Michael Colucci speaks publicly for first time since case dismissal

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) — For the first time since 2018, Michael Colucci is speaking publicly about the murder case that followed him for nearly ten years and the judge’s decision last week to dismiss it entirely.

Colucci was charged in 2016 with the murder of his wife, Sara Moore-Colucci, who was found dead behind the couple’s North Main Street jewelry store in May 2015. Colucci said she died by suicide. Prosecutors believed otherwise.

His first trial in 2018 ended in a mistrial. A retrial was scheduled to begin this month, but before opening statements could begin, Judge Roger Young dismissed the case after Colucci’s attorneys argued key evidence had been withheld by the state for years.

Colucci sat down exclusively with News 2’s AC Barker to talk about the emotional toll of carrying that charge for nearly a decade, and how it changed his life.

“I love my wife. She was my soul mate. I lost my wife,” Colucci said. “I wish people would take a second to understand the magnitude of what I just said. I lost my wife. To be turned around and charged for whatever I was, it’s absurd.”

The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office issued a statement following the dismissal, saying:

“Judge Roger Young quashed the indictment without prejudice, which means the State can reevaluate the case and remedy any issues addressed by the court’s order before another trial. We respect the decision of the court and note that Judge Young did not find intentional misconduct by prosecutors from the Attorney General’s office.”

Because the case was dismissed without prejudice, prosecutors could still refile charges in the future.

Colucci, for now, says he’s trying to move forward, knowing not everyone may see him the same way.

“The perception they have is so unjust,” he said. “You don’t have a voice.  To have a stigma like that attached to me unjustly, it’s so wrong beyond words.”