John Ferak

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

There's no shortage of alternative theories when it comes to the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach.

Thousands of people across the globe who watched the Netflix docu-series "Making a Murderer" have gone online to critique the Halbach case and the plight of the two men convicted in her death: Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey. Many of these online sleuths have raised questions about witness statements and evidence.

Meanwhile, there's another group of "Making a Murderer" fans whose commentary and research has also generated considerable discussion — they're the conspiracy theorists.

They've taken to blogs, social media outlets and YouTube to dish up some of the craziest conspiracy theories on the planet about Avery's case.

To be sure, most Avery and Dassey supporters do not give credence to these conspiracy theories. Nonetheless, based on the enormous popularity of fake Internet news sites, it's hardly shocking that these conspiracies have gained some traction.

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin has examined six of the most outrageous conspiracy theories that have provoked discussion since "Making a Murderer" came out last December:

Conspiracy theory No. 1: Traveling serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards murdered Halbach to set up Avery.

Background: Shortly after the release of the series, Montana resident John Cameron contacted USA TODAY NETWORK and other media outlets, proclaiming that the late serial killer, Edward Wayne Edwards, was responsible for Halbach's death. Cameron urged media outlets to publicize his website and his 2014 book, "It's Me! Edward Wayne Edwards, the Serial Killer You Never Heard Of."

In 2009, at the age of 76, Edwards was arrested in connection with a string of cold-case murders. Two of his victims came from Jefferson County, Wisconsin: Timothy Hack and his girlfriend Kelly Drew. In 1980, Hack was fatally stabbed and his girlfriend was sexually assaulted and strangled. The 19-year-olds were slain after attending a wedding reception in the Town of Sullivan. Their bodies were discovered in a remote wooded area. (Edwards had been a handyman at a nearby campground site.) Edwards was linked to the grisly double murder through DNA evidence. In 2011, two months shy of turning 78, Edwards died of natural causes while awaiting lethal injection on Ohio's death row. At the time of his death, Edwards had been formally charged or convicted of five murders: the two 1980 Wisconsin murders, a 1977 double murder of an Ohio couple and the 1996 murder of his foster child as part of a scheme to collect an insurance payment.

Basis for conspiracy: Conspiracy buffs claim Edwards was a devil worshiper, and that's why Halbach was killed on Halloween, a date associated with the occult. They speculate that Edwards wanted to make Avery, a high-profile wrongfully convicted man, the scapegoat for a homicide. They speculate that Edwards brought her body out to a wooded area and used explosives to detonate Halbach's body. Then in the coming days, Edwards waited for the right moment to sneak onto Avery's property to plant several clues such as Halbach's RAV4, the spare key located on Avery's bedroom floor and the charred bones that turned up at Avery's burn pile pit. They also thought that Edwards discreetly made an appearance in one of the "Making a Murderer" episodes that was filmed in 2007 during Avery's murder trial.

Flaws with conspiracy: At the time of Halbach's disappearance, Edwards was 72. He weighed over 300 pounds, was in deteriorating health and needed an oxygen tank. It seems implausible that he was sneaking around Manitowoc County to abduct Halbach in broad daylight and then manage to sneak on the Avery property under the cover of darkness to stage the crime scene. Also, there is no proof Edwards was in Manitowoc County — or elsewhere in Wisconsin — around the time of Halbach's disappearance. (Prior to his 2009 arrest, Edwards was living near Louisville, Ky.) Additionally, many of author Cameron's claims about Edwards border on the absurd. Cameron claims that Edwards committed as many as 500 murders over the span of several decades. He makes unsubstantiated claims that Edwards was the infamous Zodiac killer of northern California during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was responsible for the 1996 murder of 6-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey and the morbid 1993 killings of the West Memphis Three. To further debunk the Edwards conspiracy, it has since been determined that the older man thought to resemble Edwards in one of the "Making a Murderer" episodes was actually a relative of one of the jurors.

Conspiracy theory No. 2: The charred bones recovered from Avery's burn pile pit came from the cremated body of Manitowoc resident Carmen Boutwell, age 24.

Background: At about 8 a.m., on Nov. 3, 2005, Boutwell was found dead in her upstairs apartment she rented from her grandmother in Manitowoc. The Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter later reported that Boutwell was one of the first local people to die from an overdose tied to prescription drugs. Her death was attributed to a methadone overdose, and alcohol was a contributing factor. Boutwell's drug use had escalated about six months before her death, her mother said during a 2014 interview. "Here this beautiful, beautiful woman who never hurt anyone had this addiction," her mother Judy Wilson said. "She abused drugs. She had a disease."

Basis for conspiracy: Boutwell's body was found about eight hours before the Calumet County Sheriff's Department in Chilton was notified that Halbach had been missing for four days. Conspiracy theorists suggest that Boutwell did not die from a drug overdose, but was murdered as part of a scheme by law enforcement to frame Avery. Conspiracy theorists speculated that during Boutwell's cremation, some of her bones were preserved so they could be dispersed at Avery's property to incriminate him for Halbach's disappearance. There was even online speculation that Manitowoc County offered to pay for Boutwell's cremation services. On the day of Boutwell's funeral service, Nov. 8, 2005, Manitowoc County Sheriff's Sgt. Jason Jost recovered two charred human bones near the edge of Avery's burn pile pit.

Flaws with conspiracy: There's no apparent credibility to suggest that Boutwell was murdered or that the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department managed to sneak some of Boutwell's bones out of the Pfeffer Funeral Home and Crematory in Manitowoc as part of an elaborate and deliberate plan to frame Avery for the missing photographer's disappearance. Moreover, Boutwell's overdose death was investigated by the Manitowoc Police Department, not the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department. The city's 38-page investigative file, obtained by USA TODAY NETWORK through a public records request, makes no mention of any sheriff's deputies probing Boutwell's case or responding to the scene. Boutwell's body was found by one of her friends, Jessica A. Miller, then 28, on the living room floor of Boutwell's apartment. Miller told detectives that she had stayed the night at Boutwell's apartment after the two friends frequented at least four local bars with other women in their group. Based on statements from these witnesses, city police learned Boutwell "had been popping pills" prior to her death and that during her night of heavy drinking, one of her friends saw her "eyes rolling towards the top of her head ... this had happened approximately three to four times ... and the longest time lasting at least 10 seconds."

Conspiracy theory No. 3: Gene Kusche, police sketch artist for the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, faked his own death to avoid being available to testify at Avery's murder trial.

Background: A month after turning 61, Kusche apparently died of a heart attack. It happened on Feb. 4, 2007 — which happened to be the day before the start of Steven Avery's long jury trial. Leading up to the event, Avery's attorneys Dean Strang and Jerry Buting informed the court that the lynchpin of their defense was that the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department framed their client for Halbach's murder by planting blood, bones and other clues on Avery's property to ensure his guilt. The sheriff's department was motivated by revenge, the lawyers argued. Avery was seeking $36 million from the county as reparations for losing 18 years to an unjust rape conviction.

Basis for conspiracy: The suggestion that Kusche managed to fake his own death to go into hiding became a hot theory earlier this year on the popular social media website of Reddit. During the late 1960s, Kusche was stationed in Saigon during the Vietnam War. The timing of Kusche's apparent death — and the timing of his sworn deposition as part of Avery's federal civil rights lawsuit — both helped stoke the flames of the far-fetched conspiracy.

Five days before Halbach vanished, on Oct. 26, 2005, Kusche gave his sworn testimony as part of Avery's $36 million federal civil rights lawsuit against Manitowoc County and Kusche's former long-time boss, ex-sheriff Tom Kocourek. Kusche's work as a sketch artist played a significant role in Avery's 1985 wrongful conviction. Then, on the eve of Avery's murder trial, Kusche apparently died of a heart attack. Conspiracy theorists suggesting that Kusche faked his own death point to the fact that there were no funeral announcements for Kusche in any newspapers or with any funeral homes. Online conspiracy theorists began to disseminate an old photo of a former Manitowoc man who died last year in Florida as perhaps being that of Kusche. They speculated that because Kusche had served overseas in the U.S. military, perhaps he had connections through counterintelligence to plan out a way to go into hiding and avoid facing scrutiny from Strang and Buting.

Flaws with conspiracy: There is no credible evidence to justify speculation Kusche took on an assumed identity and fled Wisconsin to avoid being questioned at Avery's murder trial. In fact, the likelihood that Kusche was on the radar of Avery's defense lawyers was slim. Kusche wasn't even employed at the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department at the time of Halbach's disappearance. He retired in 2003, the same year of Avery's exoneration. In addition, a public website lists Kusche as deceased and his date of death as being Feb. 4, 2007. Months ago, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin spoke with an employee who handled Manitowoc County's death certificates. The employee checked her computer records and said that her death certificate records showed that Kusche died in 2007.

Conspiracy theory No. 4: Steven Avery was at a gas station in Manitowoc County shortly after Halbach vanished on Halloween 2005.

Background: Dave Begotka, a former Manitowoc bar owner, has posted several videos on YouTube since "Making a Murderer" reflecting on his firsthand experiences with Avery. In one video, Begotka talks about riding his jet-ski along Lake Michigan in 1985 when he saw the pandemonium on the beach. It was the vicious attack that put Avery in prison on a wrongful rape conviction. Begotka and his wife also produced YouTube videos suggesting they saw Avery on Halloween 2005 — which, if true, would cast doubt on special prosecutor Ken Kratz's timeline for Halbach's murder and the burning of her body at Avery's burn pile pit near his garage.

Basis for conspiracy: In their video, Begotka and his wife explain how they tossed their bicycles into their truck before embarking on a Halloween bicycle ride around Two Creeks, a tiny town along Wisconsin 42 near the Point Beach Nuclear Plant. Sometime after dusk, the Begotkas insist, they saw Steven Avery at the Patsy's Highway 42 Mobile Mart and Convenience Store. "It was getting dark so it could have been between 4:30 and 6 p.m., we don't know," Begotka said. "We noticed Steven Avery at this gas station, and he was filling up a gas can and he had a nicer, darker, 250 pickup truck. I told (my wife) 'There's that Steven Avery guy.'" The Begotkas insist that a blonde woman was with Avery. Dave Begotka said that in the coming days he was shocked to learn of Avery's arrest for killing Halbach on Halloween. "I just couldn't believe it; I'm kind of involved again," Begotka said. "I didn't really want to say anything but I figured well, I have to ... We sent a letter to the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department and I called once." In his video, Begotka said he never received a follow-up response from the sheriff's department.

Flaws with conspiracy: Begotka and his wife look and sound convincing in their YouTube video, but there does not appear to be any supporting evidence to validate their version of events. In 2005, during his numerous interviews with the media and law enforcement investigators prior to his arrest, Avery made no mention of leaving his property during the late afternoon or early evening hours to frequent the Two Creeks gas station. If Avery drove there, wouldn't other customers and store employees have recognized him and spoken up?

Conspiracy theory No. 5: Halbach wasn't killed, she's still alive.

Background: This theory has been floated by several conspiracy theorists and it's garnered support from Steven Avery's mother, Delores.

Basis for conspiracy: Because Halbach was young, adventurous and enjoyed being a world traveler, conspiracy theorists suggest that she took on an assumed identity and lives abroad. According to her published obituary notice, Halbach had visited Spain, New Zealand, Australia and Mexico and several states across the U.S. Regarding her homicide, the fact that only a small portion of charred bones and practically none of Halbach's teeth were ever found at Avery's property has bolstered claims that those bones were not those of Halbach, because she isn't really dead. Moreover, the shinbone that special prosecutor Ken Kratz introduced as evidence against Avery only contained a weak DNA profile for Halbach. Fueling the speculation, People magazine published a story headlined, "Steven Avery's Mom: I Don't Think Teresa Halbach Is Even Dead." Earlier this year, Delores Avery talked about the conspiracy that Halbach faked her death during an interview with a Boston radio station. People reported that Delores Avery was asked who she thought killed Halbach. "I don't know, but I wish the person could come forward. I don't think she's even dead. I don't think so," Delores Avery was quoted as saying. Avery's mother also expressed doubt that the bones found near her son's burn pile pit came from the 25-year-old photographer who grew up in neighboring Calumet County. "How do you know if them were her bones?" Delores Avery told Boston's radio listeners.

Flaws with conspiracy: An official death certificate for Halbach was put on file in December 2005. Shortly after her apparent death, a funeral home in Chilton posted a lengthy obituary notice for Halbach listing surviving family members and other tidbits about her life. About three weeks after her disappearance, a Catholic priest presided over a large funeral service at the St. John-Sacred Heart Parish in Sherwood. It seems highly unlikely that a medical examiner, a long-standing reputable funeral home and the local Catholic priest would combine forces, in concert with the Calumet County Sheriff's Department, to trick Halbach's friends, the media and the community at large into believing Halbach was dead when they secretly knew that she wasn't.

Conspiracy theory No. 6: The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department killed Halbach.

Background: A number of Avery and Dassey supporters, struggling to find a convincing alternative suspect, have floated the theory and discussed on social media outlets the far-fetched idea that the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department gunned down the 25-year-old professional photographer shortly after she left Avery's property on the afternoon of Halloween 2005 to use her death to frame Avery.

Basis for conspiracy: Conspiracy theorists contend that Halbach's death was part of a well-organized conspiracy hatched within the upper levels of the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department. They suggest that her body was burned off-site, perhaps in an enclosed building or at a mortuary to make sure that an autopsy was impossible, thus allowing them to shape their own narrative to blame Avery and ruin his $36 million lawsuit against the county and retired sheriff Tom Kocourek. From the get-go, Avery suggested he was being framed by the sheriff's department for Halbach's disappearance since it was the same agency that was exposed for framing Avery once before. Here's an excerpt from one person on Reddit out to convince others of his theory: "I am sure that (Sgt. Andrew) Colborn knew she was at Steven Avery's residence. He followed her off property to Burger King. Then he waited. He waited until he could pull her over on some side road. Ask her out of the car for whatever reason and then himself or someone else strangled her."

Flaws with conspiracy: No shred of evidence points to anyone in law enforcement affiliated with the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, past or present, of being involved in a cold-blooded premeditated killing of Halbach. Even Avery's defense lawyers Strang and Buting tried to discredit such outlandish theories. To carry out such a twisted killing during broad daylight would, theoretically, require a crooked cop to park his vehicle, exit on the side of the road, and then have to kill Halbach without anybody else witnessing it. The entire sequence of events would have exposed law enforcement to the danger of having another approaching motorist from either direction — or someone off in the distance — being a witness to such an unspeakable crime.

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