BUFFALO, N.Y. — There's been a major update to a retrial that was about to begin Tuesday for a controversial case in Tonawanda.

The Erie County District Attorney's Office says they filed a motion to dismiss the case against James Pugh.

Pugh and Brian Scott Lorenz were convicted in the death of Deborah Meindl in 1993.

Pugh was paroled in 2019, and Lorenz is still imprisoned for the same death.

Both were facing new trials after a forensic review found neither man's DNA at the crime scene, with Lorenz’s mistrial leading to a retrial next April,

However, the DA's office said in a statement that during their investigation into the re-trial for Pugh, they could not find enough evidence to connect him to the murder.

Here is the full statement from Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane

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