U.S.

Ohio doctor pleads not guilty to murder of pregnant woman who responded to online job ad

Associated Press
Published | Updated

This undated photo released by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office shows Ali Salim. Salim was charged Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 with rape and two counts of murder in the death of a pregnant woman. Salim was indicted by a Delaware County grand jury on nine felony counts in the deaths of 23-year-old Deanna Ballman of Pataskala and her unborn child. (AP Photo/Delaware County Sheriff's Office) (The Associated Press)

Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O'Brien discusses the investigation into Dr. Ali Salim, charged in the 2012 killing of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, at the Delaware County Sheriff's Office in Delaware, Ohio. A grand jury indicted Salim Wednesday on murder, rape and other charges in the death of Deanna Ballman and her unborn child. (AP Photo/Andrew Welsh-Huggins) (The Associated Press)

An Ohio doctor charged with raping and killing a pregnant woman has pleaded not guilty.

A judge set a $1 million bond Thursday for Dr. Ali Salim, an amount the Delaware County prosecutor expected Salim could pay. The judge also said the New Albany man will be on house arrest and must wear a GPS monitoring device.

Salim is suspected of killing Deanna Ballman and her unborn child last summer after she responded to an online job ad he placed.

Prosecutors had asked for a $5 million bond, arguing that Salim mistreated Ballman's corpse and that the violence was not isolated. Prosecutors also said Salim, who is from Pakistan, is a flight risk because of the amount of evidence to be presented against him.