CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A first-degree murder charge has been dropped against a West Virginia man accused of killing his wife.

News outlets report authorities need more time to determine Stephanie Cantley’s official cause of death. A motion to dismiss the charge was filed Tuesday as the cause won’t be determined by Frank Cantley’s preliminary hearing next week.

The 44-year-old man was arrested Sunday after he called authorities and told them his 39-year-old wife had overdosed. A criminal complaint says authorities found her on the floor of the couple’s Charleston home with bruises on her neck that appeared to be from strangulation. It says Frank Cantley told police that he was mad and killed his wife.

He’s being released from custody. The case can’t proceed unless the death is determined to be a homicide.

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