One of the reasons the true crime documentary Making A Murderer has raised such controversy is that it split its viewers between those who think Steven Avery is innocent and those who believe he’s guilty. While the 10 hour series makes it clear that there were massive issues in the way Avery’s case was handled, there was no smoking gun that cleared him of the murder of Teresa Halbach. And the amount of evidence presented against him was pretty heavy.

While doubts have been raised as to whether Halbach’s remains were truly recovered in Avery’s fire pit, there’s no denying that her Toyota RAV4, cell phone, and camera were found on his property. Those who support Avery’s innocence claim the true murderer placed them there to frame him. But some new evidence put forward by followers of the case may tie Teresa Halbach’s cellphone to Steven Avery and prove his guilt.

A few days after learning that heat can actually sear fingerprints into metal and glass, Reddit user wewannawii took a closer look at the remains of Halbach’s Motorola Razr, recovered in pieces from a burn barrel on Steven Avery’s property. What they noticed was a fingerprint shaped smudge on the phone’s battery door. And while no prints could be identified through the picture, wewannawii did notice small markings in the smudge that seem to match up with scars on Steven Avery’s fingers.

Take a look at wewannawii’s full breakdown of Steven Avery’s scars and how they appear to match up perfectly with the smudge on the cellphone. Since it was presented, there’s been a ton of debate from within the online communities analyzing the case, with many arguing the fingerprint would have to be flipped to match Avery’s fingers. Others say the entire thing is just a case of pareidolia, where the mind sees similarities and patterns where there are none. This is definitely one of those situations where we’ll have to defer to experts for a conclusive answer now that the potential evidence has been discovered.

It doesn’t seem all that far fetched to imagine a print could be pulled off the cell phone, even after it was burned. But to actually be able to ID Avery’s finger with the naked eye just from looking at a photo? If this turns out to be legit, it would be the biggest twist in a case full of crazy twists. And the more you look at the photos, the harder they are to ignore.

(Via Reddit)