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WEST POINT — Domestic violence charges against a former elementary school principal were dismissed Tuesday after his wife refused to testify against him under spousal immunity.
Donald Heywood Beatty, 54, was [charged](<https://www.ksl.com/?sid=39969987 target=>) in Davis County Justice Court in May with class B misdemeanor charges of assault, unlawful detention, threats of violence and interrupting a communication device. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in June.
Beatty was scheduled to appear for a pretrial conference Wednesday, but the case was dismissed after his wife invoked her spousal immunity, leaving prosecutors without sufficient evidence to proceed to trial. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
Beatty was the principal of Antelope Elementary School in Clearfield at the time of his arrest and was wearing a shirt from the school in his jail booking photo. He listed his employer as the Davis School District, the booking information showed.
A Davis School District official confirmed Wednesday that Beatty is still employed, now working in the district's data processing office.
According to police, officers were called to Beatty's home on May 27. Beatty told authorities his wife had tried to leave the room before concluding a conversation so he "closed the door and would not let her leave," and that "the rest is kinda fuzzy," according to a probable cause statement.
Beatty's wife told authorities he pushed her to the ground and straddled her to prevent her from phoning for help, but she managed to get out of the room and make the call.
According to the statement, Beatty told police he had tried to keep his wife from calling for help, but "it didn't matter as she made the call anyway." The statement also indicated Beatty threatened to harm a son if he arrived.
