SALT LAKE CITY — A judge dismissed all criminal charges against a man accused of brutally beating his wife after prosecutors ran into problems with evidence and an unnamed witness.
Third District Judge Paul Maughan on Monday dismissed all counts against Davey Joe Williams and canceled a Jan. 12 jury trial at the request of the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.
"There wasn't enough independent evidence," said District Attorney spokesman Mark Biljanic.
Biljanic also cited "participation with the witness" as another reason for seeking the dismissal but gave no specifics about who the witness was or what difficulties arose.
Williams, 31, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, domestic violence in the presence of a child, and other charges. On Sept. 20, Williams accused his wife of cheating on him and told her it was "time to instill fear into her" and "make her suffer," court documents state.
She told South Salt Lake police that her husband repeatedly beat her and abused her over a three-day period and at one point tied her wrists and ankles together with cords and used another cord to try to strangle her, court documents state.
At times, Williams would not permit his wife to use the toilet, and he cut her hair with a knife, put something inside a sock and hit her with it, and held a 10-pound dumbbell over the child's head threatening to kill the boy, according to court documents.
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