Edgar County State’s Attorney Cole addressed the board about a negotiated plea in the criminal case involving Carla Tresner, saying prosecutors accepted a lesser charge after reviewing evidence and assessing the likelihood of conviction at trial.

Cole said his office examined witness statements, physical evidence and the rules of evidence and found “significant evidentiary hurdles” that could prevent a jury conviction. He listed an uncooperative complaining witness, multiple conflicting statements, a teenage witness who could not corroborate events, a lack of physical evidence and a compromised crime scene as factors that weakened the prosecution’s case.

“Confessions to a scribe, without more, are not enough to prove corpus delicti,” Cole said, adding his belief that the available evidence did not present a strong enough case to secure a guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt. He said he took responsibility for prosecutorial decisions and urged the county safety committee, which he planned to meet with, to address gaps in law enforcement capacity — including a shortage of deputies on county roads and the lack of a dedicated investigator for the sheriff’s office or the state’s attorney’s office.

Cole said he would distribute a written version of his remarks later in the week and that he was working with law enforcement to address long-standing local deficiencies.