow prisoner Marlene Smith, who was subsequently convicted and sentenced to prison where she died last year. Leslie Long testified that Smith had confessed to the murder while the two women were in jail.

Leslie Long also served as a key witness in a public corruption case in Mansfield, Ohio that brought down five public employees as well as vendors, including her ex-husband, Brian Long, in 2006. Tennant said the U.S. District Attorney commended Leslie Long for her cooperation in the case, in which $223,649 in restitution has been ordered for the city of Mansfield.

During Monday’s hearing, Tennant called to the stand a volunteer minister who has worked in the woman’s prison in Warren, Ohio. She testified that Leslie Long is the best of all the inmates she has visited regularly in two years.

“She is a real inspiration to many people, including myself,” she said, noting Leslie Long’s work as a mentor in the prison. “She is an asset to the institution.”

Belmont County Prosecutor Chris Berhalter said Long has never expressed remorse for her actions. He added that she was just as culpable as her ex-husband in the criminal enterprise case in Mansfield, yet she wasn’t charged because of her cooperation and willingness to testify against all the other defendants.

Brian Long also read a lengthy and emotional statement during Monday’s judicial release hearing.

“I do not believe she is remorseful,” he said. “I’ve never heard her apologize in court.”

According to Brian Long, his ex-wife is an attempted murderer only because he had the strength and will to live after being shot twice. Otherwise, she would simply be a murderer, he indicated.

“I will never be whole again,” he said. “I am forever broken by my experience.”

Brian Long said he still has limited feeling and limited range of motion in one arm because one bullet shattered his elbow. Another bullet lodged in his abdomen, which required surgery. He said he still has problems because of this injury, and one 9mm bullet still remains inside him.

He described Leslie Long as a manipulator. She fabricated a stalking case at the St. Clairsville Police Department prior to his being shot, Brian Long said. He added that he believed Jaworski cut the brake lines in his car two months before the shooting, and another attempt on his life was made as well.

Brian Long said Leslie Long attempted to kill him to cash in on a life insurance policy which she increased from $350,000 to an amount in excess of $700,000.

“She conceived the idea of ending my life, and manipulated others in an attempt to get it done,” said Brian Long. “I don’t believe someone with such a blatant disregard for human life is able to be rehabilitated.”

Judge Sargus said that because of the gravity of this case, the motion for judicial release was “premature.” She gave Tennant the opportunity to withdraw the motion, which he did.

Ayres can be reached at eayres@timesleaderonline.com.