A convicted Wisconsin killer who is the subject of the Netflix series “Making a Murderer” filed a wide-ranging appeal claiming authorities used an improper warrant and that a juror was out to get him, among other things.
Steven Avery, who’s seeking to be released on bond, was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of photographer Teresa Halbach a decade ago. Avery had been wrongfully convicted years earlier in a rape case and served 18 years in prison. He had sued Manitowoc County for tens of millions before he and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were arrested in Halbach’s death.
The appeal, filed Monday in an appeals court in Madison, bears Avery’s signature and contains numerous spelling and grammar errors. His new attorney’s name doesn’t appear on it.
Manitowoc County Sheriff Robert Hermann said Tuesday he hasn’t seen the appeal, but he has said in the past that the investigation was proper.
The filmmakers behind “Making a Murder” cast doubt on the legal process used to convict Avery and Dassey, and their work has sparked national interest and conjecture. Armchair investigators have flooded Twitter and message boards, and key players in the case have appeared on national news and talk shows.
Authorities involved in the case have called the 10-hour series biased. Filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, meanwhile, have stood by their work.
Avery’s new attorney, Kathleen Zellner, wasn’t immediately available for comment Tuesday.
In the filing, Avery takes issue with a search conducted during the murder investigation, saying it improperly included multiple properties and therefore any evidence that was uncovered “is clearly ‘FRUIT OF THE POISONOUS TREE.'” The appeal also says that a juror tainted other jurors “THROUGH DIRECT OR INDIRECT INFLUENCE,” stating numerous times that Avery “IS F—— GUILTY.”
He also said Judge Angela W. Sutkiewicz made misleading statements and that his lawyers were ineffective.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
I hope that one of the other inmates brutally murderers this worthless piece of shit in prison.
This man, if you want to call him that, is Guilty! Also has abused animals! He is garbage!
That trial dragged on too long in the first place. And now the CITY of Manitwoc Police Department is getting flack from folks who watched the show and are too stupid to realize that the Manitowoc COUNTY Sherriff’s Office is a completely different entity.
I have not finished watching the whole show yet I am on number 4 presently. Just listening to the cops as they filmed the house in side the closest they said we need to take these shoes we could get him on some robberies too something along those lines. That’s when my red flags went up. Why would they say get him on that too when they hadn’t found anything to that point.? I finish watching the rest of it and try to keep an open mind.
I binge-watched the entire series, and whether this man is guilty or not, the police definitely had it in for him. He may have been a trouble-maker, but a trouble-maker does not a murderer make. Before this show is done, Larry, you will see more things that raise those red flags higher and higher. Incredible!