Julie Popovich /// Part 1 /// 947

The case of Julie Popovich remains a haunting chapter in central Ohio’s criminal history. The murder shocked the region and some believe that the case continues to raise difficult questions about justice, public records, and the rights of people who claim they were wrongfully convicted. Julie Popovich was an aspiring young model from Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Her death in 2005 drew widespread attention, not only because of the brutality and sadness surrounding the crime, but also because of the young life that had been cut short. In the years that followed, prosecutors built a case against Adam Saleh, who was accused, tried, and ultimately convicted of Popovich’s murder and kidnapping. Using the trial transcripts we present to you a case that is still much talked about in central Ohio still to this day. From behind bars, however, Adam Saleh continues to maintain that he is innocent. Saleh turned to the Ohio Innocence Project, a group based at the University of Cincinnati College of Law that investigates claims of wrongful conviction.