Steven Avery documentary draws fiery responses

Alison Dirr | USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

A 10-part documentary series has brought Steven Avery back to the spotlight — reopening old wounds and raising troubling questions about his conviction in the gruesome 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach.

The series, "Making a Murderer," became available on Netflix on Friday. It opens with footage of Avery's emotional and triumphant return home after he was exonerated in a rape case for which he served 18 years. And soon, the filmmakers bring up the idea that local law enforcement has it out for Avery, who was freed using DNA evidence in that case. Two years after his release, he was charged and convicted at a jury trial in the homicide of 25-year-old freelance photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. He's serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

A quote at the beginning of the first episode sets the tone: "Law enforcement despised Steven Avery. Steven Avery was a shining example of their inadequacies, their misconduct."

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Intertwined with Avery's story is that of his teenage nephew, Brendan Dassey, whom the film portrays as a learning-disabled young man who was manipulated by police and, in one case, by his own defense team into detailing a rape and homicide he later said he was not present for.

Dassey was convicted at his trial of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and second-degree sexual assault, all as a party to a crime, according to court records. He is eligible for extended supervision on Nov. 1, 2048. He has taken his case into the federal court system in hopes of being released.

In both of their cases, the specter of police misconduct, particularly on the part of the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, is present throughout the series, from the moment Avery arrives home after the exoneration to his sentencing and beyond.

Manitowoc County Sheriff Robert Hermann, who hasn't seen the series but has been discussing it with the department, said law enforcement had no reason to frame an innocent man. He said he had heard that "things were skewed" and taken out of context.

Former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz, who prosecuted the cases, criticized the series as more of a "defense advocacy piece" than a documentary.

"Documentaries, of course, have both sides of the story being told," Kratz told Post-Crescent Media Monday. "And it's very clear that not only is nobody from the prosecution or law enforcement side interviewed as part of this, the editing is really dramatic and done to achieve only one conclusion that the viewer can come to and that is that Mr. Avery and Mr. Dassey are innocent and that they were perhaps set up by law enforcement or with the help of the prosecution or judges or whoever else was involved in this conspiracy. And of course, that's an unfortunate conclusion to present as fact. ... It certainly is not based on any of the evidence that was presented at trial and that the jury heard to have rendered their verdict."

Jerome Buting, one of the attorneys representing Avery at the homicide trial, called the series "a very accurate portrayal of a lot of facts that really the general public wasn't aware of."

He said he thinks that the documentary lets people see a side of the case that they would not have without following the trial carefully.

"There's just many, many aspects of this case and unusual twists that unfortunately, the state before the — long before the trial, that the state had this graphic news conference that really should never have taken place that poisoned the public and the jury pool into believing they understood what happened to Teresa Halbach and that it was Avery and his nephew that raped and murdered her in a very heinous, bloody way," Buting said. "And yet they knew at the time of that press conference that not one bit of blood had been found in Avery's trailer."

The series could prompt people who know something about the case to come forward with information, Buting said.

"If they watch this documentary, they will either become convinced, as I am, that Steven Avery was innocent of this crime or that they will certainly have reasonable doubt and think, you know, I know something I should come forward with and contact us to see if we can discover whether there's newly discovered evidence that might warrant a new trial," he said.

Online response has been swift. Comments often echoed the sentiment about police misconduct and petitions on Change.org and Whitehouse.gov asked President Barack Obama to free Avery.

Netflix posted the entire first episode on Facebook. Commenters applauded the series and condemned law enforcement based on the misconduct alleged in the film.

"Wow ..Wisconsin ..you have some crooked cops and judges there," one woman wrote.

Some on the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter Facebook post called police corrupt and said they believed in a setup, or at least a "gross miscarriage of justice."

"The interviews with Brendan said more about the validity of this investigation than anything. They badgered that boy till he guessed what they wanted to hear and ignored everything else," another wrote.

On Halloween 2005, Halbach was photographing vehicles for sale for Auto Trader magazine. Her third and final stop was supposed to be Avery's Auto Salvage in Manitowoc County, where she was photographing a van. That was the day she was last seen.

A few days later, her parents reported her missing. Two days after their report, volunteers searching for her found her Toyota RAV4 in a salvage yard on the Avery property. On Nov. 10, a day after Avery was arrested, then-Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel announced Halbach had been killed at the salvage yard and her body burned.

Avery was charged Nov. 15, 2005, with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Among the questions brought up by Avery's defense attorneys are:

How a key to Halbach's RAV4 was not found the first few times officials searched Avery's bedroom but was seen when Manitowoc County officials were allowed inside

How Avery's blood got on the inside of Halbach's sport utility vehicle

Why a vial of Avery's blood appeared to have been tampered with

"When you confront the need to present a defense that your client was framed and worse yet framed by law enforcement officers, you’re not happy," attorney Dean Strang said in the film.

Ultimately, the jury convicted him of first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to court records.

The series closes with Avery's assertion that he is innocent and will continue working to free himself.

"I ain't gonna give up," he says. "When you know you're innocent, you will keep on going. The truth always comes out sooner or later."

Alison Dirr: 920-993-1000, ext. 430, or alison.dirr@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @AlisonDirr; Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter reporter Sarah Kloepping contributed to this report.