Nancy Pfister Murder Case: Charges Dropped Against Suspect in Aspen Socialite's Death

New, undisclosed evidence leads to dismissal of charges against Nancy Styler, who had rented Pfister's home with her husband, who remains in custody

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Charges against one of three suspects held in the murder of Aspen socialite Nancy Pfister were abruptly dropped at an emergency court hearing on Tuesday.

Nancy Styler, 62, was released from jail, according to ABC News, after the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office revealed that new, undisclosed evidence led to the dismissal of her criminal charges, which included first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

“The district attorney could not prove that Ms. Styler was involved in the crimes,” the D.A. said in a statement.

Nancy is the wife of William “Trey” Styler, 66, who remains in jail on first-degree murder charges, along with Katherine Carpenter, 56, Pfister’s friend and bookkeeper.

The Stylers had rented the home of Pfister, 57, whose father founded the Buttermilk Ski Resort, and the couple had been in custody since their arrests March 3 after moving out of her home about a week earlier.

Pfister – a former girlfriend of Michael Douglas who counted Jack Nicholson, Woody Harrelson and Goldie Hawn among her friends in the popular, affluent ski-resort area – was killed by a blunt-force injury to her head and had been dead some 36 hours before Carpenter called 911 to report she had found Pfister’s body in a closet in the home.

According to ABC News, unsealed arrest affidavits had revealed that law enforcement found nine spots of blood in the Stylers’ Jaguar interior and in the trunk.

The murder weapon, according to the documents, was found in a trash bag close to the hotel room were the Stylers had been staying since leaving Pfister’s home.