Sixteen years since Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey were convicted of murder, court proceedings related to their cases continue.
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Most recently, on March 10, a federal judge ruled in favor of Netflix and “Making a Murderer” filmmakers that the docuseries’ portrayal of a former Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office detective did not qualify as defamation.
Avery, now 60, served 18 years in prison after he was falsely convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. In 2003, he was exonerated after DNA evidence identified the real perpetrator. But just two years later, Avery was arrested and charged with crimes in connection with the murder of 25-year-old Teresa Halbach. Dassey was charged as well for aiding his uncle in Halbach’s sexual assault and murder.
Both Avery and Dassey were found guilty after jury trials and sentenced to life in prison. Their supporters say Avery was framed, and question law enforcement’s motives during the investigation.
The case received international attention after the release of Netflix’s “Making a Murderer” in 2015. The series has two seasons, both 10 episodes long, detailing the investigation, trial, aftermath and postconviction proceedings.
Summary of the case
On Oct. 31, 2005, 25-year-old Teresa Halbach went missing. A photographer for Auto Trader magazine, Halbach’s last assignment before her disappearance was at Avery’s Auto Salvage, the Avery family’s business in Two Rivers.
That November, Avery was charged with murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and mutilating a corpse for Halbach’s death.
A few months later, Dassey was charged with being party to the murder, sexual assault and mutilating a corpse.
At the time of Halbach’s disappearance, Avery was the plaintiff in a $36 million civil lawsuit against Manitowoc County and former county officials for his 18-year sentence for his false conviction. When he was 23, Avery was convicted of the 1985 sexual assault of a woman jogging along Lake Michigan and sentenced to 32 years in prison. Attempts to overturn his conviction failed in 1987 and 1996.
Then, in 2002, a judge granted the Wisconsin Innocence Project permission to conduct DNA testing that was not available at the time of the 1985 rape. DNA testing pinned the crime on Gregory Allen, a man who was then serving a 60-year sentence for another rape in Brown County. In 2003, after 18 years in prison, Avery walked free.
But Avery was again sentenced to prison — this time for life without the possibility of parole — after a jury found him guilty on March 18, 2005, following a six-week trial.
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After Avery was charged in Halbach’s murder, he settled his lawsuit with Manitowoc County for $400,000.
Evidence against Avery included burned bone fragments in a fire pit on Avery’s property, Avery’s and Halbach’s blood in Halbach’s vehicle, remnants of a camera and electronic devices in a burn barrel, a bullet in Avery’s garage with Halbach’s DNA, and the key to Halbach’s vehicle in Avery’s bedroom with Avery’s DNA on it. Despite the physical evidence, Avery has always maintained his innocence.
Dassey, on the other hand, told investigators in an interview that he sexually assaulted Halbach, was present when Avery killed her, and then helped burn her body and belongings. Dassey later recanted this confession.
Attorneys for Dassey point out that as a teen with intellectual disability, Dassey was highly susceptible to suggestion. Despite a lack of physical evidence tying Dassey to the crime, a jury found him guilty after a nine-day trial in April 2005. He was sentenced to life in prison, with parole eligibility in 2048.
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Where does Avery’s appeal stand?
Avery has filed numerous appeals and motions for post-conviction relief over the years, all of which have been unsuccessful.
Avery’s most recent motion for post-conviction relief, filed in August 2022, argues another man could have killed Halbach. His attorney, Kathleen Zellner, named the alternate suspect in the appeal and argues the suspect framed Avery by leaving the key to Halbach’s vehicle on Avery’s property.
In the motion, Avery is requesting an evidentiary hearing.
In July 2021, a state appellate court affirmed Avery’s conviction and said multiple motions filed in Avery’s appeal “are insufficient on their face to entitle him to a hearing and that the circuit court did not erroneously exercise its discretion in denying the motions to vacate and for reconsideration.”
After that decision, Zellner asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review Avery’s case, which they rejected in November 2021.
Zellner continues to be vocal in her efforts to free Avery, often sharing updates on his appeal via Twitter.
Zellner initially told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin she would share updates on Avery’s appeal, but did not respond to repeated follow-up communication for an interview.
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Avery is currently being held at Fox Lake Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison, where he was transferred in June after years at the maximum-security Waupun Correctional Institution.
Where does Dassey’s appeal stand?
Currently, Dassey, 33, has no appeals in the works.
In 2016, a federal judge’s ruling gave Dassey hope for release, but upon further review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Dassey’s conviction was upheld.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William Duffin overturned Dassey’s conviction on Aug. 12, 2016. The ruling granted Dassey’s petition for either release or a new trial.
In his 91-page decision, Duffin said Dassey’s constitutional rights were violated and criticized investigators, state courts and Dassey’s pre-trial attorney for how they handled the case.
Prosecutors appealed Duffin’s ruling, and a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit court affirmed the decision 2-1 in June 2017. Prosecutors then sought review by the full Seventh Circuit court, which upheld Dassey’s conviction in a 4-3 vote.
The majority opinion said they did not find that Dassey’s confession to police was coerced. The dissenting opinion called the decision “a travesty of justice.”
Dassey is imprisoned at Oshkosh Correctional Institution.
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Will there be a third season of ‘Making a Murderer?’
There have been no official announcements regarding a third season of the show.
The second season of “Making a Murderer” follows much of Zellner’s postconviction efforts through mid-2018.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
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