Written by Jared Dubin at CBSSports.com
The city attorney’s office of Columbus, Ohio, will not press domestic violence charges against Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, the office announced on Tuesday.
Per the Dallas Morning News, here is the press release from the City Attorney’s office:
On Friday July 22, 2016, [complainant’s name redacted], in conjunction with a previously publicized Columbus Police report, filed an intake complaint with the City Attorney’s Office, Prosecutor Division. Her complaint included allegations of Domestic Violence by her boyfriend, Ezekiel Elliott, on 5 separate occasions. The time period of the allegations encompassed Sunday July 17, 2016 through Friday July 22, 2016.
[Complainant’s name redacted] completed the required paperwork and Intake staff conducted an interview where specific details about each allegation were gathered. Witness statements, police reports, and medical records were acquired. Photographs of text messages and visible injuries were taken. Upon completion of the initial investigative phase, the complaint was evaluated by a prosecutor. The evaluation called for follow up with several witnesses and a closer examination of all the evidence presented.
Subsequent to the filing of an intake complaint by [complainant’s name redacted], the City Attorney’s Office, Prosecutor Division was contacted by both a representative and legal counsel for Mr. Elliott. These individuals were cooperative with the investigation and provided additional information, including witness affidavits and photographs, for review and consideration.
A final evaluation of the complaint for potential charges involved an assessment of the credibility of all identified witnesses based on the accuracy and thoroughness of their statements both standing alone and in comparison to one other. Moreover, there was a careful examination of all injuries and an attempt to determine the source of their cause. Finally, the potential motive, if any, of all parties was examined.
After reviewing the totality of the evidence, the City Attorney’s Office, Prosecutor Division is declining to approve criminal charges in this matter for any of the 5 alleged incidents. This is primarily due to conflicting and inconsistent information across all incidents resulting in concern regarding the sufficiency of the evidence to support the filing of criminal charges.
Back in late July, Deadspin discovered photos posted to Instagram by a woman that identified herself as Elliott’s ex-girlfriend. The photos showed injuries sustained from what she described as repeated domestic abuse by Elliott.
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