Three of four people accused in an alleged kidnapping and extortion case are off the hook.

The rare charges raised eyebrows when first laid back in December of 2021.

It stemmed from incident in which a man was allegedly kidnapped and held for ransom, pending payment from his mother.

Career criminal Philip Pynn, brothers Joe and Jeff Aylward, and Theresa Lynn O’Grady were arrested after the car they were in was pulled over in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s late on a Monday night.

The alleged victim was also in the car but not harmed.

But with four defendants, numerous delays, suggestions of conflict with a defence lawyer and glitches with courtroom recordings, the complicated case came to an abrupt end in provincial court this week when the Crown said there was no likelihood of conviction.

That’s due in large part to the reluctance of one of their key witnesses to testify.

Pynn remains in custody, accused of trying to smuggle drugs, including fentanyl, into HMP.

Theresea Lynn O’Grady, meanwhile, still faces a charge of mischief in the kidnapping case.

She’s due to be sentenced in October.