MANITOWOC, Wis. - Steven Avery spent 18 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit. Now, another rape charge has been dismissed against him, this time in the murder case of a young photographer. But instead of DNA exonerating him, like in the first one, it was the uncertainty of the evidence against him: his nephew, Brendan Dassey. The 17-year-old allegedly confessed to participating in the rape and murder of 25-year-old Teresa Halbach on Halloween 2005 near their family's salvage yard in rural Manitowoc County. Special Prosecutor Ken Kratz decided not to move forward with sexual assault and kidnapping charges Monday because he couldn't say for sure if Dassey would testify against Avery. So Circuit Judge Patrick Willis dismissed the charges. TODAY'S TMJ4 caught up with Avery as he was being escorted through the halls of the Manitowoc County Courthouse. When asked what he thinks of the change in the charges against him, he replied, "It's about time." There are also serious flaws in the physical evidence against Avery on the two dropped charges. Crime scene evidence test results do not corroborate the timeline of events previously put forth by investigators. Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz, the special prosecutor on the Avery case, has talked about a graphic rape and torture scenario before Halbach was killed. During a news conference in March of 2006, Kratz talked about Halbach being shackled to Avery's bed in his trailer during her final hours. Kratz said that both Avery and Dassey raped Halbach. Kratz also described a bloody stabbing and shooting combination that he believed took Halbach's life. But new court documents filed Monday in Manitowoc County show there is no trace of Halbach's DNA inside the trailer. The defense attorneys for Steven Avery write that crime lab technicians were not able to find any of Halbach's DNA on evidence collected during more than ten separate searches. Investigators tested things like the carpet, bedding, and wall paneling from the mobile home. Dean Strang, Avery's defense attorney, told the judge the lack of evidence makes "it impossible to believe that someone had been stabbed and slashed repeatedly on Steven Avery’s bed. There was no blood in that bedroom." "How many times will Steven Avery be charged in Manitowoc County with crimes he didn't commit?" Avery's attorney said Monday. "This makes two. ... Forget getting 18 years back for the first one, where do we go to get the last 10 months back? Where do we go to get our presumption of innocence back from a public who believes and has heard time and again that he's an alleged rapist, even before a murderer?" Neither Kratz nor Strang would comment after court about the serious gap between what prosecutors believe happened and what the physical evidence supports. TODAY'S TMJ4 reporter Mick Trevey spoke with a relative of Brendan Dassey about why Dassey confessed to something that has no physical evidence to support it. The relative told Trevey that Dassey's testimony was "coerced" by investigators. Four charges remain against Avery, including first-degree intentional homicide. Strang also asked the judge to drop a false imprisonment charge, but he refused to do that. Prosecutors have been negotiating a plea agreement with Dassey in an effort to have him testify against Avery and could reach one by the end of the week, Kratz said. Dassey has indicated he would invoke his right not to incriminate himself but would testify against Avery if the judge granted him immunity, Kratz said. Avery's defense attorneys asked Monday for the charges to be dropped, saying the nephew's testimony was needed to support them and prosecutors missed a Jan. 22 deadline for deciding whether the teen would testify. Judge Willis decided on defense attorneys' request immediately Monday because he had to tell prospective jurors later in the day what charges they would be considering in the case. Potential jurors filled out questionnaires Monday at the Courthouse and jury selection is to begin Feb. 5. Police arrested Avery in November 2005 and charged him with homicide, mutilating a corpse and being a felon in possession of a firearm. His then 16-year-old nephew was arrested five months later, after allegedly confessing to investigators. The sexual assault, kidnapping and false imprisonment charges were then filed against Avery. Dassey is charged with the homicide, mutilating a corpse and sexual assault. Halbach disappeared after going to the Avery family property to photograph a minivan they had for sale. Her charred bones were found later in a burn pit near Avery's trailer. Dassey had been near a plea agreement in May, before his old attorney was removed from the case. He recanted his confession in a letter to the judge. Avery has said his nephew isn't very bright and was probably coerced into confessing. Avery also has said he thought Manitowoc County deputies were trying to set him up because he filed a $36 million civil lawsuit against them for his wrongful conviction. He settled for $400,000 in February 2006. Strang said the prosecutors don't have physical evidence of a rape and kidnapping without Dassey's alleged confession. For instance, Dassey told investigators that after the school bus dropped him off, he heard screams from Avery's trailer and went there to find Halbach tied to the bed. Dassey said he and Avery later stabbed Halbach on the bed. But Strang said the bus driver saw a woman taking photographs of the minivan when she dropped off Dassey. He also said investigators did not find Halbach's hair in Avery's trailer even though Dassey claimed to have cut some from her head. Strang said it's unlikely Halbach was stabbed on Avery's bed. "There was not one detectable trace of Teresa Halbach's DNA in his trailer," he said. Kratz said it was absurd to suggest that prosecutors did not have evidence to back up the charges, but he did not detail what evidence they have. A state crime lab official has said investigators submitted for testing more than 100 DNA samples related to Halbach's murder. Willis didn't immediately decide whether Kratz could later refile the charges. Kratz said he would not refile them during the trial. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Additional coverage from Newsradio 620 WTMJ-AM