WINFIELD, W.Va. -- The special prosecutor assigned to handle the domestic-battery case against Putnam County Commissioner Gary Tillis voluntarily dismissed the charge after hearing testimony from his wife and stepdaughter on Thursday.

Magistrate Kylene Brown granted the motion and the case was dismissed. Brown replaced Magistrate Kim Blair, who is married to former county commissioner Jim Caruthers, whom Tillis defeated in the 2006 election.

Gary Tillis, 41, of Eleanor, was charged with domestic battery on Sept. 19 because police believed he had hit his wife, Barbara, after an argument at their home.

Tillis' stepdaughter, Jordan Meadows, testified Thursday that she called 911 while her mother and Tillis were fighting, but said she never actually saw Tillis hit her mother.

"I saw him bring his arm back," Meadows said. "It's what I thought he might have done."

Barbara Tillis also said Thursday that her husband never hit her.

In the motion to dismiss the domestic-battery charge, Wayne County Prosecutor Tom Plymale wrote that the testimony of Barbara Tillis and Meadows "does not show that physical contact was made," and, therefore, "the state cannot prove that a domestic battery took place."

According to a criminal complaint filed in Putnam County Magistrate Court, when police arrived at the Tillis' home, the daughter of Barbara Tillis said Gary Tillis had hit her mother. When police spoke to Gary Tillis' wife, they saw a red, swollen mark around her eye, according to the complaint.

Police said Barbara Tillis told them her husband had been drinking when he arrived home, and hit her after an argument about Gary Tillis allegedly calling his stepdaughter a "bitch."

When police told Barbara Tillis that he would be charged with domestic battery, she started to change her story, according to the complaint. She then told police that she did not get hit and that, instead, she hit Gary Tillis and split his lip.

She also told police that when Tillis was leaving, she broke his car's windshield with a rock, according to the complaint. When police met Tillis at the Speedway gas station in Winfield, according to the complaint, Tillis did not have a split lip and did not appear to have any other injuries.

Eleanor Police Chief W.R. Mullins said he does not believe Tillis was given a Breathalyzer test.

Tillis' term on the commission ends next year. He has said he will not seek re-election.

Reach Kate White at kate.wh...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.