HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A judge has dismissed a deliberate homicide charge filed last June against a former Billings minister for the shooting death of his wife during an October 1990 hunting trip in southern Montana.
Retired Montana Supreme Court Justice John Warner found that Cary Greenlee of Bend, Ore., could not get a fair trial because evidence that he might use in his defense had been lost. Warner also said the state reopened its investigation “for no good reason” and did not uncover strong enough evidence to justify the lengthy delay in filing charges.
His order, dated Tuesday, did leave open the possibility that charges could again be filed against Greenlee if the state found compelling evidence of his guilt in the death of Anita Greenlee, the Billings Gazette reported Wednesday.
Warner was assigned to preside over the case in January at the request of District Judge Blair Jones of Carbon County.
