DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) — A Westerville man was found not guilty Friday of killing his wife and staging it as a suicide.

After deliberating for nearly three hours, a Delaware County jury found Matheau L. Moore not guilty on charges of murder and felonious assault in the death of his 52-year-old wife, Emily Noble, whose body was found shortly after her birthday in a wooded Westerville area in September 2020.

An autopsy revealed that Noble, who was found with a 20-inch USB cord around her neck months after being reported missing in May, suffered several fractures and died from “multiple injuries to the head and neck.”

Investigators argued that Noble’s body was staged to appear as a suicide, and police said a strangulation expert contended the evidence pointed to homicide.

The trial kicked off on Aug. 15, and jurors heard from several witnesses, including Noble’s sister, who said Moore became upset with her when she refused to serve as his spokesperson to the police.

“In a menacing tone, he said, ‘You need to think long and hard about whether you ever want to see your sister again,’ and I hung up, and did not speak verbally with him again,” the sister testified.

Moore’s defense argued that hanging could not be ruled out of the equation, and attorney Diane Menashe pointed to Noble’s reported diagnosis with depression.

“You didn’t know that she had suffered from depression and had been diagnosed with depression?” Menashe asked Noble’s sister.

“This case is totally speculation,” Menashe said during closing arguments.

Moore was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault in June 2021.