A domestic violence charge against data center executive Jeffrey Markley was dismissed Monday after his wife invoked her marital privilege and declined to testify — a legal outcome that a Brookline police supervisor says her unit runs into often.

According to a Brookline Police Department report, the dispute began May 26 after Markley's wife brought one of the couple's children to the dinner table before guests arrived. She told officers Markley became upset and shoved her from behind as she walked away, causing her head to whip back and straining her neck and shoulder. She sought treatment at an urgent care clinic the next morning. Police arrested Markley on May 27 at the couple's Fernwood Road home in Chestnut Hill; he pleaded not guilty at arraignment the following day. A restraining order followed the incident, though it's unclear from court records whether it remains in effect.

Judge Debra Shopteese dismissed the assault and battery charge without objection from prosecutors after Markley's wife declined to testify. His attorney argued the case rested almost entirely on her police interview, with no other evidence to proceed without her. Massachusetts law allows a spouse to refuse to testify against their partner in criminal cases — an exception that doesn't apply in child abuse, nonsupport or desertion cases. Adam Rowe, an attorney for Markley's wife, said "this is a situation that has been blown out of proportion," adding that she had recently given birth and was sleep deprived while caring for their newborn.

Det. Sgt. Cheryl Molloy, who supervises Brookline's domestic violence unit, told Brookline.News in June that one of her team's biggest challenges is "losing the victim in the process." Assaults made up 43% of Brookline arrests from 2023 to 2025, well above the statewide rate of 25%, and the department logged 60 domestic violence incidents in 2025 alone.

Markley founded the Markley Group, a data center company operating facilities in Boston and Lowell, in 1991. Neither he nor his attorney has commented publicly. No further court proceedings are scheduled.