Steven Avery’s lawyer Kathleen Zellner has given a critical update today (December 17) regarding her client’s case which millions have been following.
Netflix’s hit true crime documentary Making A Murderer follows Avery as he attempts to prove his asserted innocence after being convicted in 2007 for the murder of Wisconsin photographer Teresa Halbach.
Avery was found to have been wrongfully convicted before for the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen in 1985, he was released in 2003, before being convicted of Halbach’s murder in 2007.
Fresh DNA evidence in 2003 exonerated him leading to his release 18 years into a 21-year-long sentence.
Filing a civil suit of $36 million against Manitowoc County, its former sheriff, and its former district attorney for his wrongful conviction and imprisonment, while this case was pending Avery was imprisoned for the Halbach murder without the possibility of parole.
This is the case Making A Murderer focuses on and the journey so far really has been unpredictable!
For a catch up, check out the trailer below for part two of the hit series:
Zellner revealed one of the world’s leading experts is willing to test Ms Halbach’s bones, writing:
We are pleased to announce that one of the world’s leading DNA experts, Dr. Richard Selden @drrichardselden, is willing to test the bones in the Manitowoc County Gravel Pit with new Rapid DNA ID. If this testing is allowed, we believe the bones will be Ms. Halbach’s.
Adding:
This will prove the murder and mutilation occurred in the Manitowoc County Gravel Pit and the bones were planted in Mr. Avery’s burn pit to frame him.
Zellner invited viewers to a live Q&A on Twitter, and there were plenty of questions directed at her about this new update in the case.
One asked:
Could Steven have moved the bones from the gravel pit?
Zellner replied:
Not according to the State’s theory at trial. They don’t get to rewrite the theory now. SA would not have moved the bones from the gravel pit to his burn pit.
Here’s a look at some of the questions put forward:
Last week Zellner announced that on December 20 she would be filing papers which details why Avery should win his case.
The lawyer told OK magazine the 22,000 page long papers contain all the legal arguments as to why Avery should be allowed to walk free having proven he was wrongfully convicted for the murder of Halbach.
She explained to the magazine the aim of the papers is to ensure not only will Avery be released, but there will be no further trials for him in the case:
In one week, we’re filing the appellate brief, so we’re going to file all of this information with the higher court. We’ve got a record that’s 22,000 pages.
The higher court is going to review all of this new evidence. After we file, the state will file their response, and then the court will have an oral argument, and then they’ll make a decision. Whatever decision they make, it’s going to go to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. So even if we win, the state will still force it to be decided by the highest court in Wisconsin.
You must, if you can, create reasonable doubt by having an alternative theory that matches the evidence. That’s when you’re most likely to win a murder case.
My goal is to not just to find the constitutional violation to get Steven Avery a new trial, because many people are convicted again in their second trial. I am trying to get the evidence to what I believe is the truth of what happened, so that there won’t BE another trial.
Filled with optimism, Zellner added the papers also detail a tip she had been given which ‘was just jaw-dropping’.
Parts one and two of Making A Murderer are streaming now on Netflix.
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