The lead detective in the Ryan Widmer murder case has some explaining to do - and his employer also must decide what to do about misrepresentations of the detective's work and education history in official township records.

Details of the inaccuracies were made public Tuesday after a judge unsealed records pertaining to Detective Lt. Jeff Braley of Hamilton Township, who alleges the misrepresentations were forged.

Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson had sealed the records and excluded them from Widmer's recent retrial on a murder charge in the 2008 bathtub drowning of his wife.

Bronson is now considering whether to acquit Widmer after two mistrials, after the retrial ended with a deadlocked jury last month.

In court records, Widmer's lawyers say: "Braley's lack of credentials and credibility are key to Mr. Widmer's defense...a successful attack on Braley's credibility alone may be sufficient for a verdict of not guilty."

But defense lawyers were not permitted to delve into Braley's background when Braley testified at trial, except for questions about his alleged minimal experience and training in death investigations.