Ohio doctor charged in 'Craigslist' slaying

NEW ALBANY, Ohio -- Personal ads that Dr. Ali Salim placed on Craigslist -- and police say he posted hundreds of them -- made one thing clear: He wanted "no drama." He didn't always get his wish.

One woman told police she was accosted at Salim's house. Another said she was sexually assaulted. Another left after she said Salim insisted she pose in her underwear while he painted the digestive system on her abdomen.

The final drama, police and prosecutors say, occurred July 31 when Deanna Ballman, nine months pregnant with two young children at home, disappeared after answering one of Salim's ads. Ballman's body was found the next day in the backseat of her car on a country road a few miles from Salim's house.

After a six-month investigation, Salim was arrested in February and charged with kidnapping, raping and killing Ballman by injecting her with heroin, as well as killing her unborn child.

Salim has pleaded not guilty and is under house arrest on $1 million bond. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 3.

Salim, 44, who is single, is originally from Pakistan where he earned his medical degree at King Edward Medical College at the University of the Punjab in 1993, according to medical board records. He did his residency at West Virginia University and worked most recently as an emergency room physician in a small city in east-central Ohio.

The medical board has revoked Salim's license because of the criminal charges. He had no medical disciplinary cases as a doctor and no previous criminal record.

Salim lived in a $305,000 house in New Albany, a tony Columbus suburb, and owned expensive cars, including a Porsche and Infiniti. He drove his vehicles fast: Records obtained by The Associated Press found at least 15 speeding tickets since 2000.