Murder charges against Cameo Pettaway, 23, were dismissed Thursday.
/ File
TOLEDO, OHIO -- The East Toledo man accused of strangling a couple to death in Springfield Township early last year will walk free.
A Lucas County judge dismissed the murder charges against Cameo Pettaway, 23, on Thursday, after a week of court proceedings.
Pettaway was on trial for the deaths of Lisa Straub, 20, and her boyfriend, Johnny Clarke, 21. The couple was found dead inside Straub's parents' Longacre Lane home in January 2011.
Straub and Clark were asphyxiated and had plastic bags on their heads when they were found.
Prosecutors alleged that the only evidence linking Pettaway to the crime was a cigarette butt with the defendant's DNA found outside the home. The judge took only 10 minutes to dimiss all charges citing lack of evidence.
A second accused, Samuel Williams, is being tried in a separate courtroom. Williams DNA is also said to have been carried on the cigarette butt. Closing arguments in his case wrapped up Thursday.
Last week, the judge found Pettaway to be mentally retarded, and therefore, would not be sentenced to death if convicted.
Pettaway is expected to be released from custody Thursday.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWNWO