GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) – A judge freed a woman on trial for the murder of a cattle rancher who first made allegations of a state-sponsored hit squad blamed for dozens of killings, citing a lack of evidence.

Justice Winston Patterson ruled late Monday that a lower court didn’t have enough evidence to put Debra Douglas, 41, on trial for the June 24 slaying of cattle farmer George Bacchus, 51.

Bacchus first brought forward allegations of a government-sponsored hit squad in January 2004. He was shot and killed a day before he was due to testify against two people who allegedly killed his brother, Shafeek Bacchus, in 2003. Bacchus, who had claimed he had been an informant for the squad, had said his brother was killed in a shooting intended for him.

Douglas’ boyfriend, Ashton King, had been one of the two accused of killing Shafeek Bacchus. A court freed King last year, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to try him. The other defendant, Sean Hinds, is still awaiting trial.

After Monday’s hearing, Douglas told reporters she was leaving the country for an undisclosed location before getting into a jeep and driving off.

Her release comes four months after a commission of inquiry cleared Interior Minister Ronald Gajraj of links to the squad, which was blamed for more than 40 killings between 2002 and 2003.

Bacchus had accused Gajraj of heading the squad, which human rights activists have said was formed to curb a violent crime wave at the time.

President Bharrat Jagdeo later reinstated Gajraj, who had stepped down as interior minister during the inquiry. The move drew criticism from the United States, the European Union and local human rights advocates. Gajraj resigned in April, shortly after Washington hinted that it might reduce aid to Guyana, a former British colony of 700,000 people.

Gajraj, who was never charged with a crime, has always maintained his innocence. He acknowledged he had had contact with a suspected death squad member, but insisted it was only to get intelligence on the criminal underworld.