Making a Murderer was a Netflix show that gripped the nation in December 2015. The ten-hour, ten-episode production covered the death of Teresa Hallbach and the eventual suspects, Steven Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey. Hallbach disappeared Halloween weekend 2005 and was reported missing by her family a few days later. Suspicion of foul play in the case centered on Steven Avery and the location where apparently Hallbach had last been seen.
Avery was released from prison approximately two years earlier, in 2003, after it was determined he had been convicted of a sexual assault he didn't commit. The Innocence Project was able to use DNA to show Avery had been wrongly convicted, serving almost 20 years of the 40-year sentence he was imprisoned for. Just two years later, he would be in the sights of the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department for the Hallbach disappearance.
Spoiler alert: not only was Avery convicted in the murder of Hallbach, but his nephew Brendan Dassey was convicted of murder as well. When the nation watched the docudrama unfold, there was a lot of widespread angst among the public, thinking Avery had again been convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Adding to the concern, Brendan Dassey was also convicted of the same murder in separate trials.
Both men were sentenced to life in prison and this is where the story moved into the courts. In the Dassey case, new attorneys now represented him for his appeal. The attorneys, including Laura Nirider, focused heavily on the fact that Dassey was intellectually impaired and was forced into a false confession by his original attorney and by officers who took him out of school and cajoled a confession during a four-hour-long interrogation. The 7th District Federal Appellate Court overturned the conviction for Dassey, and he was planning to be released from prison. The state, however, demanded a full hearing en banc. Three justices heard the original appeal, with two deciding to overturn the conviction. In the hearing with all seven justices, the decision was 4 -3 against an overturn of the conviction.
Dassey was planning to go home, but at the last minute, by one vote, he was to stay in prison. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court but was rejected. Generally, that was the end of Dassey's appeals. However, public hopes then turned to the Avery appeals, anticipating a successful appeal would have the corresponding effect of freeing Dassey.
In walks famed attorney Kathleen Zellner, a high-powered Chicago area attorney specializing in wrongful convictions. The second season of "Making a Murderer" focused on investigating the evidence used and her attempts to discover the truth. Zellner purchased the exact vehicle also owned by Hallbach to help in her investigation. She worked with a team to try to recreate the blood spatter evidence in the back of the Rav-4 by following the testimony during the original trial. She could not replicate it identically, but she was able to recreate it in an entirely different way.
The original jury did not hear of the cadaver dogs that were used that indicated Hallbach's scent off of the Avery property in what appeared to be a possible shallow grave. Evidence the Sheriff's Department decided wasn't "pertinent." She also met with a fire expert who specializes in how a human body is consumed by fire. Dr. John DeHaan was sure it was impossible for Hallbach's body to be burned in an open pit as described during the original trial.
"Hallbach was burned elsewhere, and her bones were planted behind Avery's garage," Dr. DeHaan stated. It was clear that a human body could not burn to charred bones in an open fire, as the prosecution portrayed. It was more likely that the body was burned in a burn barrel, and then some of the bones were planted. The prosecution never explained why bones and other evidence like Hallbach's palm pilot were found in three different burn barrels on the property. If Hallbach's body had been burned in the open pit, why were bones in different burn barrels? And why were additional bones found in the quarry near the Avery property?
Zellner met with Dr. Lucien Haag, an expert on firearms and evidence. He could not find any bone fragment on the suspected .22 long rifle bullet collected from the Avery garage. The prosecution insisted the bullet fragment found was what shot Hallbach in the head. The fragment tested by Haag showed no evidence of traveling through bone and only evidence it had traveled through wood.
Zellner continued investigating, including the infamous key in Avery's trailer. She has yet to replicate the story of Deputy Colburn and his statement that he shook the bookcase in the room, and the key just fell out. Zellner "challenged anyone to attempt to replicate the State's forensic evidence used to convict Mr. Avery, and absolutely no one has been able to do so."
Zellner tapped into experts in anthropology and other forensic fields to take a second look at the evidence used to convict Avery. Eventually, the appeals started with Zellner filing the first appeal on Avery's behalf in January 2016. Many appeals and denials later, on January 15th, 2025, what could potentially be the final rejection was announced.
There is speculation that Zellner may attempt an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ultimately, without any additional evidence, the Making a Murderer case could be closed, and the two men in prison will stay and continue to serve their life sentences.
Zellner said she took the Avery case "because I thought if I could demonstrate all of the forensic evidence was planted, it would be a wakeup call to law enforcement, juries, judges, and lawyers that they must start demanding the replication of the forensic evidence before they rely upon it in seeking a conviction."
The case that sparked outrage and held Netflix viewers hostage to the TV screen may be at the end—not with an acquittal as many had hoped, but with a denial of another appeal.
