Prosecutors dropped murder and sexual assault charges against a New Jersey man on Monday after a judge refused to allow authorities to enter the suspect’s DNA as evidence in court.

Rafael Camey was questioned shortly after Karen Splettstoesser, 50, of Rutherford, was found beaten to death Sept. 30, 2013 on a riverbank behind a ShopRite in Passaic.

A witness told investigators she saw Camey and Splettstoesser together the night before woman’s body was found, authorities said.

Camey signed a DNA consent form and gave a cheek swab that was analyzed and found to match DNA found on Splettstoesser, authorities said.

Investigators charged Camey with murder and aggravated sexual assault. But his defense lawyers filed a motion to suppress the DNA evidence, saying the consent form the Spanish-speaking suspect signed was in English with no translation.

A court excluded the DNA swab and an appeals court upheld that ruling. The case went to the state Supreme Court, which upheld suppression of the swab, but sent the matter back to a Passaic County judge to decide whether a new sample should be collected.

Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed on Dec. 10, 2019, denied the motion to collect a new DNA sample based on the “improper conduct of the police in obtaining the original sample.”

“With all critical evidence suppressed, the state cannot sustain its burden of proof with respect to each element of each offense,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said in a statement on Monday. “Thus, a dismissal is required.”

It was not immediately clear early Tuesday whether Camey was in custody. Public records show he is not at the Passaic County Jail.

According to her obituary, Splettstoesser was born in Chicago and relocated to New Jersey, where she married in 2010.

She was planning to graduate with a degree in criminal justice, the notice said.

In addition to her husband, she left behind four children and seven grandchildren, all of whom live in Colorado.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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