Charges against Ben Affleck were dropped Tuesday after officials in New Hanover County, North Carolina, said they found no evidence to support a woman’s claims that the Pearl Harbor star threatened to kill her.
Tara Ray, who claims to have had a romantic relationship with the star since February 2002, alleges that Affleck followed her as she drove home from Raleigh, North Carolina, on September 25. She appeared at a special court hearing over the weekend and swore a warrant accusing Affleck of communicating threats to her.
According to the warrant, the actor called her and said he was coming to “blow your (expletive) head off.” Magistrate Ralph Ellen II signed the warrant, stating there was probable cause to believe the incident occurred.
But a spokesman for 31-year-old Affleck, whose on-off marriage to Jennifer Lopez has been the subject of intense media scrutiny, said the allegation is completely false and adds that Affleck had been in Savannah, Georgia, with Lopez for the past three weeks.
District Attorney John Carriker told The Associated Press yesterday that an investigation revealed no credible evidence that Affleck had been to Kure Beach, N.C., or called the woman. He noted that repeated attempts by Kure Beach police to contact accuser Tara Ray were unsuccessful and he dismissed the warrant.
Carriker used the opportunity to condemn a system in which Ray could obtain an arrest warrant without proof the alleged incident ever occurred or without input from Kure Beach police.
“This is a very good example of why people shouldn’t be able to take out a warrant without any kind of police investigation,” Carriker said.
Officials do not plan to file charges against Ray.
