John Ferak

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

The last year of Teresa Halbach's life had its share of drama, and much of it stemmed from her relationships with old boyfriends, acquaintances, former business clients and co-workers.

However, little was done to probe the key people in Halbach's life when she disappeared on Oct. 31, 2005, according to an extensive review of Calumet County investigative reports by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Instead, the neighboring Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department convinced Calumet County early on that Halbach was killed by a random stranger — Steven Avery. At the time of Halbach's reported disappearance, Halbach lived in rural Calumet County near Hilbert, and Avery lived in rural Manitowoc County.

Manitowoc County's case against Avery came together in about a week, prompting investigators from Calumet County to focus intently on Avery, the investigative documents revealed. The Chilton-based department failed to conduct a substantive investigation of several people in Halbach's life, critics contend.

In 2007, a jury convicted Avery of murdering Halbach, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. From the start of the investigation, Avery proclaimed his innocence in the death of the 25-year-old photographer who had visited the Avery salvage business multiple times in the months preceding her death.

Avery's post-conviction lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, has said she will uncover evidence that exonerates Avery and points to someone else as Halbach's killer. It's likely that Zellner is researching a number of people who were investigated early in the case.

ZELLNER IMPOSTOR TRICKS DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

DID CRIME SCENE ACCESS TAINT AVERY MURDER CASE?

Will Calumet County's underwhelming investigation of Halbach's acquaintances jeopardize Avery's conviction?

"From an investigative standpoint, it can be a huge undertaking, but you have to exclude all others," said Joseph Giacalone, a retired New York City Police Department detective sergeant and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "There should have been an all-out effort from the beginning."

About 75 percent of all homicide victims are killed by someone they know, Giacalone said, which makes it even more troubling that Calumet County expended little effort to examine others who either knew or were involved with Halbach.

Giacalone categorized many of the police interviews done during the Halbach missing person's case as being "superficial."

"This is basic Investigation 101," he said. "You will ask everyone what's their alibi in so many words. That's the whole point of doing these interviews, the exclusion of all others. You can't pass down experience when there is very little of it," Giacalone told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. "It looks very odd now when you have people asking questions years later ... you get only one chance to get it right the first time."

Timeline: History of the Steven Avery case

USA TODAY NETWORK revisited law enforcement's handling of its interviews with a number of people who were a part of Halbach's life at the time of her disappearance.

Name: Bradley Czech, ex-boyfriend of Halbach.

Occupation: Self-employed disc jockey, identified himself as being an executive producer who worked overnight at a Green Bay television station.

Interview: At Czech's mobile home near the Town of Wrightstown the day after Halbach was reported missing.

Highlights: Czech identified Halbach as one of his best friends. Czech also confirmed he had a business relationship with Halbach. He said he worked as the DJ at a number of wedding receptions where Halbach was the photographer. Czech acknowledged he and Halbach "are not romantically involved" anymore. "He has no answer to why the relationship was not pursued other than that they were both busy," Calumet investigator John Dedering stated. According to Czech, he last saw Halbach about two weeks before her disappearance, meeting her for lunch at the mall in Ashwaubenon. He also indicated he sent Halbach a text message around 12:45 p.m. on Oct. 31, just a couple hours before she vanished. Czech's trailer home was about 20 miles from Avery salvage, which was the last confirmed sighting of Halbach that Monday afternoon on Halloween.

Overlooked details: Although investigators pressed Czech for an alibi, reports suggest it was not corroborated. Czech maintained he was at his trailer off Wisconsin 57 near the Town of Wrightstown pretty much sleeping all throughout the day. "He stated he got a voice mail message about 2 p.m. and at that time, got up, did a couple of chores, and was back to bed shortly thereafter," Dedering wrote. Investigators noticed Czech's phone showed he had missed three incoming calls on the day of Halbach's disappearance, at 5:55 p.m. 7:53 p.m. and 7:54 p.m. Again, no follow-up was done to use cell tower technology to confirm that Czech's cell phone was at his trailer.

Although Czech confirmed sending a text message to Halbach a couple hours before she vanished, Calumet's reports offer no indication that investigators followed up on the contents of Czech's message. If investigators learned the contents of Czech's text message or other text messages involving Halbach, nothing was ever shared with Avery's criminal defense lawyers. Investigators also declined to explore whether Czech made any harassing phone calls to Halbach as her friend, Jolene Bain, suggested. "Teresa ... had told Jolene at one time she did not want to continue the relationship; however, Teresa continued to receive phone calls from Bradley," police reports reflect. Additionally, investigators did not interview other people in Czech's life for background purposes. Czech's interview with the pair of Calumet investigators lasted only 20 minutes.

Name: Scott Bloedorn, roommate of Halbach

Interview: Nov. 3, 2005

Highlights: Bloedorn and Halbach had been roommates for eight or nine months. Bloedorn said he last saw Halbach at the farmhouse they rented from Halbach's parents at around 2 p.m on Sunday, Oct. 30. Bloedorn said he usually was the first to leave their house every morning since he worked carpentry. During his interview, Bloedorn implied he and Halbach didn't spend much time together. He talked about how Halbach usually commuted to Green Bay for work and she often went there on weekends to socialize with friends. "Scott stated they talked about the Halloween parties they had both attended over the weekend," Calumet investigator Mark Wiegert's report indicated. "I asked Scott if she had talked about what she was going to be doing on Halloween, the 31st, to which Scott stated she did not mention anything to him. Scott states they are just roommates. ... He states they basically live their own lives out of that house." When asked what may have happened to Halbach, Bloedorn said "maybe she had met a guy when she was out over the weekend. ... Scott did tell me that he was aware that on Saturday night, Teresa had been at a Halloween party in Green Bay." Bloedorn also told investigators that he knew of no instances when Halbach stayed overnight at somebody else's place.

Overlooked details: Investigators glossed over the fact that Bloedorn did not report Halbach missing, even though Bloedorn noticed Halbach and her Toyota RAV4 were nowhere to be found for four straight days. Other reports reflect that Halbach's parents approached Bloedorn to inquire about the whereabouts of his missing daughter. After her parents reported Halbach was missing, Bloedorn told Calumet County Cpl. Leslie Lemieux, "Teresa made no mention of any plans to go out of town and although she worked out of Green Bay, (she) did normally commute and stay at (their) residence. Scott said it was unusual for Teresa to be gone like this without letting anyone know." There was no follow-up to determine Bloedorn's work schedule on the day Halbach vanished.

Name: Ryan Hillegas, former boyfriend of Halbach

Interview: Nov. 4, 2005

Highlights: During interviews with Wiegert, Hillegas revealed he and Halbach dated for five years, ending their romance in 2001. They had known each other since their high school freshman year at Hilbert. At the time of Halbach's disappearance, Hillegas was unemployed and living at his parents' home in Hilbert. He and Bloedorn were also long-time friends. Hillegas typically visited the house to see Bloedorn or Halbach about once per week. Hillegas said he stopped over at the farmhouse and saw Halbach sitting at her computer on Sunday, Oct. 30, the day before she vanished. "Ryan stated Teresa seemed completely normal and they had talked about Halloween parties," Wiegert stated.

Overlooked details: Calumet made few inroads trying to determine the true nature of Hillegas' relationship with Halbach, including the substance of his last communications with her. Authorities did not ask Hillegas to explain his whereabouts on the day Halbach went missing. And while authorities had learned from Bloedorn that Halbach attended a Saturday night Halloween party in Green Bay two days before her death, investigators downplayed the significance of the party during their questioning of Hillegas. The investigative reports do not mention whether Hillegas was asked whether he attended the same Halloween party in Green Bay.

During Avery's murder trial, Avery's defense lawyer Jerry Buting raised the scenario that Halbach went to the Green Bay Halloween party and that she didn't tell Hillegas about it because he was becoming her shadow. Also, investigators didn't find it strange that Hillegas immediately moved into Halbach's farmhouse after her disappearance. When deputies stopped to look for empty boxes of Halbach's camera equipment or her dirty clothes to use for DNA testing, Hillegas directed authorities where to find the items.

Name: Tom Pearce, business partner

Interview: Nov. 4, 2005, Pearce operated Pearce Photography on Western Avenue in Green Bay and shared his photo studio with Halbach, his former photo intern.

Highlights: During his interview with Dedering and Wiegert, Pearce described his relationship with Halbach as "good friends." "He indicated that he was not aware of Teresa dating anyone. .... He stated that she has three or four male friends who are motorcycle racers and she would on occasion accompany them to Road America to watch motorcycle racing there," Dedering's reports indicate. Halbach vanished on a Monday, a day their Green Bay photo studio was always closed. Pearce said he didn't think Halbach had any photo assignments scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 1. According to Dedering's report, Pearce grew concerned when Halbach did not come into the office on Wednesday, Nov. 2, knowing that she had a regular women's business club luncheon. "He stated that when she did not appear at the studio or go to the business marketing meeting on Wednesday, he became concerned for her," Dedering stated. Pearce suggested to investigators that Halbach encountered a number of disturbing incidents as part of her normal routine for Auto Trader magazine such as flirtatious males offering her drinks and other guys encouraging her to come inside their homes. Pearce also raised the possibility that Halbach had an unknown phone stalker. "This began in early to mid summer. There was a break in this routine and then approximately three weeks ago, this started (again)," Dedering stated.

Overlooked details: If authorities confirmed Pearce's tip regarding a phone stalker, it may have led the investigation toward an alternative suspect. On the other hand, if Halbach's phone records proved otherwise, it could raise other questions. For instance, Dedering's reports indicate that Pearce's answers to standard questions during their Nov. 4 interview caught Dedering's attention. "I did notice that Thomas Pearce from time to time would speak about Teresa in the past tense." Nevertheless, Pearce was not asked to explain his activities on the day Halbach vanished. Authorities also didn't question Pearce about possible inconsistencies in his statements. Pearce had said he became concerned about Halbach's welfare when she didn't attend a business luncheon on Nov. 2, yet investigators didn't ask him to explain how he learned she missed the meeting and why Pearce did not try to contact Halbach on her phone until the next day, Nov. 3, after she didn't show up at their office for a third straight day.

Name: Mark Herried, Green Bay resident

Interview: Nov. 20

Highlights: Herried called investigators out of the blue after Avery was taken into custody and charged with Halbach's murder. Herried revealed he may have been one of the last people to communicate with Halbach before she disappeared. He claimed that he and Halbach conversed for about 45 minutes in an online chat room, around 9:30 or 10 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30. Herried said that Halbach identified herself as being recently single. He said he pursued her because she had an interest in photography. He also said he was familiar with Auto Trader magazine. He maintained that Halbach told him that one of the photo assignments the next day was to meet with Steven Avery. "Teresa mentioned seeing Steven Avery in file footage run on television regarding his multi-million dollar lawsuit," Dedering wrote. According to Herried, "the person he was chatting with stated that friends of her told her not to hang around Avery's but she thought Steven was a nice guy." Herried told investigators that he used three different online screen names when he frequented the Wisconsin online chat rooms. He suggested that he and Halbach agreed to resume their online chat around 8 p.m. on Halloween, but she wasn't there. At the time, Herried lived alone in a Green Bay apartment. "Herried indicated that he had only one actual chat with the person who he believed to be Teresa Halbach online," reports show.

Overlooked details: Herried's interview contradicted with a key fact of the case: there was no evidence Halbach had known for days in advance that she was going to go to the Avery salvage to take photos of Steven Avery's vehicles. Authorities could have easily tracked down both Halbach's and Herried's online communications to corroborate the validity of Herried's information. Dedering's interview with Herried has no reference to Herried's whereabouts on the day of Halbach's disappearance.

Name: Christopher McKenna

Interview: None conducted

Overlooked details: On Halbach's last weekend alive, she made at least two phone calls to McKenna shortly before midnight on Oct. 29, phone records show. McKenna, who was a couple years older than Halbach, apparently went to high school with her. He was living in the Menasha area at the time of her disappearance. If Halbach and McKenna were talking on the phone on the Saturday night before she disappeared, why did she call him and what did they talk about? McKenna's name, however, was nowhere to be mentioned within Calumet County's roughly 1,100 page investigative file. McKenna was arrested last December after authorities in Arizona found evidence he was involved in a sexual relationship with an underage female high school student. McKenna taught physical education for the Scottsdale Unified School District and coached girls track and cross-country. He had been working in Arizona since about 2008. In August, McKenna pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a student and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The sentencing judge told McKenna: "There is a need to protect our community from you."

John Ferak of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin: 920-993-7115 or jferak@gannett.com; on Twitter @johnferak