CLEARWATER — A teenager charged two years ago with killing a woman on the Pinellas Trail walked out of jail Friday afternoon a free man.

Prosecutors dropped a first-degree murder charge against Dewayne Jones, now 20, court records show.

Police charged him with killing 41-year-old Lydia Ann Tross, whose body was found on the trail one afternoon in August 2014 by a man and his grandson, who were picking flowers.

Clearwater detectives determined in 2014 that Tross was killed by a stranger as she walked alone on the trail. She was found with "sharp force injuries to her neck and throat."

Tross had left her apartment on four days earlier, after an argument with her boyfriend.

A family member of Jones found Tross' wallet, including her ID, in his house, and tipped off police, investigators said.

Jones made "conflicting and incriminating statements," Clearwater Police Chief Daniel Slaughter said after his arrest. But court records show that last month, a judge granted a defense motion to suppress his statements.

Despite walking out of jail and into the arms of family members who told TV cameras on Friday that he's innocent, police say his release doesn't necessarily mean that.

"Recent developments impacted the ability of the case to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt with the quantity of evidence currently available," Slaughter said in an email. "It did not exonerate Jones."

Dewayne Jones' family declined to speak with a Tampa Bay Times reporter on Saturday. Tross' family could not be reached for comment.

Jones' public defender, Jessica Manuele, said Jones found Tross' wallet while walking the trail. He later went to police and turned in the wallet with a family member after seeing Tross' story on the news, she said. What resulted was a 9-hour interview with police.

Jones has previous convictions, records show, including one for burglary and vehicle theft.

"The investigators did the best they could with the information and evidence available to them," Slaughter said. "This was not an example of any egregious error. In our judicial system, the court will make judgment decisions. We will respect those decisions, and continue working the case to seek closure for the victim's family and friends."

Contact Sara DiNatale at sdinatale@tampabay.com. Contact Jack Suntrup at jsuntrup@tampabay.com.