A Butler County woman accused of murdering a Staten Island businesswoman in Panama City was exonerated and released this weekend after being jailed in Panama for more than two years, according to her family.

A Panamanian jury acquitted 58-year-old Debra Ridgley Saturday morning. The Zelienople resident will fly home Thursday, said her daughter-in-law Laura Ridgley, of Aurora, Ohio.

"We couldn't be more thrilled," said Laura Ridgley.

"I'm looking forward to the homecoming party," said Debra Ridgley's ex-husband, Walter Barcheski, of Aliquippa.

Debra Ridgley was charged in April 2007 with the murder of Toni Grossi Abrams, a 57-year-old Carrick native and Staten Island socialite who owned property in Panama.

Ms. Abrams leased an apartment to Debra Ridgley, who had traveled to the country for an extended vacation, and the two apparently argued the night of the murder.

But Debra Ridgley's family members have long insisted that she did not kill Ms. Abrams, whose dismembered body was found stuffed in a suitcase that had been dumped on a soccer field and set on fire.

They said two Colombian men also wanted for the murder, Didier Osorio Garcia and Camilo Castro, were responsible for her death.

Debra Ridgley's lawyer told the Post-Gazette in 2007 that Ms. Abrams had attacked Debra Ridgley with a knife after the two argued in Ms. Abrams's apartment, prompting the Colombian men, whom Debra Ridgley knew, to intervene.

The lawyer, Donatilo Ballesteros, said Debra Ridgley ran upstairs to her own apartment after the argument, and did not know Ms. Abrams was dead until the next day.

After a trial that began Friday and continued overnight, a jury ruled Saturday morning that Debra Ridgley was not guilty of the murder, said Laura Ridgley.

Laura Ridgley is married to Debra Ridgley's son, Joseph Ridgley, who was in Panama for the trial.

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