Prosecutors drop murder charge in Rock Hill death

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a Rock Hill man accused of beating another man to death earlier this year.

The Herald of Rock Hill reported (http://bit.ly/OHnYtg) that 26-year-old Desmond King had been arrested April 26 and charged with beating his neighbor to death.

Sixty-five-year-old Alexander Harden was killed in January.

Prosecutor Willy Thompson says the charge against King was dropped May 29. Hardin’s family was upset that charges were dropped.

King’s lawyer says police were wrong to arrest his client. Public defender B.J. Barrowclough says the main evidence against King was a letter by a North Carolina inmate who had been in the York County jail with King.

The defense attorney said DNA on the bat used to kill Hardin did not match King.

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Information from: The Herald, http://www.heraldonline.com