Child abuse charges against three of the five adults who lived at a New Mexico compound where a child was found dead were dismissed Wednesday, court documents show.
The counts against Hujrah Wahhaj, Subhannah Wahhaj, and Lucas Morten have been dismissed after District Judge Emilio Chavez ruled they didn’t have a preliminary hearing in the 10-day time frame required by New Mexico state law for defendants held in custody, a state courts official told CNN.
Prosecutors have the option of filing new charges.
Authorities have said the three were among five adults who lived in squalor with 11 starving children in a ramshackle New Mexico compound.
The body of 3-year-old Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj was found at the site.