We all know the story: Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault in 1985 and served 18 years in Green Bay Correctional, only to be exonerated once new technology for testing DNA evidence became available. A few years later, he was tried in the infamous murder trial of Teresa Halbach. The real question: Was he framed by the Manitowoc County Sheriff Department, since he was pursuing a $36 million dollar lawsuit against the state for his earlier wrongful conviction? We still don't quite have the full story, as there are several key details missing from the Netflix documentary.
There was obvious mishandling of the Steven Avery evidence by law enforcement and it's not impossible that there was a framing of Avery, that much is clear - but what was not included in the documentary is also important to examine so we can understand the case in its entirety. As flawed as the investigation by law enforcement was, that doesn't necessarily mean Avery is innocent.
From DNA from Avery's sweat found in Halbach's RAV4, to what Avery told fellow inmates in prison, to Brendan Dassey's mom reporting that Steven and Brendan cleaned the garage after Halbach's disappearance, there are several details that Making A Murderer left on the cutting room floor.
Of course we'll be interested to see what new information Anonymous releases in the coming months; for now, it's worthwhile to examine the pieces of evidence below for a fuller picture of the case.
Evidence Making a Murderer Left Out (That'll Totally Change Your Opinion of the Case),
Avery Called Auto Trader the Day Halbach Died, Specifically Requesting Her
In the months leading up to Halbach’s disappearance, Avery had called Auto Trader several times and always specifically requested Halbach to come out and take the photos.
Read more here.
Brendan Dassey Told His Mother Avery Had Touched Him Inappropriately in the Past
According to this phone call transcript, Dassey admits to his mother, Barb, that Avery had touched him inappropriately in the past, including stating that he had touched others:
Mom: Did he make you do this?
Brendan: Ya.
Mom: Then why didn’t you tell him that.
Brendan: Tell him what.
Mom: That Steven made you do it. You know he made you do a lot of things.
Brendan: Ya, I told them that. I even told them about Steven touching me and that.
Mom: What do you mean touching you?
Brendan: He would grab me somewhere where I was uncomfortable.
Mom: Brendan, I am your mother.
Brendan: Ya.
Mom: Why didn’t you come to me? Why didn’t you tell me? Was this all before this happened?
Brendan: What do you mean?
Mom: All before this happened, did he touch you before all this stuff happened to you.
Brendan: Ya.
Mom: Why didn’t you come to me, because then he would have been gone then and this wouldn’t have happened.
Brendan: Ya...
Mom: Yes, and you would still be here with me.
Brendan: Yes, well you know I did it.
Mom: Huh
Brendan: You know he always touched us and that.
Mom: I didn’t think there. He used to horse around with you guys.
Brendan: Ya, but you remember he would always do stuff to Brian and that.
Mom: What do you mean.
Brendan: Well he would like fake pumping him
Mom: Goofing around
Brendan: Ya but, like that one time when he was going with what’s her name Jessica... sister.
Mom: Teresa?
Brendan: Ya. That one day when she was over, Steven and Blaine and Brian and I was downstairs and Steven was touching her and that.
Halbach’s Phone, Camera, and Other Personal Items Were Found Burned in Avery's Barrel
"Teresa’s phone, camera and [other contents of her purse] were found 20 feet from Avery's door, burned in his barrel...Two people saw him putting that stuff in there. This isn’t contested. It was all presented as evidence at the jury trial, and the documentary people don’t tell you that."
-An excerpt from Maxim's interview with Ken Kratz
Avery's Rifle Matched the Bullet with Halbach's DNA on It
Kratz told People magazine, "Ballistics said the bullet found in the garage was fired by Avery’s rifle, which was in a police evidence locker since Nov. 6, 2005. If the cops planted the bullet, how did they get one fired from [Avery’s] gun? This rifle, hanging over Avery’s bed, is the source of the bullet found in the garage, with Teresa’s DNA on it. The bullet had to be fired before Nov. 5."
Read more here.
Halbach Told Her Boss Avery Was Creepy and She Didn't Want to Work with Him Again
An excerpt from People states, "[Kratz] cites Halbach's Oct. 10, 2005 visit to the property owned by Avery's family for a photo shoot for AutoTrader magazine: According to Kratz, Avery allegedly opened his door 'just wearing a towel. She was creeped out [by him]. ... She [went to her employer and] said she would not go back because she was scared of him.'"
According to an Associated Press story from February 14, 2007, Dawn Pliszka, an Auto Trader receptionist at the time, claimed that Halbach, "had stated to me that he had come out in a towel. I just said, 'Really?' and then she said, 'Yeah,' and laughed and said kinda 'Ew.'"
Other DNA from Steven Avery (Besides Blood) Was Found on Halbach's Car
DNA from Steven Avery's sweat was apparently found on the hood latch of Halbach's RAV4.
When (former prosecutor) Ken Kratz was asked specifically about which evidence was let out of the Netflix documentary, he immediately mentioned: "The evidence conclusively shows that Steven Avery’s hand was under the hood when he insists he never touched her car." Dassey also said in his confession that he helped Avery move the RAV4 into the junkyard and that Avery had lifted the hood and removed the battery cable.
So there's reason to believe that the blood evidence in the RAV4 was planted, but how was Avery's DNA from sweat also planted?
Avery Purposefully Soaked the Family Cat in Gasoline Before Throwing It on a Bonfire
Making a Murderer mentions this incident, but leaves out that Avery first soaked the cat in oil and gasoline before throwing it in the fire, suggesting forethought.
As reported by Vulture: “Avery was charged with cruelty to animals for dousing a cat with gasoline and oil, throwing it in a bonfire, and watching it die.”
The Day Halbach Disappeared, Avery Had Called Her Three Times, Twice by Dialing *67
According to an Associated Press article, "The calls were made from Avery's phone to Halbach's the afternoon of Oct. 31. ... 'On two of the calls, the caller used a Cellcom service called "star 67 feature" that would have blocked Teresa Halbach from knowing who the call was from,' said Bobbi Dohrwardt, team leader for the wireless company's technical support department."
Avery Had a History of Violence Toward Women
An excerpt from an Appleton Post-Crescent article, as reported by a piece from OnMilwaukee: "The filings (additional court filings by then-prosecutor Ken Kratz) also include statements from a woman, now 41, who said she was raped by Avery, who told her 'if she yelled or screamed there was going to be trouble.' There also is an affidavit from a girl who said she was raped by Avery. 'The victim's mother indicated that the victim does not want to speak about the sexual assault between her and Steven Avery because Steven Avery told her if she 'told anyone about their activities together he would kill her family,'" the filing said. According to the newspaper article, "The affidavit said Avery admitted to his fiancee that he had sexually assaulted the girl."
Read more here.
Brenden's Mother Said He Helped Avery Clean Out His Garage After Halbach Disappeared
From a Milwaukee Magazine article: "On February 27, Dassey's mother spoke with police investigators. Barbara Janda, 41, mentioned that her son had stained his pants while helping his uncle clean his garage floor around Halloween. ... According to the Department of Justice investigator's testimony in Dassey's trial, Dassey's pants had bleach stains that he said were from helping clean the garage."