A judge has rejected Steven Avery's appeal for a new trial against his murder conviction.

Avery, who is the focus of the hit Netflix series Making a Murderer, had his request for a retrial denied by judge Angela Sutkiewicz.

He is currently serving life in prison for the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2005. Ms Halbach's remains were discovered by authorities in the Avery family's salvage yard.

However, he denies any involvement in her death and argues that police mishandled arguing bone evidence.

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Judge Sutkiewicz did not agree. In her ruling, she said: "In this matter, the defendant cannot show that the State knew of the potential exculpatory value of the evidence.

Avery denies any involvement in her death and argues that police mishandled arguing bone evidence. Credit: PA

"Nothing of record indicates that in 2011, when the material was given to the Halbach family, the material was re-classified as human bone."

She also said a specialist confirmed most of the remains were 'largely unburned', which counters his claim that Ms Halbach was murdered, and her body burned, somewhere else.

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She added: "Dr. Eisenberg also testified that the material found in the Quarry was largely unburned. This does not support the defendant's argument that the victim was murdered and burned in a place other than the Avery property and placed there at a later date."

Following the ruling, Avery's lawyer Kathleen Zellner said she wasn't shocked by the decision not to offer her client a new trial, but that they would continue to fight.

She said: "We are not surprised by this ruling. In the greater scheme of things it is not important. The appellate court has jurisdiction of the entire appeal which has numerous issues. The appellate and supreme court of Wisconsin will make the decisions that matter on these issues and establish precedent on these issues."

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When the first season of Making A Murderer was first launched on Netflix in December 2015 it garnered a huge international audience.

Avery lost his latest appeal for a new trial. Credit: Netflix

Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, who has learning difficulties, is also convicted in connection to the murder, based primarily on a confession he made while under interrogation. Both men were sentenced to life in prison.



Avery was previously imprisoned for 18 years after he was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder, only to be exonerated by DNA evidence in 2003.

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Following his release, Avery filed a civil lawsuit against Mantiwoc County for $36 million (£27.3 million), which was still pending when he was arrested in connection to Halbach's murder.