Steven Avery's June 2022 mug shot. PC: Fox 11 Online
MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Steven Avery’s attorney again pointed the finger at an alternate suspect for the murder of Teresa Halbach, and insists Avery did not get a fair trial, in the latest motion filed with the court.
Avery is serving a life sentence for the freelance photographer’s murder. Avery’s nephew Brendan Dassey was also convicted. Their cases received worldwide attention with the 2015 release of the Netflix series “Making A Murderer.”
While Dassey has no appeals pending — his latest appeal was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 — Avery has continued to file a series of appeals and post-conviction motions, now by attorney Kathleen Zellner. Avery’s latest post-conviction motion was filed in August, continuing Avery’s claims he was framed, suggesting another person is the actual killer. Prosecutors filed their response in November – describing the claims as full of speculative leaps. And now, Zellner’s 483-pages of the motion and supporting documents have been filed.
Because he hasn’t been charged, the alternate suspect will not be named.
“Two new witnesses have emerged in Mr. Avery’s case with new and compelling evidence about a murder mystery that has intrigued a worldwide audience. The rush to judgment and tunnel vision that led to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of Mr. Avery is exposed by these new witnesses who provide new and undisputed evidence that directly links (the alternate suspect) to the murder of Teresa Halbach and the framing of Mr. Avery,” Zellner wrote. “Mr. Avery does not have to prove who committed this terrible crime to receive relief. This is not his intent or purpose. However, he does have a right to prove he did not receive a fair trial. The new evidence, which establishes that (the alternate suspect) meets all of the Denny criteria to be a third party suspect, and the evidence of two Brady violations demonstrate that Mr. Avery was deprived of a constitutionally guaranteed right to present a complete defense to the charges against him.”
Brady violations are when prosecutors did not disclose evidence favorable to the defendant.
Zellner asks for an evidentiary hearing on the alternate suspect issues, or an order granting a new trial.
Sheboygan County Judge Angela Sutkiewicz is currently assigned to the case. No hearings have been scheduled.
Before this filing, Avery’s most recent appeal was denied by the Wisconsin Supreme Court last November. That decision included the rejection of several claims related to the alternate suspect.
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