Denny Ross II will be different trial altogether

I'm not a betting man .. but if I were, I'd bet the farm that the sequel to Denny Ross's murder trial won't resemble the first one much at all -- at least from the prosecution side.

While attorneys have spent seven years seeking a new trial, I'm told investigators have been quite busy too .. gathering additional evidence and conducting new tests not available at the time. Additionally, a special prosecutor is now involved ... so different attorneys will be there to present the evidence this time around.

The original trial judge, Jane Bond, has since retired. So there will be a change on the bench as well.

So barring a reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court, Ross will again be tried in the 1999 rape and murder of Hannah Hill. The 18-year-old from Kenmore disappeared in May of that year; her body was found a week later in the trunk of her car. Police picked up Ross, the last person to see her alive, and a subsequent search of his apartment turned up some of her clothes and his semen on her underwear.

I was in Ellet that morning when her car was found. I remember chatting off to the side with a police supervisor. I asked him if Hannah was in the car, and he just caught his breath and then sighed. He didn't have to say another word. We waited several hours to report that info until police told us that Hannah's family had been notified.

Three-ring circus

Seventeen months later, Ross stood trial dressed more like a schoolboy than a suspect .. and with a million-dollar defense team pulling the strings, jurors voted to acquit him of the most serious charge -- murder -- and were debating a lesser charge when the circus was turned upside down.

A juror reported that another juror had information on a lie detector test involving Hannah's former boyfriend, and that was enough for Judge Jane Bond to order a mistrial. Even though jurors had already signed forms acquitting Ross, they were never read in open court and therefor weren't official. It was the most bizarre ending to a trial that most reporters in this town had ever seen.

Double jeopardy rules prevented a re-trial until now. Our office worked hand-in-hand with Dateline NBC on a one-hour special called "Who Killed Hannah Hill?" which has been rebroadcast on MSNBC multiple times.

Family hopeful

I spoke to Hannah Hill's father tonight by phone. He's a gentle man who was nice enough to grant me a few minutes, and while he declined an interview, he did tell me how pleased the family was for the re-trial. Akron Police made sure that he knew about Friday's court ruling.

I'll never forget the first time we met the Hills. It was the day Denny was arrested. They took part in the press conference with police, making a brief statement about leaning on God and friends and family .. and thanking police for bringing Ross to justice. They were so quiet and so devastated that day. I can't imagine how difficult that was for them to sit in front of the TV cameras that day.

Second Victim

I spoke to a source tonight who mentioned that what's often forgotten is the 'second' victim .. a woman Ross met at a bar .. whom he beat and raped later that night. He's now doing 25 years for that attack -- a crime that couldn't have occurred, the source said, had Ross not been walking the streets after the first trial.

Still, there's a long way to go until this case is back in a local courtroom .. but when it is, look for a new twist to this already twisted tragedy.