CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In a matter of minutes, the trial of Greg Hardy on a charge of domestic violence was over before it even started.
As Hardy looked on, District Attorney Andrew Murray told the judge and a packed courtroom that the state was dropping the charge.
The alleged victim, Nicole Holder, was to be the state's prime witness. Murray said made herself unavailable to prosecutors for the past several months.
Murray said there was also information that Hardy and Holder had reached a settlement and she could not be located to be subpoenaed.
Outside of court later, Murray would not take any questions but said, "We encourage domestic violence victims to not only report instances of domestic violence, but to participate in every level of the prosecution."
Criminal defense attorney Melissa Owen, who played no role in the case, said, "It's very difficult in a domestic violence case to proceed without a victim."
Former prosecutor and now defense attorney Thomas Porter said in many cases, prosecutors do proceed in domestic violence cases without a victim.
"There must have been something wrong wither her testimony. Inconsistencies, and they realized they probably were not going to be successful, so they just cut their losses." Porter said.
As for the possible settlement Murray had mentioned in court, Porter said it is likely no one will ever know the details.
"If there was a settlement, I'm not sure anything would have been filed. It would just be an agreement between the parties," he said.
Hardy left the courtroom with his attorneys and did not answer any questions about the dismissal of the charges or any settlement that may exist.
Owen said it was likely no one would ever know for sure what happened the night Holder had claimed Hardy assaulted her and threatened to kill her.
"All the speculation that we have about this case, they will never be able to dig into the truth before a jury of his peers," she said.
