Kathleen Zellner's latest theory could make you re-evaluate Making a Murderer
We're revisiting a pivotal part of season one...
Netflix
Making a Murderer
included hours of footage documenting the murder of Teresa Halbach, the
legal proceedings surrounding the case and the man who was ultimately
convicted of the crime.
Season one of the
Netflix docu-series incorporated recordings from Steven Avery's 2007
trial, weaving in the efforts of his original defence team Dean Strang and Jerry Buting. His nephew Brendan Dassey, who implicated himself by confession, also featured.
Fast-forward 11 years, in terms of the case timeline, and season two introduced Avery's new attorney Kathleen Zellner
(who has been working on his appeal since 2016). Specialising in
wrongful convictions, she believes wholeheartedly in her client's
innocence and is currently working towards his appeal.
Keen to share updates with Making a Murderer
fans, Zellner has revealed her latest theory which might just call into
question – or, depending on your point of view, provide an answer to –
one of the biggest sticking points from the series.
It
concerns the bones found in the Manitowoc County Gravel Pit. You may
recall that this was mentioned ever-so-briefly in Avery's trial, and
featured in Part 1 of the true crime series. Suspected human 'pelvic
bone' fragments were discovered in the quarry, away from Avery's
property, in a consistent condition to those found in the Avery yard.
Zellner
recently made moves to have testing done on this piece of evidence, to
establish once and for all if they were in fact human, but her motion was denied by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in early 2019.
If the fragments were identified to be human and belonging to Halbach, it could refute the State's theory that she was killed and burned in Steven Avery's burn pit.
Zellner
now believes that the Attorney General’s Office has been attempting to
"deceive" her and her client, by hiding the whereabouts of this forensic
evidence.
According to a letter submitted by Zellner
to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on February 13, "never-before
disclosed ledger sheets" have come to light that indicate the bones in
question were returned to the Halbach family. What's more, according to
this document, the pelvic bone was categorised as "human" – although it
remains unclear whether it has been confirmed to have belonged to
Halbach.
The letter also alleges that Assistant
Attorney General Thomas Fallon "consistently represented to undersigned
counsel for the last three years that the State was in possession of
the pelvic bone".
In response to these allegations, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office told Rolling Stone that they "cannot comment on ongoing litigation".
According to multiple sources, Wisconsin law
requires "any biological material" and "physical evidence" be preserved
until the convicted defendant has been discharged from prison. Viewers
of the Netflix show will be aware that Steven Avery is currently serving
a life sentence.
On February 18, Kathleen Zellner shared an update on Twitter.
"The State has confirmed with us that they did in fact give 'many
bones' back to TH's family," she wrote. "They have no proof they gave
notice to SA or his attorneys = violation state law & due process."
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Duration 3:01
So, what does this all mean for Avery?
In a statement to Newsweek,
Zellner explained: "This admission proves these bone fragments were
returned to the family and it is undisputed there was no notice given to
Steven Avery or his attorneys and that violates Wisconsin law."
Kathleen Zellner has now revealed (February 25) that Steven Avery has won this motion in his appeal and, as a result, could get a new trial.
In a statement to Fox 11,
Zellner said her team were "delighted" that the appellate court granted
the motion regarding their "new evidence that the State has destroyed
material evidence by giving the bones back to the Halbach family".
"We believe Mr Avery will be granted a new trial for this serious violation of both Wisconsin and federal law," she added.
Zellner has wanted to make clear that the victim's family should in no way take any blame for any issues in the case.
"The
Halbach family are victims of this grave miscarriage of justice," she
said. "And they should not be blamed for any aspect of this case."
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