BOURBON COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Officials in Bourbon County on Tuesday dropped a murder charge against a man who had previously been accused of killing a woman and hiding her corpse under his home.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Sharon Muse said that the state and Kentucky State Police recently concluded they did not have evidence to prove a murder charge against 48-year-old Michael Hutsell in the death of 53-year-old Tina Johnson.
Officials believe Johnson died in December 2016. Her body was discovered in January 2017 in a crawl space of a Paris home.
Muse did not offer details about what lead investigators and authorities to abandon the murder charge.
Hutsell still faces several other charges, including abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, first-degree persistent felon and retaliating against participants in a legal process.
Hutsell has since been released from jail.
