CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- A woman who stabbed her drunken Marine husband to death at their Camp Pendleton home in 2003 was acquitted of murder and released from jail last week after a federal judge heard testimony that her husband had abused her, it was reported Wednesday.

Joy Medley, 37, spent six months in jail before Judge Larry Burns ruled May 29 that there wasn't enough evidence to warrant a murder or manslaughter conviction, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

"I'm just so overwhelmed right now," Medley told the newspaper. "I knew the truth was on my side."

Medley stabbed Sgt. William Medley, 36, on Oct. 26, 2003.

"She stabbed her husband to death; there's no doubt about that," defense attorney Knut Johnson told the newspaper, adding that the real issue was whether the stabbing was done in self-defense.

That night, the couple returned to home from a party where both were drinking and an argument ensued, according to the Union-Tribune.

Yelling led to physical violence before their teenage daughters intervened and called 911, the newspaper reported.

Before help arrived, Medley stabbed her husband with a knife. He died less than an hour later.

Medley told authorities her husband of 10 years punched her several times and told her, "If I'm going down, I'm going in a bag. You are going to ruin my career."

Police released Medley shortly after the death and by the time she was indicted in 2005, she had moved to Georgia and lost touch with local authorities and her lawyer, the newspaper reported.

Authorities caught up with her in October, according to the Union-Tribune.