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Probe into veterans' deaths still open

COLUMBIA, Mo., Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Murder charges were dropped against a former Veterans Administration nurse in the deaths of 10 Missouri patients but the case remained open Friday.

The Kansas City Star quoted Boone County prosecutor Kevin Crane on the case status although he wouldn't say if the nurse was still a suspect.

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The charges against 37-year-old Richard Williams were dropped Wednesday after the FBI determined evidence against him had been based on flawed results from lab testing. Crane would not say whether Williams was still a suspect.

Some 63 patients died under Williams' care over a five-month period in 1992. Forty-one of them died during his shift and in 13 cases there were moments where he was the sole nurse with the patient.

"But that doesn't mean he killed them," said Don Catlett, Williams' public defender. "The state has no evidence."

Williams was released from jail Wednesday, more than a year after his arrest.

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