Advertisement Reporter in 'Making a Murderer' says he still has questions Aaron Keller got law degree in NH after covering case of Steven Avery Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A Netflix series released last year has captured the outrage and imagination of people across the country."Making a Murderer" is a crime documentary that follows the case of Steven Avery, who served 18 years in prison for a wrongful rape conviction and then was arrested two years after his release on murder charges.A television reporter who covered the case now lives in New Hampshire, and he said there are still questions that bother him, 10 years later.In the documentary, reporter Aaron Keller comes across as pensive. The camera cuts often to him during daily press briefings, but he rarely asks a question."I tended to stay a little more quiet in the press conferences, just knowing in the back of my head that I had a game plan and that I was going to go with a game plan," Keller said. "And I was going to ask a relevant question if necessary, but it was always, how do I not tip my hand?"His telegenic good looks did not go unnoticed by viewers of the wildly popular documentary. Keller was dubbed the "silver fox" by fans of the show."I would rather the discussion not focus on my hair," he said. "Which anyone who knew me from high school would know it's been getting gray up here since I was in 11th grade."Keller described himself as a deep thinker, a writer who often broke with the media pack during the Avery trial to follow his own instincts."I was always running around in the background and doing deep research," he said. "So when (former District Attorney) Ken Kratz was giving the press conference after the arrest of (Avery's nephew) Brendan Dassey, the thing that's going through my mind are, how do the rules of professional conduct allow this to happen in Wisconsin?"Granite Staters who watched "Making a Murderer" might have been startled by daily press updates from the prosecution and the defense in the middle of the trial, something that likely wouldn't happen in New Hampshire.Keller said Wisconsin gave unfettered access to court proceedings, including access to the defendant."Steven Avery is calling our TV station up while he's incarcerated to respond to stories we did, and we're putting him on the air live on the phone from his jail cell on the 6 p.m. news to talk about his response to what the law enforcement community is finding on his property," Keller said.Keller said he never let himself indulge in believing Avery was guilty or innocent. He thought it was unprofessional and counterproductive."One of two things is going to happen," Keller said. "He is either going to be convicted, or he's going to be acquitted. Whatever decision the jury makes is A, for the jury and B, I want my viewing audience to be comfortable with that decision."Keller compared covering the Avery trial to being in a foxhole: stressful and grueling. He said that the media pool formed the type of strong bonds that occur after enduring a traumatic event."Most of us were scarred seriously by covering this," he said.Ultimately, he felt like he needed a change."The Avery trial piqued my interest in covering law," he said."According to Keller, three reporters went to law school after the Avery trial. Keller went to New Hampshire and got his juris doctorate from the University of New Hampshire School of Law.He now teaches communications and English at New Hampshire Technical Institute. He said he remembers the moment during Christmas break last year when his students realized his sudden fame. The emails and calls blew up his phone."The first day I walked into the class this semester, the group who had never seen me before said, 'OK, talk about 'Making a Murderer,'" he said.Get the WMUR app