The case against Joshua Boyle has been dismissed, after a judge dropped accusations of Boyle assaulting his wife, Caitlan Coleman.

Judge Peter Doody says the Crown’s arguments did not lead to a conclusive enough end result, being unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Boyle did indeed commit the crimes he was accused of.

Boyle’s parents were in attendance as Boyle, who was in court of 19 charges including assault, sexual assault, and unlawful confinement, was read the verdict.

Boyle’s mother gave her son a brief hug but Boyle himself remained entirely stoic during the verdict — Andrew Duffy (@citizenduffy) December 19, 2019

The lengthy trial dealt with both Boyle and Coleman’s believability and credibility. Both Boyle and Coleman both spent days testifying and recounting stories of their time as Afghani hostages, and later the events that led up to his arrest in 2017.

Judge Doody ruled that he did not find Boyle believable, but also did not find Coleman’s stories credible.

The judge essentially ruled that he can believe neither Boyle nor Coleman, and without any confirmatory evidence, he had a reasonable doubt about Boyle’s guilt — Andrew Duffy (@citizenduffy) December 19, 2019

The alleged incidents took place in Ottawa after the two had been saved from being prisoners of Talibani extremists for five years.