FIVE men who spent more than 17 years awaiting trial for a murder in which the victim’s body was never found have been acquitted after a High Court judge upheld no-case submissions and directed a jury to return verdicts of not guilty.On Thursday, Justice Maria Busby Earle-Caddle ruled that there was no case for Clive “Smallman” Charles, Joseph “Joe” Sammy, Quesi “Blacks” Charles, Jaasu “Fat Head” Gafoor, and Markus “Tack” Julien to answer in relation to the alleged murder of Maraval resident Qwasie Dowers.The judge upheld no-case submissions made by the attorneys representing each of the accused and ordered that they be discharged. A sixth man, Roger “Kyo” Geeban, who was also charged with the murder, died in prison while awaiting trial.Body never foundThe case dates back to March 2, 2008, when Dowers was allegedly killed. Investigators claimed his body had been disposed of after the killing, but it was never ­recovered.At the close of the State’s case, attorneys representing the accused each filed no-case submissions, contending that the prosecution had failed to adduce sufficient ­evidence to require their clients to answer the charge.Justice Busby Earle-Caddle upheld the submissions and directed the jury to return verdicts of not guilty in respect of all five men. She subsequently ordered that Charles, Sammy, Quesi Charles, Gafoor and Julien be discharged on the murder ­indictment.The State was represented by prosecutors Norma Peters and Esther Gaston.Attorneys Evans Welch, Sebastian Petersen, Robert Vince Charles, Danielle Rampersad, Stacy Benjamin-Roach, Susan Kalipersad, Mario Merritt, Randall Raphael, Shaunelle Hamilton and Tonya Thomas appeared on behalf of the former accused.