A murder charge against a 26-year-old man accused of killing a Santa Ynez resident in October was dismissed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court on Friday morning. 

Rylen Quinn Svane-Morris of Lancaster was arrested in connection with the death of Terry Lee Wilson, 72, following an incident in a home at Jason Way on Oct. 8.

Svane-Morris then reportedly fled in a 2014 Chrysler minivan he didn’t own. He was taken into custody days later in Santa Cruz County. 

On Friday, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Lara Clinton and her colleague Catherine Martin told Judge George Eskin that the District Attorney’s Office had filed a motion to dismiss the murder charge in response to additional investigation and information about Wilson’s cause of death.

When Judge George Eskin asked Senior Deputy Public Defender Erica Sutherland about the motion, she responded, “It’s the proper thing to do.”

In a statement released after the hearing, the District Attorney’s Office said: “Due to new information regarding Terry Wilson’s cause of death, the People cannot proceed with the homicide case against Rylen Quinn Svane Morris at this time.”

Wilson reportedly had serious health problems, including with his heart.

The defense also claimed that Svane-Morris had been invited to the home, which is contrary to what law enforcement officers were told at the time of Wilson’s death.

In the defense motion filed earlier, seeking access to her client’s cellphone, Sutherland noted that the witness, Jane Doe, told sheriff’s deputies that her ex-boyfriend had entered the home without permission through an unlocked sliding glass door. 

The witness claimed she told her father that Svane-Morris was in the bathroom.

Wilson grabbed a crowbar, charged into the bathroom and threatened to kill Svane-Morris, who grabbed the weapon, according to the defense motion. 

A physical altercation ensued, with Svane-Morris taking the weapon before Wilson left the home.

“Ms. Doe told deputies that her father had recently had open heart surgery and had other medical issues. Deputies located Mr. Wilson slumped over in a squatted position by the entryway of his neighbor’s home,” Sutherland wrote in her motion.

Lifesaving measures were not successful, and Wilson was pronounced dead. 

In her motion, Sutherland noted that the cellphone likely contained information to prove her client had been invited to the residence.

“The parties agree that the evidence on Mr. Svane-Morris’ cellphone is ‘probably critical’ to the case, particularly text message between Mr. Svane-Morris and Ms. Doe regarding whether he was welcome at Mr. Wilson’s home,” according to the motion.

A second case against Svane-Morris also was resolved Friday. Originally charged with felony stealing a vehicle and accepting stolen property, the District Attorney’s Office agreed to reduce the vehicle theft to a misdemeanor and dismissed the second charge. 

On Friday, Svane-Morris pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor vehicle theft charge, and the judge sentenced him to time served and placed the defendant on probation. 

The judge also set aside the amount of restitution that Svane-Morris must pay after the prosecuting attorneys said they needed to talk to the victims.

“Since early October, Rylen Svane-Morris has been locked in a cell for a death penalty-eligible murder charge — for an alleged violent attack that never happened,” Sutherland told Noozhawk. “The prosecution dragged its feet on the investigation, delaying the recovery of evidence exonerating my client.”

Media reports, based on information from law enforcement officers, claimed that Svane-Morris committed a violent attack, but it never happened, Sutherland added.

“Today the prosecution admitted it never had enough evidence and dismissed the murder charge, but the damage to Mr. Svane-Morris is already done,” Sutherland said. “This has been an extremely traumatic experience for someone who attacked no one. I urge the media and the community to be skeptical of allegations made against anyone before evidence is presented.”