By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) - Prosecutors are dropping a murder charge against a former deputy who had been accused along with her husband in the strangulation death of a man they confronted outside a Houston-area restaurant.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday that after reviewing all the evidence in the case, prosecutors could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauna Thompson had committed a crime.

Chauna Thompson and her husband, Terry, were both indicted for murder in the May 2017 death of 24-year-old John Hernandez.

A jury in November sentenced Terry Thompson to 25 years in prison.

The incident began after Terry Thompson confronted Hernandez about urinating in the parking lot of a Denny's. Chauna Thompson, who was off-duty, arrived later and helped subdue Hernandez.

Prosecutors said at trial that Terry Thompson kept Hernandez in a chokehold even after he stopped resisting.

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