Charges dropped in slaying of cop, woman

In a joint statement, Cook County State's Atty. Dick Devine and Police Supt. Jody Weis stressed that the decision "does not preclude any future charges."

"This investigation is vigorously going forward, and we will pursue any evidence wherever it may lead us," their statement said.

The decision to drop the charges came after a meeting between Devine and Weis.

The joint statement said "challenges with witness statements" prompted prosecutors to conclude "they would no longer be able to sustain their burden of proof."

Austin's attorney, David Wiener, applauded Devine and his prosecutors for having "the courage to dismiss a case in which a police officer was murdered."

"I know the Area 4 police detectives are not happy with this decision, but they are good people and are probably very, very angry based on the fact that one of their own was killed," Wiener said. "But they're good people--they've done a good job in terms of investigating this case. We've just been able to prove . . . that the car wasn't present and that there were a number of witnesses who can prove that Jason was somewhere else at the time the crime was committed."

Wiener said that he was suspicious from the beginning when two people allegedly in the car with Austin were not charged.

"Never, and I mean never, do the two people in the car get released as witnesses," he said. "They're always charged as accountable to the shooter, because if you go to commit an armed robbery and someone gets killed . . . you're charged along with the shooter."

Austin's mother, Ruthie, was shaking with emotion at the Criminal Courts Building after the announcement that the charges had been dropped.

"I feel very relieved," she said as tears streamed down her face. "I've been believing in him and standing by him, and I just want to say how sorry I am to the other families that did lose someone, but thank God it's not my son. He's not a cop killer, and I just want everyone to know that."

Austin  was charged  Aug. 18 and ordered held without bail  in the murders of Soto, 49, who was assigned to the bomb and arson unit, and Romberg, 45, a caseworker for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

At the time, authorities said the victims were sitting in Soto's SUV outside Romberg's West Side home at about 1:30 a.m.  Aug. 13 when Austin approached the driver's side of the vehicle and announced a robbery.

"The victim then was seen fumbling through his wallet, and the defendant then took items from [Soto]," Assistant State's Atty. Maria McCarthy said at an earlier  bail hearing. "The defendant then fired four shots into the car."

Soto called 911 as he lay dying and told police that three men in a maroon car had robbed him and then opened fire. And prosecutors said that other witnesses saw Austin and two other men drive past them immediately after the shooting in Austin's maroon Buick Regal. Austin was also alleged to have told witnesses to lie about his whereabouts because he had "hit a lick," or committed an armed robbery.

But the case began to unravel as witnesses changed their statements. In addition, surveillance video from both Chicago police pod cameras and private security cameras in the area showed a car fleeing the area that was different than Austin's Buick.

In addition, Austin's lawyer and family insisted his vehicle was in a repair shop at the time of the shooting.