ISLE OF WIGHT, Co. (WAVY) — Prosecutors have once again withdrawn charges in a cold case in Isle of Wight County.

In 2017, a grand jury indicted Trabion Tynes on a charge of second-degree murder in the 2004 death of his father.

Johnnie Tynes Sr. was killed at his home on Tyler’s Beach Road by blunt force trauma to the head.

The sheriff’s office also charged Tynes in 2005 — but the Commonwealth’s Attorney nolle processed the charges.

Lieutenant Tommy Potter with the Isle of Wight Sheriff’s Office told 10 On Your Side the reason for that is one of their main witnesses decided not to testify in the upcoming trial.  “We’re not sure if it’s due to a number of medical-related issues that that witness has been dealing with over the past several months or I think more importantly if they’re reluctant to come forward just out of fear,” he said.

Potter confirmed that the witness is Trabion Tynes’ estranged wife.  She is well known to those who watched the Discovery show “Killing Fields” which focused on the homicides of Tynes and Carrie Singer which happened in the same week in 2004.

The show, which aired from January through March of this year, received a lot of attention in Isle of Wight and throughout the nation.

The sheriff’s office is now getting questions from viewers who want to know what happened and what’s next.

Potter told WAVY.com  this is a giant step back in the Tynes case but said investigators will not give up. In our system of justice however, Potter said letting Trabion go is the right thing to do right now.

“It’s not fair to Trabion that he’s been sitting in jail or would continue to sit in jail while we worked out any issues that we had with witnesses,” said Potter.

Trabion was being held at the Western Tidewater Region Jail, and faces no other charges in the case.