John Ferak

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

The passage of time has not healed the deep rifts between opposing lawyers in the 2007 murder trial of Steven Avery.

"It's a reunion you don't want to miss," Dr. Phil McGraw proclaimed in a show that aired Monday.

Defense attorney Jerry Buting and former prosecutor Ken Kratz appeared together on the "Dr. Phil" show. They became internationally known as a result of the Netflix series "Making a Murderer," which first aired in December 2015

During Monday's show, it was as if Buting and Kratz were back in the courtroom. They exchanged barbs. And they vehemently disagreed with each other's analysis about the evidence used to convict Avery and his teenage nephew Brendan Dassey of the Oct. 31, 2005, murder of Teresa Halbach.

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When Buting was asked about his current relationship with Kratz, Buting said, "we don't exchange Christmas cards."

Here are some highlights from the "Dr. Phil" show:

The key found in Avery's bedroom

Kratz's position is that the discovery of the ignition key to Halbach's Toyota RAV4 on the carpet of Avery's bedroom was legitimate. "In reality, the key was found in the first thorough search," Kratz said.

Buting disputed Kratz's claim. The key was only discovered after a half-dozen previous searches within Avery's trailer and tiny bedroom, he said.

"The first search was 2½ hours," Buting said. "It's a small place ... That's a spare key and none of her DNA is on it. Only (Avery's) DNA was found on it."

Kratz said the fact the key was attached to a blue lanyard of Halbach's proved it was authentic. "You never heard that in 'Making a Murderer," Kratz said.

Brendan Dassey's confession

Tom Fassbender, retired investigator for the Wisconsin Department of Justice, also appeared on Monday's show to defend his reputation. He insisted the confession he extracted from Avery's 16-year-old nephew Brendan Dassey was credible. Fassbender also made a blanket statement suggesting that all the evidence collected in the Halbach case was legitimate.

"There's no planted evidence ... in this case," Fassbender said.

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As for the controversial confession of Dassey, Kratz agreed that the interviews occurred without Dassey's parents or a lawyer being present.

"In Wisconsin, it's not required by law," Kratz said. "He could have asked for one but he did not."

Avery's garage

Kratz suggested Halbach's body was moved from Avery's bedroom trailer to Avery's detached garage where the murder continued. When Kratz claimed there was all sorts of blood sprayed around Avery's garage, Buting objected strenuously.

"That's completely false," Buting said.

There was no blood, DNA, hairs or other trace evidence that corroborated Kratz's theory that Halbach was raped and murdered inside Avery's trailer. "There were no scratches on the bed posts from a 25-year-old woman struggling for her life. There was no blood ... No blood on the mattress," Buting said.

Dr. Phil turned to Fassbender and asked, "Where's all the blood?"

"We believe Steven Avery cleaned," Fassbender responded. "He scoured that residence ... He's going to crush the car. Brendan told us that."

Halbach's vehicle

Kratz said the finding of Avery's blood within the RAV4 — in six places — made perfect sense because Avery had a gash to one of his fingers, a cut that surely occurred during the commission of the murder.

"The police put that car there," Buting argued.

A fair trial?

When asked if he thought Avery was given a fair jury trial in 2007, Buting said, "No, I don't. I really don't."

McGraw: "Did (Kratz) run red lights?"

"Absolutely," Buting agreed.

"If he gets a new trial, do you feel like (Avery) can get a not-guilty verdict?" McGraw asked.

Buting said "I'm hoping" Avery's post-conviction attorney Kathleen Zellner is successful.

But did Avery commit murder? After all, Avery was no angel, he had prior criminal convictions and he wrote some nasty, threatening letters to women over the years, McGraw reminded him.

"I'm not God," Buting said. "From my view point, Steven Avery is innocent of the crime, but I can't say for certain."

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