The family of a Wisconsin man found guilty of helping his uncle kill a woman in a case profiled in the Netflix series “Making a Murderer” is hopeful he will be released now that his conviction has been overturned. “As we have done for the past 10 years, we will continue to document the story as it unfolds, and follow it wherever it may lead“, Making a Murderer’s directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos said in a statement following the Dassey decision. Dassey had originally become involved with the investigation when a cousin and classmate of his, Kayla Avery, had told police that he had told her Halbach’s body parts in a fire at her uncle’s residence, although Kayla had later testified against the claim that Dassey had told her anything. The judge found that confession was involuntary in a 91-page decision.
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The U.S. District Court in Milwaukee overturned Brendan Dassey’s conviction and ordered him freed within 90 days unless prosecutors decide to retry him. “The federal court concluded that Dassey’s case was an example of “an extreme malfunction in the state criminal justice system” that federal habeas corpus exists to correct”.
The federal judge who ruled Brendan was wrongfully convicted did not give anyone a heads up, so not only were cameras NOT rolling, the immediate family was out of state, visiting relatives in MI. Dassey was sentenced to life in prison in 2007 after being convicted of participating in the murder and sexual assault of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach.
November 5, 2005: Halbach’s cousins find her vehicle under brush and auto parts in the Avery salvage yard.
August 2, 2007: Dassey is sentenced to mandatory life in prison with a possibility of parole set for November 1, 2048.
His lawyers have won the battle, saying Dassey’s confession at 16-years-old was coerced by policemen.
The investigators repeatedly said that they “already know” what happened on the day of Halbach’s killing and that Dassey had nothing to worry about.
Avery’s attorney, Kathleen Zellner, who took up the appeal case in January, added: “Steven Avery is so happy for Brendan. Avery is next. Time to go after real killer”.
“Making a Murderer” is not unlike Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s three “Paradise Lost” documentaries, which explored the case of the West Memphis Three.
The makers of the smash hit Netflix documentary released a statement to Entertainment Weekly following the ruling.
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