MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) – The state is asking the judge in charge of the Steven Avery case to schedule a hearing regarding evidence which may undergo new testing.
Assistant Attorney General and special prosecutor Thomas Fallon filed a letter this week asking Sheboygan County Judge Angela Sutkiewicz to schedule a hearing sometime during the weeks of October 24, October 31 or November 7.
Fallon wrote, “This should give the State ample time to locate and inventory all items which are the subject of the Defendant’s Motion. Additionally, this should provide the State with time to determine which items are covered by the April 4, 2007, Preservation of Blood Evidence and Independent Defense Testing Order entered by Judge Patrick L. Willis at the conclusion of Defendant’s trial.”
Wisconsin’s appeals court directed Judge Sutkiewicz earlier this month to handle a motion from Avery’s attorneys seeking scientific testing of some evidence in the case earlier this month. Sutkiewicz is now handling the case at the circuit court level following the retirement of Manitowoc County Judge Patrick Willis.
No hearings have been scheduled. Avery’s attorney, Kathleen Zellner, has not formally responded to the letter at this point.
Avery is serving a life sentence for killing Teresa Halbach in 2005. Last month, Avery’s attorney filed another appeal, seeking testing of evidence, suggesting it could point to someone else being the killer.
The case of Avery and his then-teenage nephew Brendan Dassey, who was convicted in a separate trial of playing a role in the murder, was thrust into the worldwide spotlight late last year with the release of the series “Making A Murderer” on Netflix. Dassey’s conviction was overturned earlier this summer, but the state is appealing that decision.
