The Pasco County man whose wife died after an altercation in the waters off the northern tip of Anna Maria is no longer facing a domestic violence charge.
Assistant State Attorney Brian Iten, who heads the felony division of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court, closed the case Oct. 10. Michael Doster, 50, had faced a simple battery charge stemming from a struggle with his wife at Passage Key in July.
The Manatee County Clerk of Court canceled Doster’s $5,000 bond.
By entering a dismissal without prejudice, Iten left open the possibility of re-charging Doster if warranted by the continuing investigation.
The state has 175 days from the date of the crime to bring another case based on Pamela Doster’s death, according to Manatee County Sheriff’s Office detective John Kenney, lead investigator in the sheriff’s homicide investigative unit.
Before she died July 16, Pamela Doster gave a sworn statement: “Mike hurt me on the Sea Doo on my hip and face.” According to the MCSO report, she attempted to board the watercraft multiple times but her husband pulled her off the vessel each time, causing her to hit her head on the side of the watercraft.
Pamela Doster’s death left the state without a witness to the domestic battery, but Kenney’s “absolutely” still looking for one.
He is continuing to investigate the possible manslaughter case, he added.
Michael Doster’s attorney, Joe Campoli, said he had expected the dismissal.
“If the state is going to charge my client with anything it has to be regarding her death — not that it will happen. But he’s not out of the woods yet.”