A United States federal judge has overturned the murder conviction of Brendan Dassey, whose case was examined in Netflix’s popular Making a Murderer documentary.
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Friday, after years of appeals, a federal judge overturned Dassey’s conviction ruling investigators made false promises to him during his interview and his confession was coerced.
The US District Court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ordered that Dassey, now 26, should be freed within 90 days unless the case is appealed.
Dassey’s conviction was overturned by a federal judge in a Milwaukee court earlier today due to his constitutional rights being violated when authorities questioned him without an adult present. Both Avery and Dassey were convicted in the 2005 rape and murder of Teresa Halbach. The case garnered national attention following the release of the Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer”.
Avery served 18 years before being exonerated after new DNA evidence was introduced and he was released from jail in 2003.
Legal observers have said they expected that Duffin’s ruling, if it was in Dassey’s favor, would be appealed.
Dassey was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, second-degree sexual assault, and mutilation of a corpse based largely on testimony he himself had given. Duffin said Kachinsky spoke frequently about the case in the media, at one point telling Nancy Grace there would be “no defense” for Dassey if his confession was true.
The ruling Friday also had to consider whether Dassey had ineffective lawyers, but the court did not find that to be the case. The murder of Teresa Halbach occurred in 2005.
In this Friday, March 3, 2006 photo, Brendan Dassey, 16, is escorted out of a Manitowoc County Circuit courtroom.
April 20, 2007: Prosecutors play Dassey’s videotaped confession for the jury.
ABC News reached out to former prosecutor Ken Kratz, who handled Avery and Dassey’s murder trials, requesting comment, but hasn’t received word back yet.
Dassey is the nephew of Steven Avery. Both men are serving life sentences.
Because whatever your opinion of Steven Avery, most people agreed that Brendan got railroaded.
Kratz has criticized filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, saying they left out crucial evidence that pointed to Avery’s guilt – an accusation the pair has denied.
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Part of what made Netflix’s Making a Murderer such a hit was the uncertainty it created.
